Palin-backed Ayotte leads for GOP Senate nomination, but Tea Partiers favor Lamontagne
Predictions are flying about the likelihood of the House and Senate changing 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 have been chosen. Altogether, voters in seven states plus the District of Columbia on Tuesday will 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.
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NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Hampshire's Senate race is closely watched this year, and many election analysts consider this seat to be a "toss-up" or "leaning Republican," come November. The seat in question is being vacated by Republican Judd Gregg, who is retiring after three terms.
Gregg's departure has opened up a wide field of Republican candidates--seven will be on Tuesday's ballot for the GOP nomination. A poll released September 3 by Republican polling and consulting firm Magellan Strategies showed that four of these candidates register significant support, with former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte leading the field. Ayotte has the support of 34 percent of likely Republican primary voters, giving her a 13-point lead over attorney Ovide Lamontagne's 21 percent. Businessmen Bill Binnie and Jim Bender come in third and fourth, with 17 and 13 percent, respectively. However, there is room for surprises on Tuesday, since 11 percent of the voters in the survey said they were undecided (margin of error 3.3 percent).
Ayotte has the most impressive list of endorsements among the Republican candidates, with several high-profile Republicans from across the country lending their support. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has named Ayotte one of her "Mama Grizzlies" of the election season, and Republican leaders like Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum have all voiced support. However, Binnie has the most substantial financial resources. The businessman has over $7 million in receipts over the election cycle, $5.8 million of which he loaned to the campaign himself. In the tough fight for the nomination, Binnie has spent much of this, with just over $425,000 left in his campaign account as of August 25. Ayotte, for her part, has raised over $2.9 million, with her most recent filing showing $823,431 in the bank. The Republican race had long been framed as a contest between Ayotte and Binnie, but Lamontagne's recent emergence as a top contender has complicated the situation. Lamontagne, boosted by some Tea Party-related support, has climbed into the top tier of candidates despite his significantly lower fundraising totals. Lamontagne has just over half a million dollars in receipts over the election cycle, with $109,000 remaining in his coffers.
The winner will face Rep. Paul Hodes, who is unopposed for the Democratic nod. Hodes has raised $3.8 million, and, with no primary to fight, is in the best financial shape of all candidates, with $1.2 million in his pocket as of August 25. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has put considerable resources into this race as well, and has already spent over $66,000 on promoting Hodes in New Hampshire.
Analysts from the Cook Political Report, the New York Times, and Congressional Quarterly characterize both of New Hampshire's House seats as "toss-ups" this year. Republicans are hoping to pick up seats in New Hampshire's House districts, both of which are currently represented by Democrats. In the First District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, is defending the seat she has held since 2007. Like Hodes, Shea-Porter has no Democratic challengers and has not been forced to exhaust her resources yet. Of the over $1 million she has raised, nearly $530,000 remain in the bank.
Shea-Porter will face one of the eight Republicans who will be on Tuesday's GOP ballot. Sean Mahoney, the president of a communications company and a former New Hampshire committeeman to the Republican National Committee, has the most resources of any candidate in this race, with over $1 million in receipts. Shea-Porter clearly sees him as a rival, and has already begin campaigning against him, mailing fliers criticizing Mahoney to voters around the district. Frank Guinta, a former mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city, is also one of the favorites for the GOP nomination. In addition to his mayoral experience, Guinta spent two terms in the state legislature, which may boost his name recognition with voters. He has shown that he has the fundraising ability to withstand a November campaign, with $875,000 in receipts and over $150,000 currently in his accounts. Rich Ashooh, an executive at a defense contracting firm, is also running a strong campaign and has also recently been meeting with New Hampshire Tea Party leaders, which could help give him added support in a crowded field. Ashooh has raised $375,000 this cycle, but a tough primary has left him with only $80,685 in the bank.
In the Second District, seven Republicans and two Democrats are vying to take the seat being vacated by Paul Hodes. The Democratic primary ballot features two candidates: attorney and activist Ann McLane Kuster and Katrina Swett, the president of a human rights foundation and wife of Dick Swett, who held the Second-District seat from 1991 to 1995. Pro-choice groups have been major players in this campaign and the source of all independent expenditures made for either candidate. Though both candidates are pro-choice, abortion rights groups EMILY's List and Planned Parenthood have both spent in support of Kuster in recent weeks. Pro-choice organization NARAL, however, has spent in support of both candidates.
Swett has been painting Kuster as a "far-left progressive," while Kuster has emphasized Swett's more moderate views as a negative. In a recent debate, Swett appealed to more moderate Democrats, acknowledging that she supported the Bush tax cuts. Kuster, meanwhile, has embraced liberal causes like the push for a public health insurance option and affirmative action.
