Continue Reading August 8th, 2006
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE: THREE FEDERAL INCUMBENTS OUSTED!
CONNECTICUT: LAMONT DEFEATS LIEBERMAN, WHO VOWS TO FIGHT ON AS INDY.
As had been expected for the past few weeks, wealthy businessman and peace candidate Ned Lamont defeated US Senator Joe Lieberman for renomination by a 52% to 48% vote in the Democratic primary. Lieberman vowed to continue his campaign as an Independent hopeful in the general election. “I called Ned Lamont and congratulated him on his success today. As I see it, in this campaign, we’ve just finished the first half and the Lamont team is ahead, but in the second half, our team — Team Connecticut — is going to surge forward to victory in November,” said Lieberman. Democratic leaders are expected to rally behind Lamont now, pressuring Lieberman to quit the contest. However, as Lieberman already promised to caucus with the Democrats if elected as an Independent, the seat is still safely DEM in terms of the November outcome. The pathetic GOP nominee — who will not be a factor — is so flawed that his own party has tried without success for a month now to force him to quit the race. US Senate Race Rating: Toss-Up (between Lamont and Lieberman). In the the Dem gubernatorial primary, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano defeated Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy by slim 51% to 49% vote — while Malloy’s Lieutenant Governor runningmate Mary Glassman easily won the #2 spot in the primary by a 14% margin. The primary outcome likely won’t matter as incumbent Governor Jodi Rell (R) is regularly rated as one of the three most popular governors in the nation. Governor Race Rating: Safe GOP. In CD-1, TV news director Scott MacLean handily defeated research scientist Miriam Masullo in the GOP primary for the right to lose in November to safe Congressman John Larsen (D).
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.09.06
GEORGIA: McKINNEY SUFFERS LANDSLIDE DEFEAT.
DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson ousted controversial and erratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in the CD-4 Democratic run-off by a surprisingly wide margin. Johnson defeated the volatile and outspoken McKinney by a 59% to 41% vote. McKinney drew national headlines when she punched a Capitol police officer earlier this year, then made a full apology on the House floor in a deal to avoid indictment. This was an astounding second Congressional renomination defeat for McKinney. Johnson will only face nominal opposition in the general election. In the race for Lieutenant Governor, former State Representative Jim Martin (D) won the run-off by a wide 22% margin.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.09.06
MICHIGAN: RELIGIOUS RIGHT CONSERVATIVE OUSTS GOP CENTRIST SCHWARZ .
Centrist GOP freshman Congressman Joe Schwarz — a leading target of the conservative Club for Growth — lost his race for renomination in CD-7. Evangelical minister and former State Representative Tim Walberg defeated Schwarz by a 55% to 45% vote. The Club for Growth and other conservative groups spent approximately a million dollars in their campaign to oust Schwarz, whom they attacked as “a liberal” and a “RINO.” President Bush, Senator John McCain and others visited to district to help Schwarz unsuccessfully defend his seat. CD-7 Race Rating: Safe GOP. Conservative Congressman Joe Knollenberg (R) successfully turned back an energetic primary challenge from centrist Oakland School Board Member Pan Godchaux by a 2-to-1 margin. In the race against US Senator Debbie Stabenow (D), Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard easily captured the Republican nomination over evangelical bishop Keith Butler. US Senate Race Rating: Safe DEM.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.09.06
COLORADO: CRANK, PERLMUTTER WIN OPEN CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARIES.
In the open CD-5 contest for the seat being vacated by retiring Congressman Joel Hefley (R), former Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce executive Jeff Crank led the six-way field with 28% — holding a 5-point lead over his nearest opponent — with most of the vote counted. Crank, a former aide to Helfey, was Hefley’s endorsed candidate to succeed him. CD-5 Race Rating: GOP Favored. In the open CD-7 swing seat race — being vacated due to Congressman Bob Beauprez’s (R) run for Governor — former State Senator Ed Perlmutter won the Democratic nomination by a nearly 20-point advantage over his former State Representative Peggy Lamm. Perlmutter will face (D) held a sufficiently wide margin that it appeared he will win the contest when all the votes are tabulated. State Higher Education Commission Chair Rick O’Donnell, who lost the 2002 primary to Beauprez, is the GOP nominee. CD-7 Race Rating: Toss-Up.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.09.06
MISSOURI: NO SURPRISES ON PRIMARY DAY.
Not much excitement in Missouri on Tuesday. US Senator Jim Talent (R) and State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D) easily won their respective Senate primaries — with 88% and 79%, respectively — and will meet in November in what is expected to be one of the hottest races in the nation. US Senate Race Rating: Toss-Up. Congressman Todd Akin (R) had no trouble turning back a primary challenge from State Representative Sherman Parker by a lopsided 6-to-1 margin. The other Congressional incumbents also easily fended off their various primary challenges.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.09.06
TEXAS: DeLAY TO QUIT HOUSE RACE, GOP TO RUN WRITE-IN NOMINEE.
