NEW YORK
— Veteran Democratic Reps. Charles Rangel and Carolyn Maloney handily beat back spirited primary challenges Tuesday while Republicans chose candidates to compete with several vulnerable New York House Democrats
.
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Under fire for a range of ethics allegations, Rangel was leading his closest rival, Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, by more than 2 to 1. Three other challengers were trailing badly.
A House panel has charged Rangel with 13 violations, including using official stationery to solicit funds for a college center in New York named for him and failing to disclose and pay taxes on rental income from a beach villa in the Dominican Republic. Rangel has vigorously fought the charges and pushed back on calls from some Democrats, including President Barack Obama, to step aside.
In remarks to supporters at his primary night rally, Rangel portrayed his win as a victory for the supporters who have faithfully stood by him. [See who is donating money to Rangel's campaign.]
"I'm going back to Washington with such pride," Rangel said to cheers before the results were announced but as early returns suggested he would win. "This isn't a win for Charlie Rangel. This is our community's win."
Maloney scored a decisive win in the 14th Congressional District, which covers Queens and the eastern side of Manhattan. While she faced down a well-funded challenge from hedge fund lawyer Reshma Saujani, Maloney ultimately pulled in about 80 percent of the primary vote. [See where Maloney's campaign cash comes from.]
Maloney had a simple answer when asked how she had won so easily.
"Hard work and a record to run on. Passing legislation that's important to people's lives," Maloney told The Associated Press in an interview.
Both Rangel and Maloney are virtually assured victory in November in their heavily Democratic districts.
On the Republican side, businessman Randy Altschuler prevailed in a three-way contest in eastern Long Island to face incumbent Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop in November. Chris Cox, the grandson of the late President Richard M. Nixon and son of state Republican Chairman Ed Cox, came in a distant third.
On Staten Island, former FBI agent Michael Grimm easily defeated businessman Michael Allegretti to take on first term Democratic Rep. Michael McMahon. McMahon is considered vulnerable in the most conservative of New York City's five boroughs.
In upstate New York, investment banker Matt Doheny defeated Doug Hoffman despite Hoffman's strong support among tea party supporters. Hoffman, who rose to fame last year when he challenged the hand-picked GOP candidate in a special election to replace Republican Rep. John McHugh, may do the same again this time. He has vowed to stay on as the nominee of the Conservative Party, setting up a three way race that could help Democratic Rep. Bill Owens win re-election.
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Thursday, September 16, 2010
Paladino Beats Lazio in New York GOP Race for Governor
NEW YORK — Tea party activist Carl Paladino wasted no time in setting his sights on Democrat Andrew Cuomo after confounding pundits and rolling over the leaders of New York's Republican and Conservative parties with a stunning win in the GOP primary for governor.
Click here to find out more!
"Andrew Cuomo has to answer to the people," Paladino said Tuesday after defeating Republican Party designee Rick Lazio, a former congressman. Cuomo "is going to have to debate me. I'll debate him 49 days if there are 49 days between now and then."
"He was never vetted. He came in on Spitzer's coattails," Paladino said, referring to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in disgrace following a prostitution scandal after he led the 2006 Democratic ticket that included Cuomo as the attorney general
nominee.
Paladino says he will succeed in fixing Albany's corruption and dysfunction because he's not a professional politician.
"They brought with them a desire to keep holding office. This is the first and last time I'm going to run for elected office," he said, repeating his promise to serve one four-year term.
Cuomo, the one-term attorney general who also was a private-sector lawyer, secretary of housing in the Clinton administration and an aide to his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
"I'm against career politicians because they've put the state in the disarray that it's in right now," said Rod Tobin, 64, a Buffalo Republican. "If people have run a business before or know how to manage an operation, I think they're better to handle things than the politicians today are running it."
With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Paladino had 63 percent of the vote to Lazio's 37 percent.
Paladino, a millionaire Buffalo developer, rode a wave of voter anger on his way to delivering another blow to the GOP in a heavily Democratic state.
There was a deafening cheer in his Buffalo headquarters when it was announced that The Associated Press had called the race for Paladino, 64, who promises to "take a baseball bat" to dysfunctional government in Albany.
"If we've learned anything tonight, it's that New Yorkers are mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore!" Paladino said. "The people have spoken."
He then welcomed Republicans who opposed him to join "the peoples' crusade ... New Yorkers are fed up. Tonight the ruling class has seen it now ... there is a peoples' revolution."
After speaking for about 15 minutes, Paladino led the crowd in an a capella version of "God Bless America."
Democratic Gov. David Paterson defended Cuomo, saying others tried to "take a baseball bat" to Albany "but ended up with a broken bat." He said Cuomo would work hard and is not "one who sits on a lead or think he's annointed."
Lazio wouldn't say if he would abandon a Conservative run for governor on the line he won Tuesday night. But such an effort hasn't been mounted for decades.
"We came up short and that is a disappointment," Lazio said in Manhattan. He said he embraces Paladino's platform of fiscal reform and that he wants to "be part of that effort ... and this campaign continues in terms of the ideas and the spirit."
Paladino overcame early criticism and ridicule over sexist and racist e-mail jokes he once forwarded to friends and his description of the Democratic Assembly leader as being like an anti-Christ. Some of his promised programs also were critically received, such as renovating prisons to provide jobs and "life lessons" including personal hygiene habits to welfare recipients, an idea he patterns after the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps.
State Republican Chairman Ed Cox, who had backed two candidates before embracing Paladino, called Paladino a tough competitor who would make a good governor.
Lazio, 52, hadn't conceded and was awaiting returns from all of Long Island, his base when he was a congressman. He was trounced upstate, where in his 2000 race for U.S. Senate against Hillary Rodham Clinton he made the mistake of saying the region's economy had "turned the corner."
NEW YORK — Tea party activist Carl Paladino wasted no time in setting his sights on Democrat Andrew Cuomo after confounding pundits and rolling over the leaders of New York's Republican and Conservative parties with a stunning win in the GOP primary for governor.
Click here to find out more!
"Andrew Cuomo has to answer to the people," Paladino said Tuesday after defeating Republican Party designee Rick Lazio, a former congressman. Cuomo "is going to have to debate me. I'll debate him 49 days if there are 49 days between now and then."
"He was never vetted. He came in on Spitzer's coattails," Paladino said, referring to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in disgrace following a prostitution scandal after he led the 2006 Democratic ticket that included Cuomo as the attorney general
nominee.
Paladino says he will succeed in fixing Albany's corruption and dysfunction because he's not a professional politician.
"They brought with them a desire to keep holding office. This is the first and last time I'm going to run for elected office," he said, repeating his promise to serve one four-year term.
Cuomo, the one-term attorney general who also was a private-sector lawyer, secretary of housing in the Clinton administration and an aide to his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
"I'm against career politicians because they've put the state in the disarray that it's in right now," said Rod Tobin, 64, a Buffalo Republican. "If people have run a business before or know how to manage an operation, I think they're better to handle things than the politicians today are running it."
With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Paladino had 63 percent of the vote to Lazio's 37 percent.
Paladino, a millionaire Buffalo developer, rode a wave of voter anger on his way to delivering another blow to the GOP in a heavily Democratic state.
There was a deafening cheer in his Buffalo headquarters when it was announced that The Associated Press had called the race for Paladino, 64, who promises to "take a baseball bat" to dysfunctional government in Albany.
"If we've learned anything tonight, it's that New Yorkers are mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore!" Paladino said. "The people have spoken."
He then welcomed Republicans who opposed him to join "the peoples' crusade ... New Yorkers are fed up. Tonight the ruling class has seen it now ... there is a peoples' revolution."
After speaking for about 15 minutes, Paladino led the crowd in an a capella version of "God Bless America."
Democratic Gov. David Paterson defended Cuomo, saying others tried to "take a baseball bat" to Albany "but ended up with a broken bat." He said Cuomo would work hard and is not "one who sits on a lead or think he's annointed."
Lazio wouldn't say if he would abandon a Conservative run for governor on the line he won Tuesday night. But such an effort hasn't been mounted for decades.
"We came up short and that is a disappointment," Lazio said in Manhattan. He said he embraces Paladino's platform of fiscal reform and that he wants to "be part of that effort ... and this campaign continues in terms of the ideas and the spirit."
Paladino overcame early criticism and ridicule over sexist and racist e-mail jokes he once forwarded to friends and his description of the Democratic Assembly leader as being like an anti-Christ. Some of his promised programs also were critically received, such as renovating prisons to provide jobs and "life lessons" including personal hygiene habits to welfare recipients, an idea he patterns after the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps.
State Republican Chairman Ed Cox, who had backed two candidates before embracing Paladino, called Paladino a tough competitor who would make a good governor.
Lazio, 52, hadn't conceded and was awaiting returns from all of Long Island, his base when he was a congressman. He was trounced upstate, where in his 2000 race for U.S. Senate against Hillary Rodham Clinton he made the mistake of saying the region's economy had "turned the corner."
Paladino lost to Lazio at the state GOP convention but then petitioned his way to the primary by securing 30,000 Republican signatures statewide.
"I don't know if he wins if he'd beat Cuomo, but I hope he does," said Kenneth Bray, a 54-year-old woodworker from Buffalo. Bray's goal: "Getting rid of the bums in Albany."
Paladino, 64, does little to follow traditional politics, bucking party bosses along the way. He has courted tea party activists angry over high taxes and the major political parties.
Cuomo has a better than 2-to-1 edge in the polls over Paladino and more than $23 million in his campaign account. Paladino has promised to spend up to $10 million in the whole campaign, but has spent just a fraction of that so far in his underdog effort.
In an unusual turn, Lazio's running mate for lieutenant governor, Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards, defeated Paladino's choice of Tom Ognibene of Queens. That gives the Republican a narrow geographic flavor, with both candidates from western New York.
US News
Click here to find out more!
"Andrew Cuomo has to answer to the people," Paladino said Tuesday after defeating Republican Party designee Rick Lazio, a former congressman. Cuomo "is going to have to debate me. I'll debate him 49 days if there are 49 days between now and then."
"He was never vetted. He came in on Spitzer's coattails," Paladino said, referring to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in disgrace following a prostitution scandal after he led the 2006 Democratic ticket that included Cuomo as the attorney general
nominee.
Paladino says he will succeed in fixing Albany's corruption and dysfunction because he's not a professional politician.
"They brought with them a desire to keep holding office. This is the first and last time I'm going to run for elected office," he said, repeating his promise to serve one four-year term.
Cuomo, the one-term attorney general who also was a private-sector lawyer, secretary of housing in the Clinton administration and an aide to his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
"I'm against career politicians because they've put the state in the disarray that it's in right now," said Rod Tobin, 64, a Buffalo Republican. "If people have run a business before or know how to manage an operation, I think they're better to handle things than the politicians today are running it."
With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Paladino had 63 percent of the vote to Lazio's 37 percent.
Paladino, a millionaire Buffalo developer, rode a wave of voter anger on his way to delivering another blow to the GOP in a heavily Democratic state.
There was a deafening cheer in his Buffalo headquarters when it was announced that The Associated Press had called the race for Paladino, 64, who promises to "take a baseball bat" to dysfunctional government in Albany.
"If we've learned anything tonight, it's that New Yorkers are mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore!" Paladino said. "The people have spoken."
He then welcomed Republicans who opposed him to join "the peoples' crusade ... New Yorkers are fed up. Tonight the ruling class has seen it now ... there is a peoples' revolution."
After speaking for about 15 minutes, Paladino led the crowd in an a capella version of "God Bless America."
Democratic Gov. David Paterson defended Cuomo, saying others tried to "take a baseball bat" to Albany "but ended up with a broken bat." He said Cuomo would work hard and is not "one who sits on a lead or think he's annointed."
Lazio wouldn't say if he would abandon a Conservative run for governor on the line he won Tuesday night. But such an effort hasn't been mounted for decades.
"We came up short and that is a disappointment," Lazio said in Manhattan. He said he embraces Paladino's platform of fiscal reform and that he wants to "be part of that effort ... and this campaign continues in terms of the ideas and the spirit."
Paladino overcame early criticism and ridicule over sexist and racist e-mail jokes he once forwarded to friends and his description of the Democratic Assembly leader as being like an anti-Christ. Some of his promised programs also were critically received, such as renovating prisons to provide jobs and "life lessons" including personal hygiene habits to welfare recipients, an idea he patterns after the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps.