Fundraising totals show both Democratic candidates to be ready for a November campaign. Swett came into the campaign with $870,000 already on hand from a failed 2008 Senate run and to that has added $580,000 from fundraising, Even after a protracted primary against Kuster, she still has nearly $800,000 in her war chest right now. Kuster has similar receipts, having taken in $1.4 million. She has outspent Swett, however, with $450,000 left in her pocket as of August 25.
The Republican race features several contenders who are no stranger to New Hampshire politics. Charles Bass is the most prominent of the five Republican contenders, having already served as New Hampshire's Second-District Representative from 1995 until 2007. Bass has received the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as $5,000 from the leadership PAC associated with House Minority Leader Eric Cantor. The former House member has pulled in over $565,000 thus far and still maintains $312,000 in his accounts, according to his August 25 FEC report. Airline captain Bob Giuda has also held elective office, having served in the New Hampshire House from 2001 through 2007. Giuda's campaign is largely self-funded, as the candidate has provided $132,000 of the $173,000 of his campaign's total receipts. Another prominent Republican candidate, talk radio host Jennifer Horn, gained election experience in 2008, when she won the Republican nomination for the Second-District seat. She was defeated by Hodes in the general election, but is clearly fighting hard for a win this year. She has spent almost all of the $223,000 her campaign has amassed in receipts, with $32,150 now in the bank.
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010
10 Things You Didn't Know About George Miller
1. George Miller was born in Richmond, Calif., on May 17, 1945, to Dorothy and George Miller Jr., a Democratic state senator.
2. He earned an associate degree from Diablo Valley College in 1965 and a B.A. from San Francisco State University in 1968.
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3. Miller married Cynthia Caccavo in 1964, and they have two sons and six grandchildren.
4. When his father died in 1969, Miller lost the election to succeed him in the state Senate.
5. Miller earned a J.D. from the University of California–Davis in 1972. Soon after, he served as legislative assistant to California Senate Majority Leader George Moscone.
6. In 1974, at age 29, Miller was elected to serve the state's Seventh District in the U.S. House, where he now has worked more than half his life.
7. He was an author of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and has since called for improvements to the education reform law, including increased funding and flexibility.
8. In 2007, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Miller to the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. As cochair, he helps craft and explain the party's positions on various policies.
9. That same year, Miller launched "Ask George" on YouTube, using videos to respond to the public's questions, primarily about the Iraq war. He continues to use online "MillerTV" to communicate his views to constituents.
10. As chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Miller was a key author of the major healthcare reform bill that became law in March.
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2. He earned an associate degree from Diablo Valley College in 1965 and a B.A. from San Francisco State University in 1968.
Click here to find out more!
3. Miller married Cynthia Caccavo in 1964, and they have two sons and six grandchildren.
4. When his father died in 1969, Miller lost the election to succeed him in the state Senate.
5. Miller earned a J.D. from the University of California–Davis in 1972. Soon after, he served as legislative assistant to California Senate Majority Leader George Moscone.
6. In 1974, at age 29, Miller was elected to serve the state's Seventh District in the U.S. House, where he now has worked more than half his life.
7. He was an author of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act and has since called for improvements to the education reform law, including increased funding and flexibility.
8. In 2007, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Miller to the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. As cochair, he helps craft and explain the party's positions on various policies.
9. That same year, Miller launched "Ask George" on YouTube, using videos to respond to the public's questions, primarily about the Iraq war. He continues to use online "MillerTV" to communicate his views to constituents.
10. As chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Miller was a key author of the major healthcare reform bill that became law in March.
US News
Monday, September 13, 2010
Election 2010 Will Make GOP More Conservative
No matter which party has the majority in the House or Senate after Election Day, one thing is already clear: Republicans are going to be a whole bunch more conservative. "Both the House and Senate will have the feel of the House class of '94, people coming to Washington to shake things up," says former Republican Party chief Ed Gillespie.
Part of the reason is that the Tea Party movement is expected to seize many House and Senate seats. And others are likely to go to Reaganesque fiscal conservatives. "This will be something akin to Reagan's first Congress. Some in the new class will shine, some will trip, but all will be a magnifying force for the core that are there now, who are always spitting in the ocean," says GOP strategist Mary Matalin.
The picture is most stark in the Senate, where the conservative leadership of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell has sometimes had to bend to the wishes of moderates to collect enough votes from the 41 Republicans in the chamber to block President Obama. McConnell realistically hopes to move up to nine new seats into the Republican column. While some of the potentially new members, like Delaware's Mike Castle, aren't right-wingers, seven Republicans who've either switched parties, lost in primaries, or are retiring all look to be replaced with far more right-leaning senators. Just consider the two sitting GOP members ousted by Tea Party candidates: Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and Utah's Bob Bennett. Their political slayers, Joe Miller and Mike Lee, are much further to the right.
"The great news is that even if we pick up only seven or eight seats, putting us at 48 or 49, we will have a 100 percent chance daily to get the magic 41 votes needed to sustain a filibuster," says a GOP strategist. And that means moderates, like Maine's Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, can be marginalized, he added. And it will elevate the status of the two conservative Senate rabble-rousers, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.
