Gibbons, Titus win NV Gov primary, Heller wins CD-2; Sen Allen steps in macaca; OH House news; polls, more
August 16th, 2006
WEDNESDAY NEWS UPDATE.NEVADA: GIBBONS, TITUS WIN GOV PRIMARIES, HELLER WINS CD-2 GOP PRIMARY.
US Senator John Ensign (R) and businessman Jack Carter (D) will face-off in November, as both easily won landslide victories in their respective primaries. While Carter is running an effective campaign, Ensign still is strong and polls continue to give the incumbent an advantage in November. In the open gubernatorial race, both parties saw bitter primary contests. Congressman Jim Gibbons won the GOP nomination with 48%, defeating his nearest opponent State Senator Bob Beers by 19 points. During the primary campaign, Beers attacked Gibbons as a liar, a coward and an extortionist. Still, Beers endorsed Gibbons Tuesday night, explaining that "politics is often the case of having to choose between two less-than-perfect candidates." On the Dem side, State Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus scored a surprisingly easy win over well-financed Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson by a 54% to 36% vote. Gibson was still angry Tuesday night, saying that he didn't like the negative "for sale" TV spots Titus had run against him. The November contest -- which also features environmental activist Craig Bergland (Green) and Religious Right activist Christopher Hansen (Independent American) -- is expected to be competitive. In the hot race for Gibbons' open US House, Secretary of State Dean Heller -- a GOP centrist -- narrowly edged out State Assemblywoman Sharron Angle by a 36% to 35% vote, a difference of just 428 votes. State Assemblywoman Dawn Gibbons, the early frontrunner and wife of the current incumbent, was third with 25%. The Club for Growth spent roughly a million dollars on the race to support of Angle, running a sustained barrage of attacks labeling Gibbons and Heller as a pro-tax "liberals." Factoring in the CFG money, Angle outspent her opponents by better than 4-to-1. In the end, Heller probably won the close vote by using an inexpensive tool: he personally called every absentee voter in Washoe County, Angle's homebase, to help improve his numbers there. Heller will face State University System Regent Jill Derby (D) and three others in November. GOP voters in the race for State Treasurer decided against nominating the late State Auditor Kathy Augustine -- perhaps deciding her lack of aspiration was a negative -- and instead nominated financial consultant Mark DeStefano. Still, Augustine finished second with 20%. Click here to view all of the Nevada nominees.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.16.06
BY THE NUMBERS: LATEST INDEPENDENT NUMBERS.
ALASKA - GOVERNOR - GOP PRIMARY: Former Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin - 40%, former State Senator John Binkley - 29%, Governor Frank Murkowski - 17%. (Anchorage Daily News).
COLORADO - CONGRESS - CD-3: Congressman John Salazar (D) - 53%, pottery company owner Scott Tipton (R) - 42%, mechanical engineer Bob Sargent (Libertarian) - 4%. (KUSA-TV/SurveyUSA).
DC - MAYOR - DEM PRIMARY: City Councilman Adrian Fenty - 48%, City Council Chair Linda Cropp - 27%, former Verizon CEO Marie Johns - 7%, City Councilman Vincent Orange - 5%, attorney Michael Brown - 4%, Others - 1%. (WUSA-TV/SurveyUSA).
MICHIGAN - GOVERNOR: Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) - 47%, businessman Dick DeVos (R) - 46%. (Rasmussen Reports).
MICHIGAN - US SENATE: US Senator Debbie Stabenow (D) - 49%, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard (R) - 44%. (Rasmussen Reports).
MISSOURI - US SENATE: State Auditor Claire McCaskill (D) - 47%, US Senator Jim Talent (R) - 46%, Frank Gilmour (Libertarian) - 2%. (KCTV-TV/SurveyUSA).
PENNSYLVANIA - US SENATE: State Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. (D) - 45%, US Senator Rick Santorum (R) - 39%, railroad consultant Carl Romanelli (Green) - 5%. (Quinnipiac University).
PENNSYLVANIA - US SENATE: State Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. (D) - 47%, US Senator Rick Santorum (R) - 40%. (Quinnipiac University).
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.16.06
OHIO: SPECIAL PRIMARY SET TO REPLACE NEY IN CD-18.
One day after embattled Congressman Bob Ney (R) officially submitted paperwork withdrawing from his race for reelection, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R) set September 14 for a special GOP primary to select a replacement nominee. Former Taft Administration official and State Senator Joy Padgett (R) -- Ney's endorsed successor -- has already announced her intention to run. Democrats plan legal action to disqualify Padgett from the contest under Ohio's "sore loser" law, which states a candidate who lost an election cannot run for any other office in the same election. Padgett was Attorney General Jim Petro's runningmate for Lieutenant Governor during their unsuccessful run against Blackwell in the May 2 primary. Petro -- yes, the same former runningmate Petro -- declared this week in his official capacity that Padgett is eligible to run for Ney's seat. While Padgett is heavily favored for the nomination, although others could jump into the race. Filing for the primary closes this Thursday afternoon.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.16.06
VIRGINIA: SENATOR ALLEN UNDER FIRE FOR SEEMINGLY RACIST REMARKS.
US Senator George Allen (R) -- a likely 2008 Presidential candidate -- is under fire for making seeminly racist comments about a campaign supporter of Allen's Democratic opponent. On Friday, college senior S.R. Sidarth, a 20-year-old Webb volunteer, was doing what he usually does: following Allen from event to event, videotaping Allen's comments. Sidarth, born and raised in Virginia, is of Indian descent and was reportedly the only non-white person in the audience at Friday's campaign event. During his remarks, Allen spotted Sidarth and broke from his prepared remarks. "This fellow here over here with the yellow shirt, Macaca, or whatever his name is. He's with my opponent. He's following us around everywhere ... Lets give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia." You can view the brief video of the incident online. Macaca is a word which refers to a type of monkey, and has also been used to insult dark-skinned Africans. Allen's campaign manager has said that it was meant to refer to Sidarth's mohawk -- although Sidarth's haircut is a mullet. Sidarth said he was offended that Allen presumed him to be an immigrant because of his dark skin. Allen apologized Tuesday for the comments, saying "Macaca" was a meaningless word he "just made up." Allen told the AP: "In no way was it meant to demean him, and I'm sorry if he was offended." Allen has previously been accused of racial insensitivity for wearing a Confederate flag pin in his high school yearbook photo, keeping a Confederate flag in his living room, and having a noose hanging from a ficus tree in his law office -- but Allen said he has "grown" since then.
Writer: David McAvoy - 08.16.06
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
The congressinal earmark process appears to be at the root of the Abramoff scandal -- and subsequent similar scandals -- that apparently ensnared Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney, Conrad Burns, John Doolittle, Jerry Lewis, Katherine Harris, Alan Mollohan and others purportedly the focus of ongoing federal investigations. Kudos, then, to the the Sunlight Foundation, Club for Growth and other groups across the political spectrum for launching this new Exposing Earmarks online project.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.16.06
Entry Filed under: politics