State Republican Chairman Ed Cox, who had backed two candidates before embracing Paladino, called Paladino a tough competitor who would make a good governor.
Lazio, 52, hadn't conceded and was awaiting returns from all of Long Island, his base when he was a congressman. He was trounced upstate, where in his 2000 race for U.S. Senate against Hillary Rodham Clinton he made the mistake of saying the region's economy had "turned the corner."
NEW YORK — Tea party activist Carl Paladino wasted no time in setting his sights on Democrat Andrew Cuomo after confounding pundits and rolling over the leaders of New York's Republican and Conservative parties with a stunning win in the GOP primary for governor.
Click here to find out more!
"Andrew Cuomo has to answer to the people," Paladino said Tuesday after defeating Republican Party designee Rick Lazio, a former congressman. Cuomo "is going to have to debate me. I'll debate him 49 days if there are 49 days between now and then."
"He was never vetted. He came in on Spitzer's coattails," Paladino said, referring to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in disgrace following a prostitution scandal after he led the 2006 Democratic ticket that included Cuomo as the attorney general
nominee.
Paladino says he will succeed in fixing Albany's corruption and dysfunction because he's not a professional politician.
"They brought with them a desire to keep holding office. This is the first and last time I'm going to run for elected office," he said, repeating his promise to serve one four-year term.
Cuomo, the one-term attorney general who also was a private-sector lawyer, secretary of housing in the Clinton administration and an aide to his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
"I'm against career politicians because they've put the state in the disarray that it's in right now," said Rod Tobin, 64, a Buffalo Republican. "If people have run a business before or know how to manage an operation, I think they're better to handle things than the politicians today are running it."
With 89 percent of precincts reporting, Paladino had 63 percent of the vote to Lazio's 37 percent.
Paladino, a millionaire Buffalo developer, rode a wave of voter anger on his way to delivering another blow to the GOP in a heavily Democratic state.
There was a deafening cheer in his Buffalo headquarters when it was announced that The Associated Press had called the race for Paladino, 64, who promises to "take a baseball bat" to dysfunctional government in Albany.
"If we've learned anything tonight, it's that New Yorkers are mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore!" Paladino said. "The people have spoken."
He then welcomed Republicans who opposed him to join "the peoples' crusade ... New Yorkers are fed up. Tonight the ruling class has seen it now ... there is a peoples' revolution."
After speaking for about 15 minutes, Paladino led the crowd in an a capella version of "God Bless America."
Democratic Gov. David Paterson defended Cuomo, saying others tried to "take a baseball bat" to Albany "but ended up with a broken bat." He said Cuomo would work hard and is not "one who sits on a lead or think he's annointed."
Lazio wouldn't say if he would abandon a Conservative run for governor on the line he won Tuesday night. But such an effort hasn't been mounted for decades.
"We came up short and that is a disappointment," Lazio said in Manhattan. He said he embraces Paladino's platform of fiscal reform and that he wants to "be part of that effort ... and this campaign continues in terms of the ideas and the spirit."
Paladino overcame early criticism and ridicule over sexist and racist e-mail jokes he once forwarded to friends and his description of the Democratic Assembly leader as being like an anti-Christ. Some of his promised programs also were critically received, such as renovating prisons to provide jobs and "life lessons" including personal hygiene habits to welfare recipients, an idea he patterns after the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps.
State Republican Chairman Ed Cox, who had backed two candidates before embracing Paladino, called Paladino a tough competitor who would make a good governor.
Lazio, 52, hadn't conceded and was awaiting returns from all of Long Island, his base when he was a congressman. He was trounced upstate, where in his 2000 race for U.S. Senate against Hillary Rodham Clinton he made the mistake of saying the region's economy had "turned the corner."
Paladino lost to Lazio at the state GOP convention but then petitioned his way to the primary by securing 30,000 Republican signatures statewide.
"I don't know if he wins if he'd beat Cuomo, but I hope he does," said Kenneth Bray, a 54-year-old woodworker from Buffalo. Bray's goal: "Getting rid of the bums in Albany."
Paladino, 64, does little to follow traditional politics, bucking party bosses along the way. He has courted tea party activists angry over high taxes and the major political parties.
Cuomo has a better than 2-to-1 edge in the polls over Paladino and more than $23 million in his campaign account. Paladino has promised to spend up to $10 million in the whole campaign, but has spent just a fraction of that so far in his underdog effort.
In an unusual turn, Lazio's running mate for lieutenant governor, Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards, defeated Paladino's choice of Tom Ognibene of Queens. That gives the Republican a narrow geographic flavor, with both candidates from western New York.
US News
Kerry In Line to Replace Clinton at State?
Word on Capitol Hill is that Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee with a well-worn passport to the world's hot spots, is in the mix to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who's been hinting of an exit before the end of President Obama's first term. Kerry, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has acted as an emissary for Obama. Should he leave, Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold, in a bitter reelection fight, would be in line to chair the committee. If he loses, it might fall to New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, whose goal is the fall of Cuba's Castro regime, a policy Obama doesn't seem to back.
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Lamontagne, Ayotte GOP Senate Race Too Close to Call
CONCORD, N.H. — The seven-way Republican U.S. Senate primary came down to conservative attorney Ovide Lamontagne and former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, with the race too close to call early Wednesday.
Click here to find out more!
Lamontagne spokesman Jim Merrill said at about 2 a.m. that Lamontagne was calling it a night, but Ayotte campaign manager Brooks Kochvar said she was still watching results and was encouraged.
Ayotte held a slight lead — close enough for Lamontagne to legally request a recount if the margin held — with 85 percent of precincts reporting. Ayotte had 46,331 votes, or 38 percent, while Lamontagne had 45,352, or 37 percent.
Multimillionaire businessman Bill Binnie, who spent more than $5 million out of his own pocket pushing his jobs agenda, received 16,960 votes, or 14 percent, and conceded along with millionaire businessman Jim Bender, who got 10,507 votes, or 9 percent.
That left the two more conservative candidates to count votes into the next morning. Three others also were in the race but did not challenge for the nomination.
Lamontagne, who painted himself as the only true conservative in the race, held a slight advantage in early returns over Ayotte — former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's pick for the seat. But as the night wore on, Ayotte took a slight lead.
The winner hopes to win retiring GOP Sen. Judd Gregg's seat and face Democratic nominee Paul Hodes, who was unopposed.
Hodes said Tuesday night the Republican agenda is "extreme, radical and right wing." He said Republicans would take the country backward into the hole from which the nation is struggling to dig out.
"I'm running for the people of New Hampshire. I don't have to run against anyone," Hodes said.
Ayotte, 42, of Nashua, won the blessing from Palin, who calls her a "Granite Grizzly." Ayotte spent more than $2 million on her anti-Democrat, anti-federal spending campaign.
Lamontagne closed fast in the final days of the race despite spending only $400,000. Lamontagne, 52, counted on conservative groups, not money, to win the nomination.
"It's not how much money you have, it's the message," Lamontagne said Tuesday night.
In a fight over who is the most conservative, Ayotte won Palin's endorsement in July over Lamontagne, who courted tea party activists. Palin, the former vice presidential nominee, recorded telephone messages to voters that started Sunday praising Ayotte as "the true conservative" — a mantle Lamontagne had tried to claim as his throughout his campaign.
Lamontagne's two previous election bids were unsuccessful. His late surge was similar to his victory over former U.S. Rep. Bill Zeliff for the 1996 GOP gubernatorial nomination, but Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen beat him to capture the first of her three two-year terms as governor. Lamontagne failed in a GOP primary bid in 1992 to unseat Zeliff in the 1st District.
Brad Marshall, a 67-year-old Republican who owns Marshall Firearms in Boscawen, said he voted for Lamontagne because he remembers when he was chairman of the state Board of Education.
"I talked to him on a number of occasions. I knew what he was all about," he said.
Jim Richardson, 61, who owns a farm in Boscawen, said he went with his conscience in voting for Lamontagne.
"I think he's a stronger conservative than any of them," he said.
Ayotte supporters cited familiarity with her from her time as attorney general.
"I feel like Kelly's not a politician," said Kate Benway, 31, of Concord, who said she trusted her.
Binnie, 52, of Rye, put his fortune behind his effort to be the voters' choice as most experienced in creating jobs. He spent more than $6 million — more than $5 million out of his own pocket. As his support appeared to ebb late in the race, Binnie reached out to social moderates by trumpeting his support for abortion rights in a losing effort.
Bender, 57, of Hollis, added to the spending spree with nearly $1 million, most of it his money.
All four had pledged to cut spending, pare the deficit, cut taxes, secure the U.S.-Mexico border and repeal health care reforms they say amount to a government takeover.
The Republicans spent more than $9.5 million for the chance to face Hodes, 59, of Concord. Despite being unopposed, Hodes spent $2.5 million to line up support to try to win the seat. The spending totals will rise after final primary campaign finance reports are filed with the Federal Elections Commission. [See who is donating money to Hodes' campaign.]
Chris Cornog, 55, of Canterbury, who owns a small marketing communications firm, said he voted for Hodes because he thinks "he's really smart." Cornog said he also believes Hodes will help push President Barack Obama's agenda, which he supports.
Regardless of party, candidates have focused on voters' worries about the economy and their jobs with their messages. But Republicans are pinning their hopes in November on voters' willingness to blame Democrats for the nation's ills.
Democrats are trying to distance themselves from Washington by painting themselves as independent New Hampshire thinkers. Hodes, for example, advertises he bucked his party by voting against the Wall Street bailout.
US News
Click here to find out more!
Lamontagne spokesman Jim Merrill said at about 2 a.m. that Lamontagne was calling it a night, but Ayotte campaign manager Brooks Kochvar said she was still watching results and was encouraged.
Ayotte held a slight lead — close enough for Lamontagne to legally request a recount if the margin held — with 85 percent of precincts reporting. Ayotte had 46,331 votes, or 38 percent, while Lamontagne had 45,352, or 37 percent.
Multimillionaire businessman Bill Binnie, who spent more than $5 million out of his own pocket pushing his jobs agenda, received 16,960 votes, or 14 percent, and conceded along with millionaire businessman Jim Bender, who got 10,507 votes, or 9 percent.
That left the two more conservative candidates to count votes into the next morning. Three others also were in the race but did not challenge for the nomination.
Lamontagne, who painted himself as the only true conservative in the race, held a slight advantage in early returns over Ayotte — former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's pick for the seat. But as the night wore on, Ayotte took a slight lead.
The winner hopes to win retiring GOP Sen. Judd Gregg's seat and face Democratic nominee Paul Hodes, who was unopposed.
Hodes said Tuesday night the Republican agenda is "extreme, radical and right wing." He said Republicans would take the country backward into the hole from which the nation is struggling to dig out.
"I'm running for the people of New Hampshire. I don't have to run against anyone," Hodes said.
Ayotte, 42, of Nashua, won the blessing from Palin, who calls her a "Granite Grizzly." Ayotte spent more than $2 million on her anti-Democrat, anti-federal spending campaign.
Lamontagne closed fast in the final days of the race despite spending only $400,000. Lamontagne, 52, counted on conservative groups, not money, to win the nomination.
"It's not how much money you have, it's the message," Lamontagne said Tuesday night.
In a fight over who is the most conservative, Ayotte won Palin's endorsement in July over Lamontagne, who courted tea party activists. Palin, the former vice presidential nominee, recorded telephone messages to voters that started Sunday praising Ayotte as "the true conservative" — a mantle Lamontagne had tried to claim as his throughout his campaign.
Lamontagne's two previous election bids were unsuccessful. His late surge was similar to his victory over former U.S. Rep. Bill Zeliff for the 1996 GOP gubernatorial nomination, but Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen beat him to capture the first of her three two-year terms as governor. Lamontagne failed in a GOP primary bid in 1992 to unseat Zeliff in the 1st District.
Brad Marshall, a 67-year-old Republican who owns Marshall Firearms in Boscawen, said he voted for Lamontagne because he remembers when he was chairman of the state Board of Education.
"I talked to him on a number of occasions. I knew what he was all about," he said.
Jim Richardson, 61, who owns a farm in Boscawen, said he went with his conscience in voting for Lamontagne.
"I think he's a stronger conservative than any of them," he said.
Ayotte supporters cited familiarity with her from her time as attorney general.
"I feel like Kelly's not a politician," said Kate Benway, 31, of Concord, who said she trusted her.