The already conservative House, meanwhile, looks to be more so after the election. One longtime adviser to congressional conservatives says it will be like having two chambers filled with allies of longtime righty Sen. Jesse Helms. "Helms was the one guy who held down the fort. Two years after he died, the reinforcements are arriving."
What's more, adds Gillespie, many new House Republicans will arrive with a built-in reelection threat: They have to cut spending, as promised, or else. "If they don't," he says, "they'll get tossed out in 2012."
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Part of the reason is that the Tea Party movement is expected to seize many House and Senate seats. And others are likely to go to Reaganesque fiscal conservatives. "This will be something akin to Reagan's first Congress. Some in the new class will shine, some will trip, but all will be a magnifying force for the core that are there now, who are always spitting in the ocean," says GOP strategist Mary Matalin.
The picture is most stark in the Senate, where the conservative leadership of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell has sometimes had to bend to the wishes of moderates to collect enough votes from the 41 Republicans in the chamber to block President Obama. McConnell realistically hopes to move up to nine new seats into the Republican column. While some of the potentially new members, like Delaware's Mike Castle, aren't right-wingers, seven Republicans who've either switched parties, lost in primaries, or are retiring all look to be replaced with far more right-leaning senators. Just consider the two sitting GOP members ousted by Tea Party candidates: Alaska's Lisa Murkowski and Utah's Bob Bennett. Their political slayers, Joe Miller and Mike Lee, are much further to the right.
"The great news is that even if we pick up only seven or eight seats, putting us at 48 or 49, we will have a 100 percent chance daily to get the magic 41 votes needed to sustain a filibuster," says a GOP strategist. And that means moderates, like Maine's Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, can be marginalized, he added. And it will elevate the status of the two conservative Senate rabble-rousers, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.
The already conservative House, meanwhile, looks to be more so after the election. One longtime adviser to congressional conservatives says it will be like having two chambers filled with allies of longtime righty Sen. Jesse Helms. "Helms was the one guy who held down the fort. Two years after he died, the reinforcements are arriving."
What's more, adds Gillespie, many new House Republicans will arrive with a built-in reelection threat: They have to cut spending, as promised, or else. "If they don't," he says, "they'll get tossed out in 2012."
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Talk Starts Of Boehner For President
Has President Obama and his White House P.R. team created a monster in Minority Leader John Boehner? Just consider this: Boehner is now the fourth most likely GOP presidential candidate
behind Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee to win the 2012 Republican nomination, according to Ireland's biggest betting site.
Up until about a month ago, Boehner was not a household political name, but that was before the president started to single the Ohio congressman out as the White House struggled to put a face on the Republicans going into the fall elections. That effort has recently reached its height, with Obama mentioning Boehner in speeches. Over the weekend, Boehner's press office and the White House press secretary issued dueling statements over what the minority leader meant when he said on TV that he would vote for a package that wouldn't extend the Bush-era tax cuts to those making over $250,000, though he called it bad policy.
All of that focus on Boehner seems to have raised his profile so much that he's now being mentioned as a presidential candidate in some polls. For his part, Boehner has not talked about the White House, saying that his life goal has been instead to become speaker of the House.
But according to Paddy Power, the Irish sports betting site, Boehner now is an 8-1 shot for the GOP nomination. He's a 20-1 shot to win the presidency. Of course, he'd have to knock off the front-runner, Mitt Romney, and 4-1 favorite Sarah Palin who herself has surged in the betting odds due to her recent successes with political endorsements and stage-sharing with Fox's Glenn Beck.
Paddy Power said in a statement that "Sarah Palin is obviously playing her cards quite close to her chest but recent betting trends suggest that people believe she may just be the shot in the arm needed by the Republicans."
Still, despite his poor public approval ratings and the focus on Republicans in the midterm elections, Paddy Power still has Obama the odds on favorite to win reelection in 2012.