One day after US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia rejected the Texas Republican Party’s appeal of the federal court ruling that former US House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R) cannot be replaced on the November ballot, DeLay said he would again make clear he has irrevocably withdrawn from the race. Instead, DeLay plans to support whomever the GOP runs as the write-in candidate for the CD-22 seat against former Congressman Nick Lampson (D). Based upon these developments, we’re changing our race rating to Leans DEM.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.09.06
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Mark yesterday on your calendars, folks, as it will likely be many years until you ever again see three congressional incumbents ousted on the same primary day.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.09.06
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Continue Reading August 8th, 2006
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE.
PRIMARY DAY: THREE INCUMBENTS FACE LIKELY PRIMARY DEFEATS.
Voters go to the polls in five states on Tuesday, casting ballots that seem likely to end to political careers of several federal incumbents. US Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Congressman Joe Schwarz (R-MI) all appear headed towards defeat, for very different reasons. In the case of Lieberman, his staunch support for the Iraq War and attempts to build bipartisan bridges with the Bush Administration appear to have doomed his campaign. Lieberman now trails his wealthy primary challenger — businessman Ned Lamont — by several points. Lieberman vows to continue his campaign into the general election as an Independent if he loses the primary, but look for Dem leaders to quickly put heavy pressure on Lieberman to pull the plug on an Indy run. US Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) told USA Today that Lieberman will abandon his Independent candidacy if he finishes more than ten points behind Lamont in the primary. In Georgia, the controversial McKinney may champion progressive causes, but progressives long have tired of apologizing for her embarrassing political and personal antics. Look for DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson — who shares nearly all of McKinney’s progressive views, but doesn’t carry the baggage — to handily defeat her in the run-off. In Michigan, as we reported yesterday, Congressman Joe Schwarz (R) appears headed to defeat against a Religious Right opponent he edged out in the crowded 2004 primary. Former State Representative and minister Tim Walberg — back by the big bucks of the Club for Growth — seems poised to oust the freshman incumbent. In a mirror opposite of the Schwarz-Walberg race, conservative Congressman Joe Knollenberg (R) is facing an energetic primary challenge from centrist Oakland Schools Board Member Pan Godchaux — but Knollenberg should survive by a comfortable margin. The Lamont and Walberg victories will, respectively, embolden political activists on the left-wing of the Dems and right-wing of the GOP. In the polarized world of US politics, the middle is a rapidly vanishing place. I cannot recall a single primary day in modern politics that saw three federal incumbents lose renomination battles. Other key races to watch on Tuesday include the open seat primaries in Colorado’s CD-5 and CD-7, the GOP primary for US Senate in Michigan, and the Democratic primary for Connecticut Governor.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger (Chuck Sambuchino contributed to this article) - 08.08.06
OHIO: NA NA NA, NA NA NA, HEY NEY, GOODBYE.
Embattled Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH) — who appears to be facing a looming corruption indictment in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal — announced Monday he will not seek re-election. “Ultimately this decision came down to my family. I must think of them first, and I can no longer put them through this ordeal,” Ney explained to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Ney, who resigned under pressure earlier this year as the House Administration Committee Chair, has been battered in news reports for his close ties to Abramoff. In May, former Ney aide-turned-Abramoff lobbyist Neil Volz pled guilty on felony counts on conspiracy and violating lobbying laws. Volz also agreed to testify against the Congressman in the ongoing federal investigations by the Justice Department and FBI. Ney, who had won a lopsided primary victory against financial anaylst James Harris, faced a difficult challenge in November against progressive Dover Law Director Zack Space (D). State Senator Joy Padgett — whom Ney called to say he was withdrawing from the race — told the AP she would seek to be the replacement GOP nominee for Ney’s seat. Under Ohio election law, Republicans are required to hold a special primary to replace Ney on the ballot for the general election. Ney and House Majority Leader John Boehner quickly endorsed Padgett for the seat. No other Republicans immediately emerged as potential primary challengers, but there is still time for others to jump in. The Secretary of State’s office is researching whether the Ohio “sore loser” provision in state law would prevent Padgett from running. The law appears to prevent a candidate who lost a primary to run again in the same election cycle. There is no certainly Padgett — who was Attorney General Jim Petro’s runningmate for Lieutenant Governor in this year’s primary — would be any stronger than Ney. “Joy Padgett is tied at the hip to the most corrupt politicians in Ohio: Bob Ney, Bob Taft and Jim Petro. For Joy Padgett, being handpicked by Ney … is quite an indictment,” said Space’s spokesman. Padgett served several years as a top-ranking state agency director in the Taft Administration before her 2004 election to the State Senate. State Senator Jay Hottinger (R) was mentioned as another possible replacment candidate — but he quickly told reporters he won’t run because of the timing. “I think [Ney] was about 90 days late in doing this,” said Hottinger.