Binnie, 52, of Rye, put his fortune behind his effort to be the voters' choice as most experienced in creating jobs. He spent more than $6 million — more than $5 million out of his own pocket. As his support appeared to ebb late in the race, Binnie reached out to social moderates by trumpeting his support for abortion rights in a losing effort.
Bender, 57, of Hollis, added to the spending spree with nearly $1 million, most of it his money.
All four had pledged to cut spending, pare the deficit, cut taxes, secure the U.S.-Mexico border and repeal health care reforms they say amount to a government takeover.
The Republicans spent more than $9.5 million for the chance to face Hodes, 59, of Concord. Despite being unopposed, Hodes spent $2.5 million to line up support to try to win the seat. The spending totals will rise after final primary campaign finance reports are filed with the Federal Elections Commission. [See who is donating money to Hodes' campaign.]
Chris Cornog, 55, of Canterbury, who owns a small marketing communications firm, said he voted for Hodes because he thinks "he's really smart." Cornog said he also believes Hodes will help push President Barack Obama's agenda, which he supports.
Regardless of party, candidates have focused on voters' worries about the economy and their jobs with their messages. But Republicans are pinning their hopes in November on voters' willingness to blame Democrats for the nation's ills.
Democrats are trying to distance themselves from Washington by painting themselves as independent New Hampshire thinkers. Hodes, for example, advertises he bucked his party by voting against the Wall Street bailout.
US News
O'Donnell's Tea Party Win Stuns Delaware GOP, Thrills Democrats
WILMINGTON, Del.—The state Republican Party's fierce attacks on tea party-backed Christine O'Donnell offer Democrats plenty of ammunition in the U.S. Senate race after her shocking upset of a nine-term congressman and former governor.
Click here to find out more!
Democrats watched for weeks as U.S. Rep. Mike Castle and O'Donnell pummeled each other in an ugly contest that didn't let up even in the final hours Tuesday when her own party launched automated phone calls attacking her.
A woman who said she was Kristin Murray, O'Donnell's campaign manager in her 2008 unsuccessful Senate campaign, accusing the candidate of "living on campaign donations — using them for rent and personal expenses, while leaving her workers unpaid and piling up thousands in debt." That followed earlier GOP claims that O'Donnell has lied about her education and has left a trail of unpaid bills that included tax liens and a default on her mortgage.
Democrats and their candidate Chris Coons can simply reach into the GOP's quiver for arrows to fire at O'Donnell as they try to hold onto the seat held for more than three decades by Joe Biden before he gave it up in early 2009 after being elected vice president. His successor, Democratic Sen. Ted Kaufman, pledged not to run for a full term.
[Read more about the 2010 elections.]
The results had barely been counted before the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee began cataloging the nasty comments fellow Republicans have said about O'Donnell.
"Even the Delaware Republican Party chairman has said O'Donnell is 'not a viable candidate for any office in the state of Delaware,' and 'could not be elected dogcatcher,'" DSCC chairman Sen. Robert Menendez said in a statement.
The GOP criticism and a huge Democratic advantage in state voter registration numbers make O'Donnell's prospects of defeating county executive Coons in November even more daunting.
"Every leading Delaware Republican knows that Christine O'Donnell is way out of the mainstream," said Coons, who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Before Tuesday, Castle, a former two-term governor who is the longest serving U.S. House member in state history, had never lost an election. O'Donnell's side went on the attack, portraying him as a Republican in name only who was too liberal and often voted with Democrats in Congress.
O'Donnell came in as a two-time loser, in 2008 to Biden for Senate, and earlier in a three-way GOP primary for that seat.
And though her boost by Tea Party Express spending on television and radio ads won her the primary, Republican support statewide and nationally is doubtful.
[See a roundup of editorial cartoons about the Tea Party.]
Castle did not mention her name in his concession speech and said earlier that supporting O'Donnell if she won would be difficult.
"One of the basic arguments here is that she is just not going to win the general election," Castle said. "I totally believe that ... I see no way she could win this general election, or maybe any general election."
Making matters worse, national Republican Party officials said as the votes were being counted that the party would not come to her aid if she won, citing a string of disclosures about her personal finances and other matters, including her attacks on Castle.
Still, O'Donnell was riding a winning high during her acceptance speech.
"Some people have already said we can't win the general election," O'Donnell said in a speech to supporters, who responded with chants of, "Yes, we can!" that turned to, "Yes, we will!"
"If those people who fought so hard against me work just as hard for me, then we can win," O'Donnell added in an apparent reference to Republicans who opposed her.
O'Donnell also faces a numbers battle. She garnered less than 30,000 votes in a contest in which only Republicans could cast ballots. About 293,000 Democrats are registered in Delaware, compared with about 183,000 Republicans.
Her supporters remained undaunted.
"If she can beat Castle, she can beat Coons," said Judy Mangini, 50, a real estate agent from Lewes who worked on O'Donnell's campaign.
GOP support for O'Donnell is doubtful not only because of questions about her appeal to the general electorate and her finances, but because of the harsh words leveled at Castle during the primary.
Besides casting him as a liberal, O'Donnell, 41, and her supporters suggested that the 71-year-old Castle is so frail that he might die before finishing his Senate term, that he might switch parties and become a Democrat, and that he was cheating on his wife with a man.
"This has not been at all pleasant, this particular campaign," Castle said.
US News
Click here to find out more!
Democrats watched for weeks as U.S. Rep. Mike Castle and O'Donnell pummeled each other in an ugly contest that didn't let up even in the final hours Tuesday when her own party launched automated phone calls attacking her.
A woman who said she was Kristin Murray, O'Donnell's campaign manager in her 2008 unsuccessful Senate campaign, accusing the candidate of "living on campaign donations — using them for rent and personal expenses, while leaving her workers unpaid and piling up thousands in debt." That followed earlier GOP claims that O'Donnell has lied about her education and has left a trail of unpaid bills that included tax liens and a default on her mortgage.
Democrats and their candidate Chris Coons can simply reach into the GOP's quiver for arrows to fire at O'Donnell as they try to hold onto the seat held for more than three decades by Joe Biden before he gave it up in early 2009 after being elected vice president. His successor, Democratic Sen. Ted Kaufman, pledged not to run for a full term.
[Read more about the 2010 elections.]
The results had barely been counted before the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee began cataloging the nasty comments fellow Republicans have said about O'Donnell.
"Even the Delaware Republican Party chairman has said O'Donnell is 'not a viable candidate for any office in the state of Delaware,' and 'could not be elected dogcatcher,'" DSCC chairman Sen. Robert Menendez said in a statement.
The GOP criticism and a huge Democratic advantage in state voter registration numbers make O'Donnell's prospects of defeating county executive Coons in November even more daunting.
"Every leading Delaware Republican knows that Christine O'Donnell is way out of the mainstream," said Coons, who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Before Tuesday, Castle, a former two-term governor who is the longest serving U.S. House member in state history, had never lost an election. O'Donnell's side went on the attack, portraying him as a Republican in name only who was too liberal and often voted with Democrats in Congress.
O'Donnell came in as a two-time loser, in 2008 to Biden for Senate, and earlier in a three-way GOP primary for that seat.
And though her boost by Tea Party Express spending on television and radio ads won her the primary, Republican support statewide and nationally is doubtful.
[See a roundup of editorial cartoons about the Tea Party.]
Castle did not mention her name in his concession speech and said earlier that supporting O'Donnell if she won would be difficult.
"One of the basic arguments here is that she is just not going to win the general election," Castle said. "I totally believe that ... I see no way she could win this general election, or maybe any general election."
Making matters worse, national Republican Party officials said as the votes were being counted that the party would not come to her aid if she won, citing a string of disclosures about her personal finances and other matters, including her attacks on Castle.
Still, O'Donnell was riding a winning high during her acceptance speech.
"Some people have already said we can't win the general election," O'Donnell said in a speech to supporters, who responded with chants of, "Yes, we can!" that turned to, "Yes, we will!"
"If those people who fought so hard against me work just as hard for me, then we can win," O'Donnell added in an apparent reference to Republicans who opposed her.
O'Donnell also faces a numbers battle. She garnered less than 30,000 votes in a contest in which only Republicans could cast ballots. About 293,000 Democrats are registered in Delaware, compared with about 183,000 Republicans.
Her supporters remained undaunted.
"If she can beat Castle, she can beat Coons," said Judy Mangini, 50, a real estate agent from Lewes who worked on O'Donnell's campaign.
GOP support for O'Donnell is doubtful not only because of questions about her appeal to the general electorate and her finances, but because of the harsh words leveled at Castle during the primary.
Besides casting him as a liberal, O'Donnell, 41, and her supporters suggested that the 71-year-old Castle is so frail that he might die before finishing his Senate term, that he might switch parties and become a Democrat, and that he was cheating on his wife with a man.
"This has not been at all pleasant, this particular campaign," Castle said.
US News
Tea Party-Backed O'Donnell Wins Upset Over Castle in Delaware
WILMINGTON, Del. — Conservative activist and tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell upset veteran U.S. Rep. Michael Castle in the Delaware Republican Senate primary Tuesday, overcoming hostile opposition from her state party to earn the surprising victory.
Click here to find out more!
In other unofficial results, Sussex County developer Glen Urquhart, who also courted the tea party vote, had a 552-vote lead over Greenville businesswoman Michele Rollins, who, like Castle, was the party's endorsed candidate.
O'Donnell's shocking win gave new energy to the tea party movement, which targeted Castle after victories by Republican tea party candidates in the Alaska and Nevada Senate primaries.
[See a roundup of editorial cartoons about the Tea Party.]
With all precincts reporting, O'Donnell had 53 percent to 47 percent for Castle, a former two-term governor and the longest serving congressman in Delaware history.
"The voters in the Republican primary have spoken, and I respect that decision," Castle told supporters who stood in stunned silence as election returns rolled in, then erupted in an enthusiastic ovation when he took the stage for a brief speech.
"I had a very nice speech prepared, hoping I would win this race," Castle said jokingly, as tearful staffers and supporters looked on.
Castle did not mention O'Donnell in his speech, and he left the room without taking questions from reporters.
O'Donnell supporters who gathered at an Elks Lodge in Dover erupted in cheers and dancing upon learning of her victory. O'Donnell took the lead early as voting results came in and never relinquished it, prompting some of her supporters to make floor-sweeping motions while cheering, "Sweep 'em out!"
"We're obviously thrilled," said Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer, whose California-based group committed $250,000 for radio and television ads on O'Donnell's behalf. "We got behind her because we believe in her."
"We're listening to the pulse of America," Kremer added. "We know Americans are fed up with party politics."
[Read more about the 2010 election.]
While attracting enough GOP conservatives to defeat Castle, a leader of Republican moderates in Congress, O'Donnell will have a hard time defeating Democrat Chris Coons in November for the Senate seat vacated by Joe Biden after he was elected vice president.
But voters nevertheless took their chances on O'Donnell, who characterized Castle as a liberal who sides with big-spending Democrats more than he does with fellow Republicans.
"I think Castle is too liberal," said Robert Manning, 56, a design engineer from Georgetown who voted for O'Donnell.
"I think Washington has done enough damage with all this stimulus spending over the past 18 or 19 months," Manning added. "It's time to get back within our budget."
O'Donnell, who hasn't had a steady job in years but has instead made an avocation of running for Senate, finally won after two failed Senate bids. She came in last in a three-way GOP primary in 2006 and lost badly to Biden in 2008, when she won the endorsement of state GOP convention delegates but received virtually no help from the party.
But the Tea Party Express bolstered O'Donnell's long-shot bid this year by pledging $250,000 to run television and radio ads on her behalf.
O'Donnell and her staunchly conservative supporters characterized Castle as a liberal who often votes with Democrats in Congress while masquerading as a GOP conservative. In their words, Castle is a "RINO," a "Republican in Name Only."
They also suggested that Castle, 71, was so frail that he might die before finishing his Senate term, that he might switch parties, and that he was cheating on his wife with a man.
While ignoring O'Donnell for much of the campaign, Castle and state Republican Party eventually fired back with attack ads of their own, criticizing O'Donnell, 41, for lying about her education and record, leaving a trail of unpaid bills that included unsettled campaign debts, tax liens and a default on her mortgage, and using campaign finances for personal expenses. The GOP also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing O'Donnell of illegally colluding with tea party supporters.
Associated Press Writer Sarah Brumfield in Dover contributed to this report.