Paddy Power Betting Odds for the 2012 Republican Primaries
11/4 Mitt Romney
9/2 Sarah Palin
6/1 Mike Huckabee
8/1 John Boehner
8/1 Tim Pawlenty
8/1 John Thune
12/1 Newt Gingrich
12/1 Haley Barbour
12/1 Mitch Daniels
14/1 David Petraeus
16/1 Fred Thompson
16/1 Bill Owens
16/1 Bobby Jindal
16/1 Jon Huntsman
18/1 Chuck Hagel
20/1 Rudolph Giuliani
20/1 Jeb Bush
20/1 Lindsey Graham
20/1 Chuck Baldwin
20/1 Scott Brown
25/1 Tom Ridge
25/1 Ron Paul
33/1 John McCain
33/1 Condoleezza Rice
33/1 George Allen
33/1 John Ensign
33/1 Paul Ryan
33/1 Rand Paul
40/1 George Pataki
40/1 Bill Frist
50/1 Sam Brownback
50/1 Arnold Schwarzenegger
100/1 Dick Cheney
500/1 Laura Bush
Odds on the winner of the 2012 presidential election
8/11 Barack Obama
6/1 Mitt Romney
10/1 Sarah Palin
16/1 Hillary Clinton
18/1 Mike Huckabee
18/1 Tim Pawlenty
20/1 John Boehner
25/1 Bobby Jindal
25/1 Newt Gingrich
25/1 Haley Barbour
25/1 Mitch Daniels
28/1 Jon Huntsman
33/1 Joe Biden
33/1 Fred Thompson
33/1 Bill Owens
33/1 David Petraeus
33/1 Chuck Hagel
33/1 Rick Perry
40/1 Evan Bayh
40/1 Rudolph Giuliani
40/1 Jeb Bush
40/1 Lindsey Graham
40/1 Michael Bloomberg
40/1 Chuck Baldwin
50/1 Tom Ridge
50/1 Ron Paul
50/1 Arnold Schwarzenegger
66/1 John McCain
66/1 Al Gore
66/1 Condoleezza Rice
66/1 John Edwards
66/1 George Allen
66/1 Mark Warner
66/1 Caroline Kennedy
66/1 Rand Paul
80/1 Bill Frist
80/1 George Pataki
100/1 John Kerry
100/1 Jim Webb
100/1 Kathleen Sebelius
100/1 Tim Kaine
100/1 Sam Brownback
100/1 Janet Napolitano
100/1 Paul Ryan
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behind Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, and Mike Huckabee to win the 2012 Republican nomination, according to Ireland's biggest betting site.
Up until about a month ago, Boehner was not a household political name, but that was before the president started to single the Ohio congressman out as the White House struggled to put a face on the Republicans going into the fall elections. That effort has recently reached its height, with Obama mentioning Boehner in speeches. Over the weekend, Boehner's press office and the White House press secretary issued dueling statements over what the minority leader meant when he said on TV that he would vote for a package that wouldn't extend the Bush-era tax cuts to those making over $250,000, though he called it bad policy.
All of that focus on Boehner seems to have raised his profile so much that he's now being mentioned as a presidential candidate in some polls. For his part, Boehner has not talked about the White House, saying that his life goal has been instead to become speaker of the House.
But according to Paddy Power, the Irish sports betting site, Boehner now is an 8-1 shot for the GOP nomination. He's a 20-1 shot to win the presidency. Of course, he'd have to knock off the front-runner, Mitt Romney, and 4-1 favorite Sarah Palin who herself has surged in the betting odds due to her recent successes with political endorsements and stage-sharing with Fox's Glenn Beck.
Paddy Power said in a statement that "Sarah Palin is obviously playing her cards quite close to her chest but recent betting trends suggest that people believe she may just be the shot in the arm needed by the Republicans."
Still, despite his poor public approval ratings and the focus on Republicans in the midterm elections, Paddy Power still has Obama the odds on favorite to win reelection in 2012.
Paddy Power Betting Odds for the 2012 Republican Primaries
11/4 Mitt Romney
9/2 Sarah Palin
6/1 Mike Huckabee
8/1 John Boehner
8/1 Tim Pawlenty
8/1 John Thune
12/1 Newt Gingrich
12/1 Haley Barbour
12/1 Mitch Daniels
14/1 David Petraeus
16/1 Fred Thompson
16/1 Bill Owens
16/1 Bobby Jindal
16/1 Jon Huntsman
18/1 Chuck Hagel
20/1 Rudolph Giuliani
20/1 Jeb Bush
20/1 Lindsey Graham
20/1 Chuck Baldwin
20/1 Scott Brown
25/1 Tom Ridge
25/1 Ron Paul
33/1 John McCain
33/1 Condoleezza Rice
33/1 George Allen
33/1 John Ensign
33/1 Paul Ryan
33/1 Rand Paul
40/1 George Pataki
40/1 Bill Frist
50/1 Sam Brownback
50/1 Arnold Schwarzenegger
100/1 Dick Cheney
500/1 Laura Bush
Odds on the winner of the 2012 presidential election
8/11 Barack Obama
6/1 Mitt Romney
10/1 Sarah Palin
16/1 Hillary Clinton
18/1 Mike Huckabee
18/1 Tim Pawlenty
20/1 John Boehner
25/1 Bobby Jindal
25/1 Newt Gingrich
25/1 Haley Barbour
25/1 Mitch Daniels
28/1 Jon Huntsman
33/1 Joe Biden
33/1 Fred Thompson
33/1 Bill Owens
33/1 David Petraeus
33/1 Chuck Hagel
33/1 Rick Perry
40/1 Evan Bayh
40/1 Rudolph Giuliani
40/1 Jeb Bush
40/1 Lindsey Graham
40/1 Michael Bloomberg
40/1 Chuck Baldwin
50/1 Tom Ridge
50/1 Ron Paul
50/1 Arnold Schwarzenegger
66/1 John McCain
66/1 Al Gore
66/1 Condoleezza Rice
66/1 John Edwards
66/1 George Allen
66/1 Mark Warner
66/1 Caroline Kennedy
66/1 Rand Paul
80/1 Bill Frist
80/1 George Pataki
100/1 John Kerry
100/1 Jim Webb
100/1 Kathleen Sebelius
100/1 Tim Kaine
100/1 Sam Brownback
100/1 Janet Napolitano
100/1 Paul Ryan
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Delaware, New Hampshire Primaries Test Tea Party's National Strength
Insurgent Christine O'Donnell could upset establishment pick Mike Castle as Kelly Ayotte tries to hold off Ovide Lamontagne
On the Thursday after Election Day in November, Delawareans gather around the Sussex County Courthouse in Georgetown, Del. for a centuries-old tradition called "Return Day." It's become a day of celebration, when the town crier reads aloud the state's election results, and voters bury the hatchet, literally, on the year's campaign cycle. While the festivities will go on this November and a hatchet will again find its way into the dirt, the state's residents may have a tough time forgetting the polemic nature of their Senate special election.