Contrbuting Writers: David Jimenez, Jo Valentine-Cooper, Christopher Vari & Raymond Smalley - 08.08.06
BY THE NUMBERS: LATEST INDEPENDENT NUMBERS.
COLORADO - CONGRESS - CD-7 - DEM PRIMARY: Former State Senator Ed Perlmutter - 49%, former State Representative Peggy Lamm - 37%, attorney Herb Rubenstein - 8%. (KUSA-TV/SurveyUSA).
GEORGIA - CONGRESS - CD-4 - DEM RUN-OFF: DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson - 53%, Congressman Cynthia McKinney - 40%. (Insider Advantage).
MICHIGAN - US SENATE - GOP PRIMARY: Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard - 56%, minister Keith Butler - 33%. (WDIV-TV/SurveyUSA).
MINNESOTA - GOVERNOR: Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) - 46%, Attorney General Mike Hatch (D) - 36%. (Rasmussen Reports).
MINNESOTA - US SENATE: Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar (D) - 50%, Congressman Mark Kenendy (R) - 38%. (Rasmussen Reports).
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.08.06
PENNSYLVANIA: RENDELL UNEXPECTEDLY PRAISES SANTORUM.
US Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is receiving support from an unlikely source: Governor, Ed Rendell (D-PA). In an interview with the conservative magazine Weekly Standard, Rendell stated “Rick Santorum has proven that he gets the job done. Time and time again he has come through.” Although Rendell says he is supporting Bob Casey’s candidacy against Santorum but will not attack Santorum. “I will eventually campaign with Casey, but, no, you won’t see me attack Santorum,” Democrats are concerned such praise could help Santorum, who has already incorporated the Rendell comments into a new commercial.
Writer: Douglas Price, - 08.08.06
UTAH: LIBERAL SLC DEM MAYOR TAPS GOP AS SUCCESSOR.
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, an outspoken liberal Democrat, surprised a lot of people this past week by endorsing Republican City Councilman Keith Christensen as his replacement in 2007. Anderson, who recently announced he will not seek a third term in office, has been praised by progressives for his environmentally-friendly policies. However, he has alienated many Utahns with his brash style and his clashes with staffers and members of the press. He has been in particular conflict with certain members of the City Council, including Democrat Nancy Saxton, who also plans to run for Mayor in 2007. Anderson’s endorsement of a Republican is troubling to many Democrats because Salt Lake City is one of the few left-leaning areas of Utah, one of the nation’s reddest states. No Republican has been Mayor of the state capital since the 1970s. Christensen recently switched his views in favor of supporting health benefits for gay domestic partnerships, something Anderson has long advocated. In fact, Anderson recently co-signed a full-page national newspaper ad endorsing same-sex marriage. However, the two men remain a political odd couple. Christensen is a devout Mormon, while Anderson is a notoriously lapsed one. Christensen also still criticizes Anderson’s decision to protest President Bush’s 2005 visit to Salt Lake City.
Writer: Jay Rogers - 08.08.06 | Permalink | postCount(’080806e’);
TEXAS: US SUPREME COURT REJECTS DeLAY APPEAL.
The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to issue a stay of the lower court orders rejecting GOP plans to replace former US House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R) on the November ballot. The courts found DeLay’s withdrawal from the race was voluntary, thus preventing the party from replacing DeLay in the general election. DeLay must now decide whether he wants to seek re-election or withdraw to let the party attempt to run a write-in candidate against former Congressman Nick Lampson (D). Businessman Bob Smither (Libertarian) is also running.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.08.06
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Just two random and amusing observations, apropos of nothing, I noticed:
1. Remember the Howard Dean’s online fundraising bats in 2004 that helped power him to over $50 million in fundraising? Then check out the website of US Senate candidate Eddie Pirkowski (R-HI). On his online fundraising chart, he’s set an imposing fundraising goal of $200. Good thing, however, that he set the bar so low. To date, Pirkowski’s collected, ummm … nothing, nada, zilch.
2. The candidate photo featuring a cute pet dog is a fairly de rigueur in campaign literature. However, a candidate doing the family pose while holding his pet iguana strikes me as rather unusual.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger -08.08.06
SEND A PIN = GET A FREE PLUG HERE.
Here’s my open offer for every campaign (and campaign supporter): send me a button or pin from the Governor, US Senate, Congressional, Statewide Office, etc., campaign you are involved in — feel free to add a sticker and brochure — and I’ll place a link to official campaign site here on our homepage in a daily “thank you” note. My address: Ron Gunzburger, 409 NE 17 Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.
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