US News
Click here to find out more!
In other unofficial results, Sussex County developer Glen Urquhart, who also courted the tea party vote, had a 552-vote lead over Greenville businesswoman Michele Rollins, who, like Castle, was the party's endorsed candidate.
O'Donnell's shocking win gave new energy to the tea party movement, which targeted Castle after victories by Republican tea party candidates in the Alaska and Nevada Senate primaries.
[See a roundup of editorial cartoons about the Tea Party.]
With all precincts reporting, O'Donnell had 53 percent to 47 percent for Castle, a former two-term governor and the longest serving congressman in Delaware history.
"The voters in the Republican primary have spoken, and I respect that decision," Castle told supporters who stood in stunned silence as election returns rolled in, then erupted in an enthusiastic ovation when he took the stage for a brief speech.
"I had a very nice speech prepared, hoping I would win this race," Castle said jokingly, as tearful staffers and supporters looked on.
Castle did not mention O'Donnell in his speech, and he left the room without taking questions from reporters.
O'Donnell supporters who gathered at an Elks Lodge in Dover erupted in cheers and dancing upon learning of her victory. O'Donnell took the lead early as voting results came in and never relinquished it, prompting some of her supporters to make floor-sweeping motions while cheering, "Sweep 'em out!"
"We're obviously thrilled," said Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer, whose California-based group committed $250,000 for radio and television ads on O'Donnell's behalf. "We got behind her because we believe in her."
"We're listening to the pulse of America," Kremer added. "We know Americans are fed up with party politics."
[Read more about the 2010 election.]
While attracting enough GOP conservatives to defeat Castle, a leader of Republican moderates in Congress, O'Donnell will have a hard time defeating Democrat Chris Coons in November for the Senate seat vacated by Joe Biden after he was elected vice president.
But voters nevertheless took their chances on O'Donnell, who characterized Castle as a liberal who sides with big-spending Democrats more than he does with fellow Republicans.
"I think Castle is too liberal," said Robert Manning, 56, a design engineer from Georgetown who voted for O'Donnell.
"I think Washington has done enough damage with all this stimulus spending over the past 18 or 19 months," Manning added. "It's time to get back within our budget."
O'Donnell, who hasn't had a steady job in years but has instead made an avocation of running for Senate, finally won after two failed Senate bids. She came in last in a three-way GOP primary in 2006 and lost badly to Biden in 2008, when she won the endorsement of state GOP convention delegates but received virtually no help from the party.
But the Tea Party Express bolstered O'Donnell's long-shot bid this year by pledging $250,000 to run television and radio ads on her behalf.
O'Donnell and her staunchly conservative supporters characterized Castle as a liberal who often votes with Democrats in Congress while masquerading as a GOP conservative. In their words, Castle is a "RINO," a "Republican in Name Only."
They also suggested that Castle, 71, was so frail that he might die before finishing his Senate term, that he might switch parties, and that he was cheating on his wife with a man.
While ignoring O'Donnell for much of the campaign, Castle and state Republican Party eventually fired back with attack ads of their own, criticizing O'Donnell, 41, for lying about her education and record, leaving a trail of unpaid bills that included unsettled campaign debts, tax liens and a default on her mortgage, and using campaign finances for personal expenses. The GOP also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing O'Donnell of illegally colluding with tea party supporters.
Associated Press Writer Sarah Brumfield in Dover contributed to this report.
US News
State Fair Cravings: Walleye-On-Stick, Beer-on-a-Stick, Pork Sandwiches, and Other Favorites
Of all the annual events in every state, there's only one that attracts electioneering politicians and demands that they gorge on the most notable hot treat: State Fairs. With the State Fair season about half over, Whispers asked some notable Washingtonians and politicians for their favorite State Fair chow.
Some, like Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar said that they stick with the standards, while others like Minnesota Sen. Al Franken went with the local exotic treat. Below are a sampling of the favorite fare at state fairs.
"I love a stuffed baked potato loaded with toppings," says Brown. "The Big E fair in Springfield, Massachusetts, has the best."
South Dakota Sen. John Thune sticks with pork sandwiches, not a bad choice considering he'll probably be eating a lot more if he does what most expect and tosses his hat into the 2012 GOP presidential caucus in pork-rich Iowa.
Minnesota's Franken has several favorites at the Minnesota State Fair including Walleye-on-a-stick, roasted corn.
CNN's John King has a bunch of favorites he's had at the many state fairs he's covered in his journalism career. But one stands out: Beer-on-a-stick, which is essentially a wooden paddle that holds three cups of beer. "I had beer-on-a-stick at the Minnesota State Fair last year. Can't beat that. The deep fried Reese's was surprisingly good, too, and they have amazing chocolate chip cookies there. Sen. Amy Klobuchar tried to sell me on the chocolate dipped bacon, but I passed."
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer likes to nosh on a local favorite, maple-flavored cotton candy.
Indiana's Lugar goes for the tried and true Indiana State Fair pork tenderloin.
Ray LaHood, the Transportation secretary and former Illinois congressman, likes the state fair lemonade shakeup.
Tennesee Sen. Lamar Alexander's favorite booth serves up sliced Grainger County tomatoes on a country ham biscuit.
US News
Some, like Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar said that they stick with the standards, while others like Minnesota Sen. Al Franken went with the local exotic treat. Below are a sampling of the favorite fare at state fairs.
"I love a stuffed baked potato loaded with toppings," says Brown. "The Big E fair in Springfield, Massachusetts, has the best."
South Dakota Sen. John Thune sticks with pork sandwiches, not a bad choice considering he'll probably be eating a lot more if he does what most expect and tosses his hat into the 2012 GOP presidential caucus in pork-rich Iowa.
Minnesota's Franken has several favorites at the Minnesota State Fair including Walleye-on-a-stick, roasted corn.
CNN's John King has a bunch of favorites he's had at the many state fairs he's covered in his journalism career. But one stands out: Beer-on-a-stick, which is essentially a wooden paddle that holds three cups of beer. "I had beer-on-a-stick at the Minnesota State Fair last year. Can't beat that. The deep fried Reese's was surprisingly good, too, and they have amazing chocolate chip cookies there. Sen. Amy Klobuchar tried to sell me on the chocolate dipped bacon, but I passed."
New York Sen. Chuck Schumer likes to nosh on a local favorite, maple-flavored cotton candy.
Indiana's Lugar goes for the tried and true Indiana State Fair pork tenderloin.
Ray LaHood, the Transportation secretary and former Illinois congressman, likes the state fair lemonade shakeup.
Tennesee Sen. Lamar Alexander's favorite booth serves up sliced Grainger County tomatoes on a country ham biscuit.
US News
GOP Establishment Versus Tea Party in Primary Showdowns
WASHINGTON — Establishment Republicans vied with challengers favored by tea party activists one last time Tuesday in a multi-state finale to a primary election season marked by economic recession and political upheaval.
Click here to find out more!
Highlighted by GOP-tea party showdowns in New Hampshire and Delaware, six states chose candidates for governor and five featured contests for nominations to the Senate.
In New York, 40-year veteran Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel faced the voters for the first time since the House ethics committee accused him of 13 violations, most of them relating to his personal finances.
So far this year, seven incumbent members of Congress have tasted defeat, four Republicans and three Democrats. And that does not include a lengthy list of GOP contenders who fell to tea party-supported challengers despite having the backing of party officials eager to maximize their gains in November.
With unemployment high and President Barack Obama's popularity below 50 percent, Republicans said the primaries reflected an enthusiasm that would serve the party well in the fall, when control of Congress will be at stake.
Democrats, however, said the presence of tea party-supported Republicans would prove costly to the GOP on Nov. 2 — a proposition that remained to be tested in seven weeks' time.
In Delaware, Rep. Mike Castle sought the nomination to a Senate seat held for 36 years by Vice President Joe Biden in a primary that took a sharp turn for the negative three weeks ago when the Tea Party Express announced it would come to the aid of challenger Christine O'Donnell.
Castle, a former two-term governor and a veteran of nearly two decades in the House, was repeatedly assailed as a liberal, a Republican in name only. He and the party responded by challenging O'Donnell's fitness for public office and her ability to win a statewide election
in the fall.
While Republicans brawled, New Castle County Executive Chris Coons coasted to the Democratic nomination without opposition. Biden resigned the seat in early 2009, and his successor, Democratic Sen. Ted Kaufman, pledged not to run for a full term.
Republicans in New Hampshire sorted through a crowded field of candidates for the nomination to a seat long held by retiring GOP Sen. Judd Gregg.
Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte was the party-backed favorite, and she added support from prominent conservatives who have played a heavy role in several primaries this year, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Her principal opposition came from Ovide Lamontagne, a lawyer and former head of the state board of education. He campaigned with the support of tea party activists and claimed to be the most conservative candidate in a race that also included businessmen Bill Binnie and Jim Bender.
The winner will face Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes, who is giving up his seat in the House to run for the Senate.
Republicans must gain 10 seats this fall if they are to win control of the Senate, and their chances count heavily on their ability to prevail in both Delaware and New Hampshire.
In Wisconsin, businessman Ron Johnson faced two minor opponents for the Republican nomination to oppose three-term Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold in November in what polls show is a tight race. Johnson has said he will spend millions of his own money to finance his campaign through Election Day. [See who is donating money to Feingold.]
In New York, Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo faced no opposition for the party's nomination for governor, and he will be the prohibitive favorite in the fall for an office his father held for three terms a generation ago.
Former Rep. Rick Lazio vied with political novice Carl Paladino, a wealthy developer who got tea party support, for the Republican nomination.
In Maryland, former Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich sought the nomination for a rematch against the man who ousted him from office in 2006, Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley.
There were gubernatorial nomination contests in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, where Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker collided with former Rep. Marc Neumann for the Republican line on the fall ballot. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was heavily favored for the Democratic nomination.
Rangel's principal challenger for the nomination in his Harlem-based district was Adam Clayton Powell IV, a state assemblyman whose father Rangel defeated 40 years ago. In the decades since, Rangel rose to become chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, with enormous power over taxes, trade, Medicare and more, but Democrats forced him to step aside from that panel while he battles ethics charges.
He is accused of accepting several New York City rent-stabilized apartments, and omitting information on his financial disclosure forms. He's also accused of failing to pay taxes from a rental property in the Dominican Republic, and improperly soliciting money for a college center to be named after him. He has vowed to fight the charges, and faces an ethics committee trial, possibly after the elections.
Rhode Island had a rare open seat in its two-member House delegation, following the decision of Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy to retire. Providence Mayor Bob Cicilline, who is openly gay, was favored over three rivals for the Democratic nomination. The winner will be a prohibitive favorite in the fall in the heavily Democratic district.
In addition to the seven state primaries, Washington, D.C., chose nominees for local office.
Democratic Mayor Adrian Fenty drew a strong challenger for the nomination, and spent several weeks apologizing to voters for behaving arrogantly during four years in office.
US News
Click here to find out more!
Highlighted by GOP-tea party showdowns in New Hampshire and Delaware, six states chose candidates for governor and five featured contests for nominations to the Senate.
In New York, 40-year veteran Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel faced the voters for the first time since the House ethics committee accused him of 13 violations, most of them relating to his personal finances.
So far this year, seven incumbent members of Congress have tasted defeat, four Republicans and three Democrats. And that does not include a lengthy list of GOP contenders who fell to tea party-supported challengers despite having the backing of party officials eager to maximize their gains in November.
With unemployment high and President Barack Obama's popularity below 50 percent, Republicans said the primaries reflected an enthusiasm that would serve the party well in the fall, when control of Congress will be at stake.
Democrats, however, said the presence of tea party-supported Republicans would prove costly to the GOP on Nov. 2 — a proposition that remained to be tested in seven weeks' time.
In Delaware, Rep. Mike Castle sought the nomination to a Senate seat held for 36 years by Vice President Joe Biden in a primary that took a sharp turn for the negative three weeks ago when the Tea Party Express announced it would come to the aid of challenger Christine O'Donnell.
Castle, a former two-term governor and a veteran of nearly two decades in the House, was repeatedly assailed as a liberal, a Republican in name only. He and the party responded by challenging O'Donnell's fitness for public office and her ability to win a statewide election
in the fall.
While Republicans brawled, New Castle County Executive Chris Coons coasted to the Democratic nomination without opposition. Biden resigned the seat in early 2009, and his successor, Democratic Sen. Ted Kaufman, pledged not to run for a full term.