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The Republican primary race for Delaware's Senate seat—won by Joe Biden in 2008 even as he was also getting elected to the vice presidency nationally, and now held by his longtime adviser Sen. Ted Kaufman—has gained national attention in the weeks following attorney Joe Miller's Tea Party-driven primary victory in Alaska over incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
The First State's primary is one of the last stages upon which the tension between the Republican Party establishment and the ardent Tea Party movement will play out. Grassroots conservative groups have demonstrated strength this primary season by backing victorious candidates in southern and western states like Kentucky, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, and Alaska. But on Tuesday, the races move into the Northeast, territory widely seen as less hospitable to the Tea Party's brand of conservatism. "There's a lot more potential consequence for Republicans if they nominate these Tea Party candidates in these states that are more Democratic leaning," says Democratic pollster Tom Jensen.
Political experts say that moderate states like Delaware and New Hampshire, where another Tea Party-backed candidate is challenging the Republican favorite in a Senate primary on Tuesday, will test the extent to which the Tea Party can have a national rather than regional scope. And recent polling suggests that the conservatives have a chance.
The GOP establishment favorite in Delaware is centrist Rep. Mike Castle, who for the last 30 years has won every statewide election in which he has run. First elected lieutenant governor in 1981, Castle later served as governor for nearly eight years before taking his current House seat in 1992, representing Delaware's only congressional district. Before that, beginning in 1966, he served for a decade in the state legislature. "Mike Castle has been running for office—and been in office—since Lyndon Johnson was president," says Allan Loudell, a local news radio host. "Mike Castle has probably shaken hands with almost all of the state's voters."
Castle's insurgent opponent, activist Christine O'Donnell, who has never held elective office but ran against Biden for the same seat in 2008, had not been seen as a real threat to Castle until recently. But emboldened by Miller's Alaska victory, the Tea Party Express endorsed her and pledged to spend a quarter of a million dollars on O'Donnell's behalf. As of Monday, the group had already plunked down more than $215,000, most of it on broadcast ads, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. This blitz is similar to the last minute support the group poured into Alaska on Miller's behalf before his August 24 primary.[See who is giving money to Castle's campaign.]
"We like to get involved in races where we can actually make a difference, and we feel like this is one of those races," says Amy Kremer, chairwoman of the Tea Party Express, an outspoken Castle critic who derisively refers to him as a "Republican in Name Only," or "RINO," and a liberal.
O'Donnell's campaign also received a boost Thursday when former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed her, adding to the national attention the race is receiving.
In a state that typically leans Democratic, GOP strategists say, a moderate like Castle will have a much better chance at attracting independent and Democratic voters than O'Donnell, who shares the Tea Party's conservative views. Indeed, a Rasmussen poll released on Sept. 7 showed Castle leading New Castle County Executive Chris Coons, who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination, by a 48-37 margin. O'Donnell, on the other hand, trails the Democrat by a similar 11-point margin, 47 percent to 36 percent. The only public poll of the primary between Castle and O'Donnell was released on Sunday by Public Policy Polling and gave O'Donnell 47 percent of the vote, while Castle trailed with 44 percent (the poll's margin of error was +/- 3.8 percent). A previous Tea Party Express poll shows Castle with a narrow, surmountable lead. And a Castle spokeswoman, last week, said that his campaign's internal polling also showed Castle ahead.
Polling aside, Castle's recent actions suggest that he's taking the losses by Murkowski and the GOP establishment seriously. While his previous campaigns were positive, Castle went negative against O'Donnell in a television ad this week. The ad quotes a local Delaware paper, the News Journal, about a number of finance-related charges against O'Donnell, including that she failed to pay her income taxes on time, and was sued by her alma mater, Fairleigh Dickinson University.