Republicans in New Hampshire sorted through a crowded field of candidates for the nomination to a seat long held by retiring GOP Sen. Judd Gregg.
Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte was the party-backed favorite, and she added support from prominent conservatives who have played a heavy role in several primaries this year, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Her principal opposition came from Ovide Lamontagne, a lawyer and former head of the state board of education. He campaigned with the support of tea party activists and claimed to be the most conservative candidate in a race that also included businessmen Bill Binnie and Jim Bender.
The winner will face Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes, who is giving up his seat in the House to run for the Senate.
Republicans must gain 10 seats this fall if they are to win control of the Senate, and their chances count heavily on their ability to prevail in both Delaware and New Hampshire.
In Wisconsin, businessman Ron Johnson faced two minor opponents for the Republican nomination to oppose three-term Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold in November in what polls show is a tight race. Johnson has said he will spend millions of his own money to finance his campaign through Election Day. [See who is donating money to Feingold.]
In New York, Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo faced no opposition for the party's nomination for governor, and he will be the prohibitive favorite in the fall for an office his father held for three terms a generation ago.
Former Rep. Rick Lazio vied with political novice Carl Paladino, a wealthy developer who got tea party support, for the Republican nomination.
In Maryland, former Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich sought the nomination for a rematch against the man who ousted him from office in 2006, Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley.
There were gubernatorial nomination contests in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Wisconsin, where Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker collided with former Rep. Marc Neumann for the Republican line on the fall ballot. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was heavily favored for the Democratic nomination.
Rangel's principal challenger for the nomination in his Harlem-based district was Adam Clayton Powell IV, a state assemblyman whose father Rangel defeated 40 years ago. In the decades since, Rangel rose to become chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, with enormous power over taxes, trade, Medicare and more, but Democrats forced him to step aside from that panel while he battles ethics charges.
He is accused of accepting several New York City rent-stabilized apartments, and omitting information on his financial disclosure forms. He's also accused of failing to pay taxes from a rental property in the Dominican Republic, and improperly soliciting money for a college center to be named after him. He has vowed to fight the charges, and faces an ethics committee trial, possibly after the elections.
Rhode Island had a rare open seat in its two-member House delegation, following the decision of Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy to retire. Providence Mayor Bob Cicilline, who is openly gay, was favored over three rivals for the Democratic nomination. The winner will be a prohibitive favorite in the fall in the heavily Democratic district.
In addition to the seven state primaries, Washington, D.C., chose nominees for local office.
Democratic Mayor Adrian Fenty drew a strong challenger for the nomination, and spent several weeks apologizing to voters for behaving arrogantly during four years in office.
US News
Media Bias? New Report Details Journalists' Political Campaign Contributions
Journalists From Fox, Washington Post, ABC News all coughed up campaign cash
Questions about partisan reporting are sure to be raised by a new report showing that 235 journalists from organizations like Fox, ABC, the Washington Post, Atlantic and New York Post have donated some $469,900 to federal political candidates, committees, and parties during the 2010 election cycle.
Click here to find out more!
Among those named in the Center for Responsive Politics analysis is Michael Kinsley, the Atlantic columnist just hired by Politico; Christopher Hayes the Washington editor of The Nation; Paul Tharp, a business reporter for the New York Post, and dozens of others.
Said the Center: "People identifying themselves as working for hard news outlets such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, the New York Post, News Corp., Vanity Fair and Reuters are among the listed donors. Also listed are employees from outlets offering lighter fare—ESPN, Vogue—or community news. Some have donated thousands of dollars."
Several news organizations bar donations, but not all, and media critics have dumped criticism on those who do, claiming that contributions to candidates or causes reveal a reporter's bias.
The center has a thorough story on the contributors and an Excel list of those who have given in the 2010 election cycle here.
US News
Questions about partisan reporting are sure to be raised by a new report showing that 235 journalists from organizations like Fox, ABC, the Washington Post, Atlantic and New York Post have donated some $469,900 to federal political candidates, committees, and parties during the 2010 election cycle.
Click here to find out more!
Among those named in the Center for Responsive Politics analysis is Michael Kinsley, the Atlantic columnist just hired by Politico; Christopher Hayes the Washington editor of The Nation; Paul Tharp, a business reporter for the New York Post, and dozens of others.
Said the Center: "People identifying themselves as working for hard news outlets such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, the New York Post, News Corp., Vanity Fair and Reuters are among the listed donors. Also listed are employees from outlets offering lighter fare—ESPN, Vogue—or community news. Some have donated thousands of dollars."
Several news organizations bar donations, but not all, and media critics have dumped criticism on those who do, claiming that contributions to candidates or causes reveal a reporter's bias.
The center has a thorough story on the contributors and an Excel list of those who have given in the 2010 election cycle here.
US News
Small Business Credit Measure Clears Senate Hurdle
WASHINGTON — In a win for President Barack Obama and his political allies, Senate Democrats on Tuesday won a crucial vote to clear the way for a bill to create a $30 billion government fund to help open up lending for credit-starved small businesses.
Click here to find out more!
Democrats cracked a GOP filibuster of the bill with the help of two Republicans: Sens. George Voinovich of Ohio and George LeMieux of Florida.
The 61-37 tally sets the stage for a final vote later this week to return the measure to the House, which is likely to approve it for Obama's signature.
The bill is probably the last piece of Democrats' ambitious jobs agenda that would become law before midterm elections, which will determine whether Democrats keep their majorities in the House and Senate. Democrats started the year with ambitious plans for a series of bills designed to boost the economy and job creation but have relatively little to show for it. The nationwide unemployment rate ticked up to 9.6 percent last month.
The new fund would be available to community banks with less than $10 billion in assets to encourage lending to small businesses. The bill would combine the fund with about $12 billion in tax breaks aimed at both large and small businesses over the coming decade.
Democrats say banks should be able to use the lending fund to leverage up to $300 billion in loans, helping to loosen tight credit markets. Some Republicans, however, have likened it to the unpopular bailout of the financial industry.
Democrats say the measure is needed to help small businesses cope with a credit crunch that worsened dramatically after the financial crisis two years ago.
"This bill is about righting a wrong that was done to small business when Wall Street closed Main Street down and cut off access to capital," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
"Small businesses are holding off on hiring while they wait for us to act," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Banks large and small are holding onto their capital while they wait for us to act."
On Tuesday, Republicans focused their attention on amendments to ease a requirement in Obama's health care overhaul bill that businesses file tax forms called 1099s for every vendor that sells them more than $600 in goods. Business groups say it would create a paperwork nightmare for small businesses. Competing Democratic and GOP measures to address the matter each failed.
Democrats had hoped to pass the bill in July, but Democrats couldn't win any GOP converts and fell just short of defeating a filibuster that was called because Democrats blocked Republicans from offering unrelated amendments.
The small business tax cuts in the bill include breaks for restaurant owners and retailers who remodel their stores or build new ones. Larger businesses could more quickly recover the costs of capital improvements through depreciation. Long-term investors in some small businesses would be exempt from paying capital gains taxes. And loan caps under the Small Business Administration's chief lending program would be significantly raised.
The measure also would allow small business owners to deduct the costs of health insurance for themselves and their families from self-employment taxes, but only for the 2010 tax year.
Much of the bill would be paid for by allowing taxpayers to convert 401(k) and government retirement accounts into Roth accounts, in which they pay taxes up front on the money
they contribute, enabling them to withdraw it tax-free after they retire. Taxpayers who convert accounts this year would pay the taxes in 2011 and 2012, generating an estimated $5.1 billion.
US News
Click here to find out more!
Democrats cracked a GOP filibuster of the bill with the help of two Republicans: Sens. George Voinovich of Ohio and George LeMieux of Florida.
The 61-37 tally sets the stage for a final vote later this week to return the measure to the House, which is likely to approve it for Obama's signature.
The bill is probably the last piece of Democrats' ambitious jobs agenda that would become law before midterm elections, which will determine whether Democrats keep their majorities in the House and Senate. Democrats started the year with ambitious plans for a series of bills designed to boost the economy and job creation but have relatively little to show for it. The nationwide unemployment rate ticked up to 9.6 percent last month.
The new fund would be available to community banks with less than $10 billion in assets to encourage lending to small businesses. The bill would combine the fund with about $12 billion in tax breaks aimed at both large and small businesses over the coming decade.
Democrats say banks should be able to use the lending fund to leverage up to $300 billion in loans, helping to loosen tight credit markets. Some Republicans, however, have likened it to the unpopular bailout of the financial industry.
Democrats say the measure is needed to help small businesses cope with a credit crunch that worsened dramatically after the financial crisis two years ago.
"This bill is about righting a wrong that was done to small business when Wall Street closed Main Street down and cut off access to capital," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
"Small businesses are holding off on hiring while they wait for us to act," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Banks large and small are holding onto their capital while they wait for us to act."
On Tuesday, Republicans focused their attention on amendments to ease a requirement in Obama's health care overhaul bill that businesses file tax forms called 1099s for every vendor that sells them more than $600 in goods. Business groups say it would create a paperwork nightmare for small businesses. Competing Democratic and GOP measures to address the matter each failed.
Democrats had hoped to pass the bill in July, but Democrats couldn't win any GOP converts and fell just short of defeating a filibuster that was called because Democrats blocked Republicans from offering unrelated amendments.
The small business tax cuts in the bill include breaks for restaurant owners and retailers who remodel their stores or build new ones. Larger businesses could more quickly recover the costs of capital improvements through depreciation. Long-term investors in some small businesses would be exempt from paying capital gains taxes. And loan caps under the Small Business Administration's chief lending program would be significantly raised.
The measure also would allow small business owners to deduct the costs of health insurance for themselves and their families from self-employment taxes, but only for the 2010 tax year.
Much of the bill would be paid for by allowing taxpayers to convert 401(k) and government retirement accounts into Roth accounts, in which they pay taxes up front on the money
they contribute, enabling them to withdraw it tax-free after they retire. Taxpayers who convert accounts this year would pay the taxes in 2011 and 2012, generating an estimated $5.1 billion.
US News
Patrick Kennedy Retirement Spurs Heated Primary to Succeed Him in Rhode Island
Winner of Democratic primary is favored to take Kennedy's place in the House
Predictions are flying about the likelihood of the House and Senate changing party hands in November's midterm elections. But before parties can plan their agendas for the next congressional session, their candidates first have to make it through their primaries. After Tuesday, the last big day of the 2010 primary season, nearly all of the nominees for the general election will be chosen. Altogether, voters in seven states plus the District of Columbia will on Tuesday finalize their November ballots for 61 House seats, six Senate seats, and six gubernatorial races. Only the Hawaii primary and a House runoff primary in Louisiana will remain after this.
Click here to find out more!
RHODE ISLAND
In Rhode Island's First District, the retirement of Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy has opened the way for six candidates who hope to take his place in the 112th Congress.
The Democratic field for Tuesday's primary is heavy with political experience. David Segal, who founded voting rights organization FairVote, has at age 30 already served for four years on the Providence City Council and four years as a state representative. Attorney Bill Lynch was the chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party for 12 years. David Cicilline has been mayor of Providence for nearly eight years. Rounding out the field is businessman Anthony Gemma, who is new on the political scene.
An August poll by Brown University showed Cicilline leading among the four Democrats, with the support of 32 percent of likely primary voters. Lynch was next, with 15 percent, followed by Gemma with 11 percent, and Segal with 5 percent. However, the 35 percent of respondents who were undecided, not to mention the poll's 7.4-percent margin of error, suggest that it may be too soon to tell who will come out on top.
Cicilline also leads in fundraising, with $1.4 million in receipts. Gemma, the next most successful fundraiser, is behind by nearly $1 million, having taken in $445,000 this cycle. He has used this money to purchase a series of negative advertisements that accuse Cicilline of being "quite possibly the most ineffective mayor in [Providence's] history." In keeping with this aggressive campaign ethic, Gemma has also appealed to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to ask Cicilline to end his campaign, citing "unscrupulous practices" and alleging that the city of Providence overpaid Cicilline by $20,000 over the last four years. Cicilline has promised to refund any overpayment.
While the seat is expected to remain in Democratic hands after the election, Republicans are hoping to capitalize on the discord among the Democratic candidates. The Republican field features two candidates, Kara Russo and John Loughlin. Loughlin, the Rhode Island House minority whip, is considered the frontrunner, with the preponderance of financial support, political experience, and the support of establishment Republicans. Loughlin held a fundraiser with Arizona Sen. John McCain, for example, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has expressed his support. The assistance seems to have helped, as Loughlin has raised over $470,000 thus far. Loughlin has used this money to hire the consulting team that helped Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown to victory in the special election to fill the seat vacated when Ted Kennedy passed away earlier this year.
Loughlin has been highlighting economic issues in his campaign, emphasizing that he wants to lower taxes and cut "excessive" government regulation of businesses. Russo, on the other hand, often highlights her socially conservative viewpoints in debates. She describes herself as "strongly pro-life and pro-family," and her campaign Web site says that she produces prolife television shows across the state of Rhode Island. She has not devoted her full attention to her congressional campaign, as she is also running for lieutenant governor of Rhode Island. She has no fundraising reports available from the Federal Election Commission, which suggests that her money totals may be minimal--candidates are not required to file reports until their campaigns have raised $5,000 or more.
In Rhode Island's Second District, long a Democratic stronghold, the Democratic primary may be a tougher race than the general election. Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin, in office for nine years, has won all four of his reelections with over 70 percent of the vote. If he wants to repeat that success in November, he will first have to defeat his two opponents on the primary ballot--Betsy Dennigan, a nurse and attorney, and Ernie Greco, a political science professor. In the August Brown University poll, Langevin had a formidable lead, with 55 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him. Twelve percent said they would support Dennigan, and 1 percent were Greco supporters and 30 percent were undecided.
According to Congressional Quarterly, Langevin is a dependably party-line Democrat, voting with his party on 99 percent of the votes that divided mainly along party lines. Dennigan's platform shows her to be a liberal Democrat, as she expresses support for a health insurance public option, abortion rights, and same-sex marriage. Greco, for his part, is more moderate than Dennigan and Langevin. He has criticized Langevin's voting record as being too liberal and has also argued against the healthcare reform package and further stimulus spending.
Of the three, Langevin has by far fared the best in the fundraising arena. Langevin has raised nearly $950,000 and still had $516,879 in the bank as of August 25. Dennigan has rasied $273,097, including $170,000 from her own pocket. She has spent much of this in her fight to defeat Langevin, with less than $80,000 in her coffers according to her latest filing. There are no FEC fundraising reports available for Greco's campaign.
Among the four candidates in the Republican primary, business consultant Mark Zaccaria may be most familiar to voters. Zaccaria faced Langevin in the 2008 general election and is hoping to fare better this November if he makes it past Tuesday's race. He is facing a tough challenge from former business executive Bill Clegg, who leads in fundraising with $140,000, including $90,000 that he loaned to the campaign himself.
Zaccaria has taken in only $20,000 less than Clegg, with $118,000 in receipts, but has spent far more of his money: as of August 25, he only had $15,000 in his campaign account, compared to Clegg's $97,000.
US News
Predictions are flying about the likelihood of the House and Senate changing party hands in November's midterm elections. But before parties can plan their agendas for the next congressional session, their candidates first have to make it through their primaries. After Tuesday, the last big day of the 2010 primary season, nearly all of the nominees for the general election will be chosen. Altogether, voters in seven states plus the District of Columbia will on Tuesday finalize their November ballots for 61 House seats, six Senate seats, and six gubernatorial races. Only the Hawaii primary and a House runoff primary in Louisiana will remain after this.
Click here to find out more!
RHODE ISLAND
In Rhode Island's First District, the retirement of Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy has opened the way for six candidates who hope to take his place in the 112th Congress.
The Democratic field for Tuesday's primary is heavy with political experience. David Segal, who founded voting rights organization FairVote, has at age 30 already served for four years on the Providence City Council and four years as a state representative. Attorney Bill Lynch was the chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party for 12 years. David Cicilline has been mayor of Providence for nearly eight years. Rounding out the field is businessman Anthony Gemma, who is new on the political scene.
An August poll by Brown University showed Cicilline leading among the four Democrats, with the support of 32 percent of likely primary voters. Lynch was next, with 15 percent, followed by Gemma with 11 percent, and Segal with 5 percent. However, the 35 percent of respondents who were undecided, not to mention the poll's 7.4-percent margin of error, suggest that it may be too soon to tell who will come out on top.
Cicilline also leads in fundraising, with $1.4 million in receipts. Gemma, the next most successful fundraiser, is behind by nearly $1 million, having taken in $445,000 this cycle. He has used this money to purchase a series of negative advertisements that accuse Cicilline of being "quite possibly the most ineffective mayor in [Providence's] history." In keeping with this aggressive campaign ethic, Gemma has also appealed to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to ask Cicilline to end his campaign, citing "unscrupulous practices" and alleging that the city of Providence overpaid Cicilline by $20,000 over the last four years. Cicilline has promised to refund any overpayment.
While the seat is expected to remain in Democratic hands after the election, Republicans are hoping to capitalize on the discord among the Democratic candidates. The Republican field features two candidates, Kara Russo and John Loughlin. Loughlin, the Rhode Island House minority whip, is considered the frontrunner, with the preponderance of financial support, political experience, and the support of establishment Republicans. Loughlin held a fundraiser with Arizona Sen. John McCain, for example, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has expressed his support. The assistance seems to have helped, as Loughlin has raised over $470,000 thus far. Loughlin has used this money to hire the consulting team that helped Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown to victory in the special election to fill the seat vacated when Ted Kennedy passed away earlier this year.
Loughlin has been highlighting economic issues in his campaign, emphasizing that he wants to lower taxes and cut "excessive" government regulation of businesses. Russo, on the other hand, often highlights her socially conservative viewpoints in debates. She describes herself as "strongly pro-life and pro-family," and her campaign Web site says that she produces prolife television shows across the state of Rhode Island. She has not devoted her full attention to her congressional campaign, as she is also running for lieutenant governor of Rhode Island. She has no fundraising reports available from the Federal Election Commission, which suggests that her money totals may be minimal--candidates are not required to file reports until their campaigns have raised $5,000 or more.
In Rhode Island's Second District, long a Democratic stronghold, the Democratic primary may be a tougher race than the general election. Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin, in office for nine years, has won all four of his reelections with over 70 percent of the vote. If he wants to repeat that success in November, he will first have to defeat his two opponents on the primary ballot--Betsy Dennigan, a nurse and attorney, and Ernie Greco, a political science professor. In the August Brown University poll, Langevin had a formidable lead, with 55 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him. Twelve percent said they would support Dennigan, and 1 percent were Greco supporters and 30 percent were undecided.
According to Congressional Quarterly, Langevin is a dependably party-line Democrat, voting with his party on 99 percent of the votes that divided mainly along party lines. Dennigan's platform shows her to be a liberal Democrat, as she expresses support for a health insurance public option, abortion rights, and same-sex marriage. Greco, for his part, is more moderate than Dennigan and Langevin. He has criticized Langevin's voting record as being too liberal and has also argued against the healthcare reform package and further stimulus spending.
Of the three, Langevin has by far fared the best in the fundraising arena. Langevin has raised nearly $950,000 and still had $516,879 in the bank as of August 25. Dennigan has rasied $273,097, including $170,000 from her own pocket. She has spent much of this in her fight to defeat Langevin, with less than $80,000 in her coffers according to her latest filing. There are no FEC fundraising reports available for Greco's campaign.
Among the four candidates in the Republican primary, business consultant Mark Zaccaria may be most familiar to voters. Zaccaria faced Langevin in the 2008 general election and is hoping to fare better this November if he makes it past Tuesday's race. He is facing a tough challenge from former business executive Bill Clegg, who leads in fundraising with $140,000, including $90,000 that he loaned to the campaign himself.
Zaccaria has taken in only $20,000 less than Clegg, with $118,000 in receipts, but has spent far more of his money: as of August 25, he only had $15,000 in his campaign account, compared to Clegg's $97,000.
US News
Congress Not Expected To Do Much With 2010 Election Looming
A small business jobs bill, extending the Bush tax cuts, and lots of fighting are on the agenda
As Congress returns from its August recess, it faces a full plate of legislation, including leftovers from the summer and new offerings from President Obama. But with lingering partisan rancor—and the midterm election season revving into full gear—observers wonder whether Congress will finish anything during the next month.
Click here to find out more!
"Clearly, the Republicans have not been in a very cooperative mood, since the beginning of the Obama presidency," says the Brookings Institution's William Galston, who was a domestic policy adviser in the Clinton White House. "With the election campaign now in full swing, it's hard to imagine that things will get better." Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, agrees, predicting that annual appropriations bills will likely have to be wrapped up into an omnibus bill to prevent holdups in government activities. "It's an election year, and the Republicans are not inclined to cooperate to get things done."
First up is the Small Business Jobs Act, which includes $12 billion in tax breaks and would establish a $30 billion lending fund for small businesses. Although Senate Democrats previously fell two votes shy of the 60 needed to bring the matter to a vote, they are now optimistic that a deal struck on the legislation—which would ease some of the vendor tax-reporting requirements included in the recently enacted healthcare law—will bring in enough votes to secure passage. "We've got a pretty firm commitment that we'll be able to see it through," says Richard Carbo, a spokesman for Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, a sponsor of the bill.
The Senate will begin procedural votes on amendments to the bill Tuesday morning.
After that, the House and Senate will also likely consider competing proposals to extend some or all of the so-called Bush tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003, as well as legislation to continue a number of tax exemptions and breaks, such as corporate tax credits for research and development and biofuel use. Congress also is expected to take up food safety legislation and the Disclose Act, which would increase disclosure requirements for corporate campaign spending. With Senate Democrats one vote shy of the 60 votes needed to cut off a filibuster, they will have to woo Republicans if they hope to accomplish any of their agenda before lawmakers leave for the campaign trail.
Extension of the Bush-era tax cuts could take up much of the congressional oxygen—likely carrying over into a lame-duck session after the November elections. In a speech last week in suburban Cleveland, Obama aggressively pushed his proposal to extend the tax cuts for most Americans, but to allow the rates to rise for individuals earning more than $200,000 annually and joint filers earning more than $250,000.
[Read both sides of the debate over extending the Bush tax cuts.]
Because Republicans have vowed to oppose legislation that would let any of the tax cuts expire, Democratic sources in the Senate say their strategy is to force the GOP into the awkward position of opposing a tax cut for the middle class.
On Sunday, House Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, indicated he might be willing to budge, stating that he'd be in favor of extending only the middle tax cuts if it were the "only option." But Republicans overall remain strongly opposed to Obama's plan. Galston says the Republicans might ultimately have the upper hand, since an impasse would let all the current tax cuts expire as scheduled at year's end, raising rates across the board. "It's relatively unlikely that Democrats would like to be fingered as the people who allowed tax cuts for the middle class to expire," he says. "If the net result for the legislative process is that taxes go up for everybody, that goes into the familiar Republican narrative."
US News
As Congress returns from its August recess, it faces a full plate of legislation, including leftovers from the summer and new offerings from President Obama. But with lingering partisan rancor—and the midterm election season revving into full gear—observers wonder whether Congress will finish anything during the next month.
Click here to find out more!
"Clearly, the Republicans have not been in a very cooperative mood, since the beginning of the Obama presidency," says the Brookings Institution's William Galston, who was a domestic policy adviser in the Clinton White House. "With the election campaign now in full swing, it's hard to imagine that things will get better." Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, agrees, predicting that annual appropriations bills will likely have to be wrapped up into an omnibus bill to prevent holdups in government activities. "It's an election year, and the Republicans are not inclined to cooperate to get things done."
First up is the Small Business Jobs Act, which includes $12 billion in tax breaks and would establish a $30 billion lending fund for small businesses. Although Senate Democrats previously fell two votes shy of the 60 needed to bring the matter to a vote, they are now optimistic that a deal struck on the legislation—which would ease some of the vendor tax-reporting requirements included in the recently enacted healthcare law—will bring in enough votes to secure passage. "We've got a pretty firm commitment that we'll be able to see it through," says Richard Carbo, a spokesman for Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, a sponsor of the bill.
The Senate will begin procedural votes on amendments to the bill Tuesday morning.
After that, the House and Senate will also likely consider competing proposals to extend some or all of the so-called Bush tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003, as well as legislation to continue a number of tax exemptions and breaks, such as corporate tax credits for research and development and biofuel use. Congress also is expected to take up food safety legislation and the Disclose Act, which would increase disclosure requirements for corporate campaign spending. With Senate Democrats one vote shy of the 60 votes needed to cut off a filibuster, they will have to woo Republicans if they hope to accomplish any of their agenda before lawmakers leave for the campaign trail.