And while the extra attention after the Alaska primary initially helped her gain momentum, a few gaffes have since hurt O'Donnell. For example, in a well-publicized local radio interview, she mischaracterized her performance against Biden, saying she beat him in counties where she did not. Likewise, she gained a reputation for being paranoid after the Weekly Standard reported that she said her opponents follow her home and hide in her bushes.
And the race has more importance than most of November's contests: Whoever wins the special election is expected to quickly be sworn into the Senate and be on hand for the planned post-election lame duck session, adding a vote to either side of the aisle as Democrats plan to push through unfinished business. O'Donnell has already said that she'll act as a "filibuster" vote against pending Democratic legislation, such as cap-and-trade, should she win. Castle's spokeswoman says that he won't vote for any controversial legislation during a lame duck session.
A similar tension between the establishment and the conservative base has developed in the GOP Senate primary in New Hampshire, where Kelly Ayotte, who was the state's first female attorney general, is favored. Ayotte began her run with the backing of many Tea Partyers. She has, for example, gotten Palin's imprimatur. However, as Ayotte has engaged in a campaign war with businessman and self-funded candidate Bill Binnie, another Tea Party pick has risen in the polls. Ovide Lamontagne, the former chairman of the state's Board of Education, is now considered the conservative grassroots favorite. He has moved into second place in the polls ahead of Binnie. The winner will face Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes. But Democratic pollster Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, argues that while Lamontagne has indeed gained popularity with voters affiliated with conservative groups, the difference between his chances and O'Donnell's in Delaware or Miller's in Alaska will be financial. No conservative groups have come to his aid with high dollar independent expenditures as they did with the other candidates. "Is there a possibility of an upset on Tuesday night? Sure," says Jensen. "But I don't think there is quite the perfect storm as in Alaska."
Democrats, who argue that Tea Party candidates are proving too conservative even in southern and western states, hope for upsets Tuesday in Delaware and New Hampshire. Regardless of the outcome, the primary races set the stage for the ultimate test of the movement's strength: the November midterms.
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On the Thursday after Election Day in November, Delawareans gather around the Sussex County Courthouse in Georgetown, Del. for a centuries-old tradition called "Return Day." It's become a day of celebration, when the town crier reads aloud the state's election results, and voters bury the hatchet, literally, on the year's campaign cycle. While the festivities will go on this November and a hatchet will again find its way into the dirt, the state's residents may have a tough time forgetting the polemic nature of their Senate special election.
Click here to find out more!
The Republican primary race for Delaware's Senate seat—won by Joe Biden in 2008 even as he was also getting elected to the vice presidency nationally, and now held by his longtime adviser Sen. Ted Kaufman—has gained national attention in the weeks following attorney Joe Miller's Tea Party-driven primary victory in Alaska over incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
The First State's primary is one of the last stages upon which the tension between the Republican Party establishment and the ardent Tea Party movement will play out. Grassroots conservative groups have demonstrated strength this primary season by backing victorious candidates in southern and western states like Kentucky, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, and Alaska. But on Tuesday, the races move into the Northeast, territory widely seen as less hospitable to the Tea Party's brand of conservatism. "There's a lot more potential consequence for Republicans if they nominate these Tea Party candidates in these states that are more Democratic leaning," says Democratic pollster Tom Jensen.
Political experts say that moderate states like Delaware and New Hampshire, where another Tea Party-backed candidate is challenging the Republican favorite in a Senate primary on Tuesday, will test the extent to which the Tea Party can have a national rather than regional scope. And recent polling suggests that the conservatives have a chance.
The GOP establishment favorite in Delaware is centrist Rep. Mike Castle, who for the last 30 years has won every statewide election in which he has run. First elected lieutenant governor in 1981, Castle later served as governor for nearly eight years before taking his current House seat in 1992, representing Delaware's only congressional district. Before that, beginning in 1966, he served for a decade in the state legislature. "Mike Castle has been running for office—and been in office—since Lyndon Johnson was president," says Allan Loudell, a local news radio host. "Mike Castle has probably shaken hands with almost all of the state's voters."
Castle's insurgent opponent, activist Christine O'Donnell, who has never held elective office but ran against Biden for the same seat in 2008, had not been seen as a real threat to Castle until recently. But emboldened by Miller's Alaska victory, the Tea Party Express endorsed her and pledged to spend a quarter of a million dollars on O'Donnell's behalf. As of Monday, the group had already plunked down more than $215,000, most of it on broadcast ads, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. This blitz is similar to the last minute support the group poured into Alaska on Miller's behalf before his August 24 primary.[See who is giving money to Castle's campaign.]
"We like to get involved in races where we can actually make a difference, and we feel like this is one of those races," says Amy Kremer, chairwoman of the Tea Party Express, an outspoken Castle critic who derisively refers to him as a "Republican in Name Only," or "RINO," and a liberal.