Extension of the Bush-era tax cuts could take up much of the congressional oxygen—likely carrying over into a lame-duck session after the November elections. In a speech last week in suburban Cleveland, Obama aggressively pushed his proposal to extend the tax cuts for most Americans, but to allow the rates to rise for individuals earning more than $200,000 annually and joint filers earning more than $250,000.
[Read both sides of the debate over extending the Bush tax cuts.]
Because Republicans have vowed to oppose legislation that would let any of the tax cuts expire, Democratic sources in the Senate say their strategy is to force the GOP into the awkward position of opposing a tax cut for the middle class.
On Sunday, House Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, indicated he might be willing to budge, stating that he'd be in favor of extending only the middle tax cuts if it were the "only option." But Republicans overall remain strongly opposed to Obama's plan. Galston says the Republicans might ultimately have the upper hand, since an impasse would let all the current tax cuts expire as scheduled at year's end, raising rates across the board. "It's relatively unlikely that Democrats would like to be fingered as the people who allowed tax cuts for the middle class to expire," he says. "If the net result for the legislative process is that taxes go up for everybody, that goes into the familiar Republican narrative."
US News
Libertarian Not Stepping Aside for Lisa Murkowski
JUNEAU, Alaska — If U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski decides to re-enter the race, it won't be as a Libertarian.
That party's candidate, David Haase, told The Associated Press on Monday that he's not stepping aside.
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Haase would have to withdraw his candidacy by Wednesday to clear a spot on the party's ticket. He said last week he would consider doing so if Murkowski personally asked him to do so. Surrogates did, he said, but she did not.
"I think she's come to the conclusion that she could walk on water and announce she's a Libertarian and people would throw tomatoes at her," he said.
Murkowski campaign manager John Bitney said Murkowski "wasn't anticipating" going the Libertarian route.
The Libertarian Party chairman did not immediately return a message.
Murkowski has said that friends of hers — without her direction — approached the Libertarians, asking whether they'd consider putting her on; she met with Haase, as a courtesy to them, last week. But she also made clear the decision of whether she'd be on the ticket would have to be the Libertarians' and that she was not changing her views.
There was a lot at stake with this option, on both sides. Murkowski, a Republican, would have had to join the party and sign a pledge that states she does not believe in or advocate the initiation of force for social or political goals. For the Libertarians, as appealing as was the prospect of potentially electing a U.S. senator, there was the risk of angering the rank-and-file, many of whom opposed Murkowski running as their candidate.
"If we had a Libertarian U.S. senator, that would be a really good thing," Haase said. "But if we had a Libertarian (Senate candidate) who was something else, and (who) loses, the party loses, too. So, it's a tough decision, but continuing any longer (without making a decision) is not going to help anybody."
Congress resumed its work session Monday without Murkowski; she's been in Alaska, mulling whether to re-enter the race after receiving an outpouring of encouragement. She conceded the GOP race to Joe Miller last month.
Should she opt to run, Murkowski could do so as a write-in candidate. A decision could come this week.
"I would guess she's making lots of calls," Bitney said. "What's important is that she makes a good decision."
Miller, meanwhile, is headed to Washington later this month for fundraising and for meetings with Republicans. Since winning the primary, Miller has begun receiving endorsements from GOP leaders and the establishment, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
And Democrat Scott McAdams began airing his first radio ad of the general election campaign. In it, he emphasizes his blue-collar roots — saying he didn't go to Yale, like Miller did — and makes other contrasts with Miller, too, notably on the issue of federal funding.
Miller has said he wants to get a reign on government spending, arguing that spending in Washington is out of control, but McAdams says his belief is that a senator should fight for Alaska's "fair share."
McAdams' campaign says the ad is running in Anchorage and Fairbanks market but would not disclose the size of the ad buy.
US News
That party's candidate, David Haase, told The Associated Press on Monday that he's not stepping aside.
Click here to find out more!
Haase would have to withdraw his candidacy by Wednesday to clear a spot on the party's ticket. He said last week he would consider doing so if Murkowski personally asked him to do so. Surrogates did, he said, but she did not.
"I think she's come to the conclusion that she could walk on water and announce she's a Libertarian and people would throw tomatoes at her," he said.
Murkowski campaign manager John Bitney said Murkowski "wasn't anticipating" going the Libertarian route.
The Libertarian Party chairman did not immediately return a message.
Murkowski has said that friends of hers — without her direction — approached the Libertarians, asking whether they'd consider putting her on; she met with Haase, as a courtesy to them, last week. But she also made clear the decision of whether she'd be on the ticket would have to be the Libertarians' and that she was not changing her views.
There was a lot at stake with this option, on both sides. Murkowski, a Republican, would have had to join the party and sign a pledge that states she does not believe in or advocate the initiation of force for social or political goals. For the Libertarians, as appealing as was the prospect of potentially electing a U.S. senator, there was the risk of angering the rank-and-file, many of whom opposed Murkowski running as their candidate.
"If we had a Libertarian U.S. senator, that would be a really good thing," Haase said. "But if we had a Libertarian (Senate candidate) who was something else, and (who) loses, the party loses, too. So, it's a tough decision, but continuing any longer (without making a decision) is not going to help anybody."
Congress resumed its work session Monday without Murkowski; she's been in Alaska, mulling whether to re-enter the race after receiving an outpouring of encouragement. She conceded the GOP race to Joe Miller last month.
Should she opt to run, Murkowski could do so as a write-in candidate. A decision could come this week.
"I would guess she's making lots of calls," Bitney said. "What's important is that she makes a good decision."
Miller, meanwhile, is headed to Washington later this month for fundraising and for meetings with Republicans. Since winning the primary, Miller has begun receiving endorsements from GOP leaders and the establishment, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
And Democrat Scott McAdams began airing his first radio ad of the general election campaign. In it, he emphasizes his blue-collar roots — saying he didn't go to Yale, like Miller did — and makes other contrasts with Miller, too, notably on the issue of federal funding.
Miller has said he wants to get a reign on government spending, arguing that spending in Washington is out of control, but McAdams says his belief is that a senator should fight for Alaska's "fair share."
McAdams' campaign says the ad is running in Anchorage and Fairbanks market but would not disclose the size of the ad buy.
US News
Christine O'Donnell Optimistic About Delaware Senate Primary
WILMINGTON, Del. — Republican U.S. Senate primary candidate Christine O'Donnell says she is optimistic about a win, but will be trying to reach as many undecided voters as she can.
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After voting Tuesday at a Wilmington polling station, O'Donnell said there is still a lot of work to be done.
O'Donnell is going up against Michael Castle, a former two-term governor who is the longest serving congressman in state history. A conservative activist, O'Donnell hasn't had a steady job in years but believes she is the best person to fill the seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden.
O'Donnell says she was attacked because she has struggled financially. Still, she says she's ready to "extend an olive branch to the Republican Party," even though she says the party has lost its way.
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Click here to find out more!
After voting Tuesday at a Wilmington polling station, O'Donnell said there is still a lot of work to be done.
O'Donnell is going up against Michael Castle, a former two-term governor who is the longest serving congressman in state history. A conservative activist, O'Donnell hasn't had a steady job in years but believes she is the best person to fill the seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden.
O'Donnell says she was attacked because she has struggled financially. Still, she says she's ready to "extend an olive branch to the Republican Party," even though she says the party has lost its way.
US News
Rangel Hopes for Another Term
The fate of embattled Rep. Charles Rangel - the legendary Lion of Harlem - hangs in the balance Tuesday as voters head to the polls in a handful of closely watched primaries.
Click here to find out more!
"This is my life, my career," Rangel said yesterday at a campaign stop in East Harlem.
Rangel, a 20-term congressman battling ethics charges, is being challenged by Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell 4th and three other Dems.
Powell, a 10-year state lawmaker and the son of the man Rangel beat in 1970, also has ethical baggage: He's twice been accused of rape and was convicted of impaired driving.
"We're looking for a big victory," Powell said. "Rangel is no longer that powerful."
The others in the race are activist Joyce Johnson, gadfly Jonathan Tasini and banker Vince Morgan.
Reps. Ed Towns (D-Brooklyn) and Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) also face tough competitors eager to capitalize on national anger toward Congress.
Maloney is up against newcomer Reshma Saujani in a battle for the upper East Side
. The two raised more than $4 million, making it one of the most expensive House primary races.
Towns, of central Brooklyn, is defending against Kevin Powell, an ex-MTV star who hopes to be "the first true hip-hop head in Congress."
A GOP primary is being held on Staten Island between former FBI agent Michael Grimm and businessman Michael Allegretti. The winner takes on incumbent Dem. Rep. Michael McMahon.
Republican primaries are also being held for the Senate seats held by Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who faces little-known city attorney Gayle Goode on the Democratic ballot.
US News
Click here to find out more!
"This is my life, my career," Rangel said yesterday at a campaign stop in East Harlem.
Rangel, a 20-term congressman battling ethics charges, is being challenged by Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell 4th and three other Dems.
Powell, a 10-year state lawmaker and the son of the man Rangel beat in 1970, also has ethical baggage: He's twice been accused of rape and was convicted of impaired driving.
"We're looking for a big victory," Powell said. "Rangel is no longer that powerful."
The others in the race are activist Joyce Johnson, gadfly Jonathan Tasini and banker Vince Morgan.
Reps. Ed Towns (D-Brooklyn) and Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) also face tough competitors eager to capitalize on national anger toward Congress.
Maloney is up against newcomer Reshma Saujani in a battle for the upper East Side
. The two raised more than $4 million, making it one of the most expensive House primary races.
Towns, of central Brooklyn, is defending against Kevin Powell, an ex-MTV star who hopes to be "the first true hip-hop head in Congress."
A GOP primary is being held on Staten Island between former FBI agent Michael Grimm and businessman Michael Allegretti. The winner takes on incumbent Dem. Rep. Michael McMahon.
Republican primaries are also being held for the Senate seats held by Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who faces little-known city attorney Gayle Goode on the Democratic ballot.
US News
Tea Party Primary Wins Could Mean November GOP Losses
The Tea Party is brewing up some trouble for the GOP.
If Tea Party candidates in Delaware and New Hampshire win against their moderate Republican challengers in Tuesday night's primary elections
, it could drastically reduce the GOP's chances of taking control of the Senate.
Click here to find out more!
While the Tea Party candidates might fare well in the primaries, D.C. Republicans fear they'll face a tougher battle in the general election.
Statistician and blogger Nate Silver told The New York Times that Tea Party wins in those two states would halve the chances of a Republican takeover in the Senate. If the Tea-Party backed candidates win, he put the odds of a GOP takeover at 16%. If their challengers win, he put it at 30%.
While most insiders say Republicans have a good chance of winning back the House, the Senate is a tougher climb. And with Tea Party wins in Delaware and New Hampshire, the climb will be even steeper.
In Delaware, moderate, nine-term GOP Rep. Mike Castle is up against Christine O'Donnell, who is backed by Sarah Palin and the Tea-Party, for Joe Biden's old Senate seat.
While Castle was the favored Republican nominee, O'Donnell's campaign has gained momentum. One recent poll has shown the race in a dead heat.
Republicans fear a similar primary loss in Alaska, where Joe Miller rode Tea Party support to beat Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski. There's also Rand Paul and Sharron Angle, the Tea Party-backed candidates who shocked the GOP in Kentucky and Nevada.
The GOP establishment, top strategists and even the Delaware GOP chairman have been openly working to defeat O'Donnell.
Castle contended the election is being manipulated by outsiders.
"This has been a complete out-of state operation," he told Politico. "…It's not been a local campaign. It's not had local donations."
In New Hampshire, Kelly Ayotte, the state's attorney general is up against Tea Party-backed Ovide Lamontagne in a multi-candidate race. But unlike in Delaware, Lamontagne does not have Palin's endorsement.
While Ayotte was expected to be the Republican shoo-in to replace retiring Sen. Judd Gregg, Lamontagne has picked up steam. A recent poll puts him just 7 points behind Ayotte—who is favored to win against Democrat Rep. Paul Hodes, who is running unopposed.
Blogger and political reporter for the Washington Post, Chris Cillizza, said a Lamontagne win could mean trouble for Republicans. It "would breathe new life into Democrats in the Granite State and almost certain make the race more competitive on Nov. 2," he said.
US News
If Tea Party candidates in Delaware and New Hampshire win against their moderate Republican challengers in Tuesday night's primary elections
, it could drastically reduce the GOP's chances of taking control of the Senate.
Click here to find out more!
While the Tea Party candidates might fare well in the primaries, D.C. Republicans fear they'll face a tougher battle in the general election.
Statistician and blogger Nate Silver told The New York Times that Tea Party wins in those two states would halve the chances of a Republican takeover in the Senate. If the Tea-Party backed candidates win, he put the odds of a GOP takeover at 16%. If their challengers win, he put it at 30%.
While most insiders say Republicans have a good chance of winning back the House, the Senate is a tougher climb. And with Tea Party wins in Delaware and New Hampshire, the climb will be even steeper.
In Delaware, moderate, nine-term GOP Rep. Mike Castle is up against Christine O'Donnell, who is backed by Sarah Palin and the Tea-Party, for Joe Biden's old Senate seat.
While Castle was the favored Republican nominee, O'Donnell's campaign has gained momentum. One recent poll has shown the race in a dead heat.
Republicans fear a similar primary loss in Alaska, where Joe Miller rode Tea Party support to beat Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski. There's also Rand Paul and Sharron Angle, the Tea Party-backed candidates who shocked the GOP in Kentucky and Nevada.
The GOP establishment, top strategists and even the Delaware GOP chairman have been openly working to defeat O'Donnell.
Castle contended the election is being manipulated by outsiders.
"This has been a complete out-of state operation," he told Politico. "…It's not been a local campaign. It's not had local donations."
In New Hampshire, Kelly Ayotte, the state's attorney general is up against Tea Party-backed Ovide Lamontagne in a multi-candidate race. But unlike in Delaware, Lamontagne does not have Palin's endorsement.
While Ayotte was expected to be the Republican shoo-in to replace retiring Sen. Judd Gregg, Lamontagne has picked up steam. A recent poll puts him just 7 points behind Ayotte—who is favored to win against Democrat Rep. Paul Hodes, who is running unopposed.
Blogger and political reporter for the Washington Post, Chris Cillizza, said a Lamontagne win could mean trouble for Republicans. It "would breathe new life into Democrats in the Granite State and almost certain make the race more competitive on Nov. 2," he said.
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Haley Barbour: I Was a 'Pretty Good' Lobbyist
One of the biggest criticisms Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour faces as he considers a 2012 presidential bid is that he used to be one of the city's best lobbyists. But the longtime party insider has developed an argument that turns the criticism into a compliment by suggesting he has exactly the kind of advocacy background presidents need. "I'm a lawyer, a lobbyist, and a politician. That's the trifecta of what Americans think of public life," he jokes. But, he adds, "Advocacy, whether it is in the courtroom, like I did when I was a young lawyer, or a lobbyist, is something presidents have to be very good at." It worked when he lobbied for Hurricane Katrina cleanup money. "When Katrina came, the people of Mississippi decided that they had made the right decision," he says. "So I don't shy away from my career as a lobbyist. I was a pretty good one."
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Two Republicans Vie to Take on Maryland Democrat Frank Kratovil
Incumbent has raised almost $2 million to defend GOP-leaning seat
Predictions are flying about the likelihood of the House and Senate changing party hands in November's midterm elections. But before parties can plan their agendas for the next congressional session, their candidates first have to make it through their primaries. After Tuesday, the last big day of the 2010 primary season, nearly all of the nominees for the general election will be chosen. Altogether, voters in seven states plus the District of Columbia will on Tuesday finalize their November ballots for 61 House seats, six Senate seats, and six gubernatorial races. Only the Hawaii primary and a House runoff primary in Louisiana will remain after this.
Click here to find out more!
MARYLAND
The most competitive congressional race in Maryland this year is undoubtedly in the First District, currently represented by Democrat Frank Kratovil. Kratovil won the seat by a margin of less than 1 percentage point in 2008, and his district has in the past skewed Republican--GOP presidential candidate John McCain won it by 18 percentage points in 2008, and it had been represented by Republican Wayne Gilchrest for 18 years before Kratovil took the seat. Republicans see this race, considered a toss-up by many election analysts, as an opportunity to get one seat closer to a GOP majority in the House of Representatives.
As a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative House Democrats, Kratovil has been touting his efforts to rein in "out-of-control" government spending in his efforts to win voters' favor. Unopposed for the Democratic nomination, Kratovil has raised over $1.9 million for his reelection bid, of which over $1.3 million remains.
Physician and state Sen. Andrew Harris, Kratovil's Republican opponent in the 2008 general election, is one of two Republican candidates hoping to unseat the freshman Democrat. Harris may have the name recognition advantage in this race and he definitely has a monetary advantage, with nearly $1.7 million in receipts and $944,000 still in the bank. Businessman Rob Fisher has raised considerably less, having taken in $506,000 over the election cycle, $475,000 of which has come out of his own pocket. This means that he has received relatively little support in the form of donations from individuals or political action committees. However, Fisher has received help in the form of an endorsement from Gilchrest. He also has been billing himself as an "outsider," in the hopes that the anti-incumbent mood among the electorate this year will help boost him to victory.
The Senate seat currently held by Democrat Barbara Mikulski is expected to remain in her hands after November, but that has clearly not deterred the wide field of candidates who hope to unseat her. According to the Maryland Board of Elections, seven Democrats and 11 Republicans will compete in Tuesday's Maryland Senate primaries.
Mikulski, a 24-year Senate veteran, has several factors in her favor going into Tuesday's primary. A July poll by Maryland firm Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies showed her with a 59 percent approval rating. While Mikulski's approval ratings had regularly been above 60 percent in the past, this level of support from the electorate could easily carry her through Tuesday's race. Furthermore, the Democratic field is short on well-known or well-funded candidates. Four of the candidates on Tuesday's Democratic ballot ran in the 2006 primary against Sen. Ben Cardin and obtained less than 1 percent of the vote each. In addition, Mikulski has only one Democratic opponent who has fundraising reports available from the Federal Election Commission, engineer Christopher Garner. Candidates only must file campaign finance reports with the FEC once they have raised $5,000 or more. Garner reports just over $27,000 in campaign receipts over the election cycle. compared to Mikulski's $4.8 million.
Among the 11 GOP candidates, physician Eric Wargotz, commissioner of Maryland's Queen Anne's County, has the most resources at his disposal to take on Mikulski, with $773,000 in receipts and $543,000 still in the bank as of August 25. Wargotz has committed large amounts of his personal wealth to his election efforts, loaning $575,000 to his campaign. This strong fundraising has allowed him to also be one of the more visible Republican candidates, and he has gained national notoriety in recent weeks with a popular dinosaur-themed television ad labeling Mikulski as an "Insidersaurus." His so-called "birther" beliefs have also gained wide attention, not much of it positive. A video of Wargotz at the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference, saying that he does not believe President Obama was born in the United States, has drawn heavy criticism in the blogosphere.
Attorney Jim Rutledge is another Republican candidate who comes into the race with significant support, both in the form of money and the Tea Party movement. Working to differentiate himself from Wargotz, Rutledge is billing himself as "the Tea Party candidate," even though Wargotz also claims Tea Party support. While he has significantly less in his campaign account than Wargotz, with only $3,727 left of the $159,000 he has raised this cycle, Rutledge is working to spin these facts to his advantage, criticizing Wargotz for trying to "buy the election" with his largely self-funded campaign.
However, it appears that Wargotz has more voters behind him than Rutledge, and that either candidate will have to fight hard to win in November. An August 17 Rasmussen poll of showed that 55 percent of likely voters said they would vote for Mikulski, compared to 39 percent who supported Wargotz. Only 3 percent said they would vote for "some other candidate," and an additional 3 percent were undecided. That leaves precious few voters for the primary winners to try to win over before Election Day.
US News
Predictions are flying about the likelihood of the House and Senate changing party hands in November's midterm elections. But before parties can plan their agendas for the next congressional session, their candidates first have to make it through their primaries. After Tuesday, the last big day of the 2010 primary season, nearly all of the nominees for the general election will be chosen. Altogether, voters in seven states plus the District of Columbia will on Tuesday finalize their November ballots for 61 House seats, six Senate seats, and six gubernatorial races. Only the Hawaii primary and a House runoff primary in Louisiana will remain after this.
Click here to find out more!
MARYLAND
The most competitive congressional race in Maryland this year is undoubtedly in the First District, currently represented by Democrat Frank Kratovil. Kratovil won the seat by a margin of less than 1 percentage point in 2008, and his district has in the past skewed Republican--GOP presidential candidate John McCain won it by 18 percentage points in 2008, and it had been represented by Republican Wayne Gilchrest for 18 years before Kratovil took the seat. Republicans see this race, considered a toss-up by many election analysts, as an opportunity to get one seat closer to a GOP majority in the House of Representatives.
As a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of conservative House Democrats, Kratovil has been touting his efforts to rein in "out-of-control" government spending in his efforts to win voters' favor. Unopposed for the Democratic nomination, Kratovil has raised over $1.9 million for his reelection bid, of which over $1.3 million remains.
Physician and state Sen. Andrew Harris, Kratovil's Republican opponent in the 2008 general election, is one of two Republican candidates hoping to unseat the freshman Democrat. Harris may have the name recognition advantage in this race and he definitely has a monetary advantage, with nearly $1.7 million in receipts and $944,000 still in the bank. Businessman Rob Fisher has raised considerably less, having taken in $506,000 over the election cycle, $475,000 of which has come out of his own pocket. This means that he has received relatively little support in the form of donations from individuals or political action committees. However, Fisher has received help in the form of an endorsement from Gilchrest. He also has been billing himself as an "outsider," in the hopes that the anti-incumbent mood among the electorate this year will help boost him to victory.
The Senate seat currently held by Democrat Barbara Mikulski is expected to remain in her hands after November, but that has clearly not deterred the wide field of candidates who hope to unseat her. According to the Maryland Board of Elections, seven Democrats and 11 Republicans will compete in Tuesday's Maryland Senate primaries.
Mikulski, a 24-year Senate veteran, has several factors in her favor going into Tuesday's primary. A July poll by Maryland firm Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies showed her with a 59 percent approval rating. While Mikulski's approval ratings had regularly been above 60 percent in the past, this level of support from the electorate could easily carry her through Tuesday's race. Furthermore, the Democratic field is short on well-known or well-funded candidates. Four of the candidates on Tuesday's Democratic ballot ran in the 2006 primary against Sen. Ben Cardin and obtained less than 1 percent of the vote each. In addition, Mikulski has only one Democratic opponent who has fundraising reports available from the Federal Election Commission, engineer Christopher Garner. Candidates only must file campaign finance reports with the FEC once they have raised $5,000 or more. Garner reports just over $27,000 in campaign receipts over the election cycle. compared to Mikulski's $4.8 million.
Among the 11 GOP candidates, physician Eric Wargotz, commissioner of Maryland's Queen Anne's County, has the most resources at his disposal to take on Mikulski, with $773,000 in receipts and $543,000 still in the bank as of August 25. Wargotz has committed large amounts of his personal wealth to his election efforts, loaning $575,000 to his campaign. This strong fundraising has allowed him to also be one of the more visible Republican candidates, and he has gained national notoriety in recent weeks with a popular dinosaur-themed television ad labeling Mikulski as an "Insidersaurus." His so-called "birther" beliefs have also gained wide attention, not much of it positive. A video of Wargotz at the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference, saying that he does not believe President Obama was born in the United States, has drawn heavy criticism in the blogosphere.
Attorney Jim Rutledge is another Republican candidate who comes into the race with significant support, both in the form of money and the Tea Party movement. Working to differentiate himself from Wargotz, Rutledge is billing himself as "the Tea Party candidate," even though Wargotz also claims Tea Party support. While he has significantly less in his campaign account than Wargotz, with only $3,727 left of the $159,000 he has raised this cycle, Rutledge is working to spin these facts to his advantage, criticizing Wargotz for trying to "buy the election" with his largely self-funded campaign.
However, it appears that Wargotz has more voters behind him than Rutledge, and that either candidate will have to fight hard to win in November. An August 17 Rasmussen poll of showed that 55 percent of likely voters said they would vote for Mikulski, compared to 39 percent who supported Wargotz. Only 3 percent said they would vote for "some other candidate," and an additional 3 percent were undecided. That leaves precious few voters for the primary winners to try to win over before Election Day.
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