O'Donnell's campaign also received a boost Thursday when former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed her, adding to the national attention the race is receiving.
In a state that typically leans Democratic, GOP strategists say, a moderate like Castle will have a much better chance at attracting independent and Democratic voters than O'Donnell, who shares the Tea Party's conservative views. Indeed, a Rasmussen poll released on Sept. 7 showed Castle leading New Castle County Executive Chris Coons, who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination, by a 48-37 margin. O'Donnell, on the other hand, trails the Democrat by a similar 11-point margin, 47 percent to 36 percent. The only public poll of the primary between Castle and O'Donnell was released on Sunday by Public Policy Polling and gave O'Donnell 47 percent of the vote, while Castle trailed with 44 percent (the poll's margin of error was +/- 3.8 percent). A previous Tea Party Express poll shows Castle with a narrow, surmountable lead. And a Castle spokeswoman, last week, said that his campaign's internal polling also showed Castle ahead.
Polling aside, Castle's recent actions suggest that he's taking the losses by Murkowski and the GOP establishment seriously. While his previous campaigns were positive, Castle went negative against O'Donnell in a television ad this week. The ad quotes a local Delaware paper, the News Journal, about a number of finance-related charges against O'Donnell, including that she failed to pay her income taxes on time, and was sued by her alma mater, Fairleigh Dickinson University.
And while the extra attention after the Alaska primary initially helped her gain momentum, a few gaffes have since hurt O'Donnell. For example, in a well-publicized local radio interview, she mischaracterized her performance against Biden, saying she beat him in counties where she did not. Likewise, she gained a reputation for being paranoid after the Weekly Standard reported that she said her opponents follow her home and hide in her bushes.
And the race has more importance than most of November's contests: Whoever wins the special election is expected to quickly be sworn into the Senate and be on hand for the planned post-election lame duck session, adding a vote to either side of the aisle as Democrats plan to push through unfinished business. O'Donnell has already said that she'll act as a "filibuster" vote against pending Democratic legislation, such as cap-and-trade, should she win. Castle's spokeswoman says that he won't vote for any controversial legislation during a lame duck session.
A similar tension between the establishment and the conservative base has developed in the GOP Senate primary in New Hampshire, where Kelly Ayotte, who was the state's first female attorney general, is favored. Ayotte began her run with the backing of many Tea Partyers. She has, for example, gotten Palin's imprimatur. However, as Ayotte has engaged in a campaign war with businessman and self-funded candidate Bill Binnie, another Tea Party pick has risen in the polls. Ovide Lamontagne, the former chairman of the state's Board of Education, is now considered the conservative grassroots favorite. He has moved into second place in the polls ahead of Binnie. The winner will face Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes. But Democratic pollster Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, argues that while Lamontagne has indeed gained popularity with voters affiliated with conservative groups, the difference between his chances and O'Donnell's in Delaware or Miller's in Alaska will be financial. No conservative groups have come to his aid with high dollar independent expenditures as they did with the other candidates. "Is there a possibility of an upset on Tuesday night? Sure," says Jensen. "But I don't think there is quite the perfect storm as in Alaska."
Democrats, who argue that Tea Party candidates are proving too conservative even in southern and western states, hope for upsets Tuesday in Delaware and New Hampshire. Regardless of the outcome, the primary races set the stage for the ultimate test of the movement's strength: the November midterms.
US News
Obama Looms Large in Top West Virginia Races
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Democrats atop West Virginia's 2010 ballot find themselves running against, or away from, their party colleagues in Washington, D.C.
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The races for U.S. Senate and the state's two Democrat-held U.S. House seats have become as much about President Barack Obama and their fellow Democrats running Congress as about the candidates themselves.
The same scenario has unfolded in most other states. As the economy struggles to recover, foes of Obama and such measures as the stimulus and the health care overhaul have rallied. A growing number of political analysts project Republican takeovers of one or both chambers of Congress.
The Associated Press recently documented the enthusiasm gap by reviewing the 35 statewide primaries held before Sept. 1. The study found that more than 4 million more Republicans than Democrats had cast ballots in those nominating contests.
From TV ads to Twitter, the GOP has been hammering home its message in West Virginia:
— John Raese, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, warns that his Democratic opponent, Gov. Joe Manchin, would be "a rubber stamp for Barack Obama."
— Elliott "Spike" Maynard, the Democrat-turned-Republican challenging Rep. Nick Rahall, lumps the 3rd District incumbent in with Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
— State Sen. Mike Oliverio, the Democrat running in the 1st Congressional District, has been similarly targeted by the GOP's David McKinley.
The situation marks a reversal for Democrats, who in West Virginia and elsewhere cast President George W. Bush as the boogeyman in 2006 and 2008. State Democrats had hoped they were immune from such attacks. In previous elections, they often sought to distinguish themselves from their national counterparts on such issues as guns and abortion. This year, their candidates seek to redirect the focus to local or regional issues.
TV spots from Rahall and Oliverio tout plans to preserve jobs — Oliverio decries steel imports from places like China in his district, while Rahall recounts his efforts for coal in his. Oliverio followed up last week by releasing a seven-point strategy that addresses such areas as trade, worker training and small business tax breaks. [See which industries are giving money to Rahall's campaign.]
Manchin has stumped on his nearly six years as governor, and his campaign's first TV ad mentions that record in passing. But the spot otherwise decries Raese's negative tone. Manchin also approached the family of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd about Raese's ad, because it included an image from the July memorial for Byrd at the state Capitol.
The Senate race will decide who will serve out the roughly two years left in Byrd's term; the 92-year-old Democrat died June 28. After hearing from Manchin, Byrd's family slammed Raese in a statement for using the image of Manchin sitting beside Obama. Raese's campaign said it did not intend to invoke the memorial, and countered that Manchin was seeking to sidestep the ad's main thrust.
When recently asked about his party, Manchin cited its policies that he argued have historically improved the quality of life in the U.S. But he also denounced "entitlement mentalities without responsibilities," and attempts to "add more regulations and make it much more difficult for businesses to compete in the global market."
"Voters should be angry at everyone in Washington for not talking to each other," Manchin told AP. "What Washington needs is a good dose of commonsense West Virginia, and the responsible government we've been running."
Among other attacks, Raese supporters allege that Manchin supports cap-and-trade. The Obama administration proposal aims to limit greenhouse gas emissions from such sources as burning coal. That came as a surprise to Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association.
"He's clearly said he's opposed to it, and opposed to it because of the damage he feels it will bring to the coal industry and the coal-using industry here in West Virginia," Raney said.
Signs of a voter enthusiasm gap in West Virginia appear mixed. More than 94,200 ballots were cast in the Democrats' special U.S. Senate primary Aug. 28, when Manchin bested two other candidates with 73 percent of the vote. Nearly 54,100 voters chose among the 10 Republican candidates. Raese won with 71 percent.
Democratic primary voters outnumbered Republicans, though not quite by the nearly 2-to-1 margin the majority party enjoys among all registered voters. Democratic turnout equaled 14 percent of the party's registered voters, compared to 15 percent for the GOP.
The two parties saw similar turnout results in the regular May primary for the state's 1st Congressional District seat. There, Oliverio upset multi-term incumbent Rep. Alan Mollohan for the Democratic nod, while McKinley prevailed among a field of six Republican hopefuls.
But in the 3rd Congressional District, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 3-to-1, May primary turnout was closer to 4-to-1 Democratic. With less than 20 percent of GOP voters turning out, Maynard squeaked past three other Republicans. Rahall defeated his primary challenger with more than 67 percent of the vote and nearly 26 percent of registered Democrats participating.
Obama lost West Virginia to Republican John McCain, receiving less than 43 percent of the vote in 2008. Obama did about as poorly in each of the state's three congressional districts. But while his support for cap and trade was a factor, six of the seven counties that Obama carried produce coal including state leader Boone.
Polling since suggests that Obama remains decidedly unpopular in the Mountain State. West Virginia was tied with Utah for the second-highest Obama disapproval rating, after Gallup surveyed 780 state residents between January and June. With just 34 percent of West Virginians polled approving of the president's job performance, only Wyoming's approval rating was lower at 29 percent.
US News
Click here to find out more!
The races for U.S. Senate and the state's two Democrat-held U.S. House seats have become as much about President Barack Obama and their fellow Democrats running Congress as about the candidates themselves.
The same scenario has unfolded in most other states. As the economy struggles to recover, foes of Obama and such measures as the stimulus and the health care overhaul have rallied. A growing number of political analysts project Republican takeovers of one or both chambers of Congress.
The Associated Press recently documented the enthusiasm gap by reviewing the 35 statewide primaries held before Sept. 1. The study found that more than 4 million more Republicans than Democrats had cast ballots in those nominating contests.
From TV ads to Twitter, the GOP has been hammering home its message in West Virginia:
— John Raese, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, warns that his Democratic opponent, Gov. Joe Manchin, would be "a rubber stamp for Barack Obama."
— Elliott "Spike" Maynard, the Democrat-turned-Republican challenging Rep. Nick Rahall, lumps the 3rd District incumbent in with Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
— State Sen. Mike Oliverio, the Democrat running in the 1st Congressional District, has been similarly targeted by the GOP's David McKinley.
The situation marks a reversal for Democrats, who in West Virginia and elsewhere cast President George W. Bush as the boogeyman in 2006 and 2008. State Democrats had hoped they were immune from such attacks. In previous elections, they often sought to distinguish themselves from their national counterparts on such issues as guns and abortion. This year, their candidates seek to redirect the focus to local or regional issues.
TV spots from Rahall and Oliverio tout plans to preserve jobs — Oliverio decries steel imports from places like China in his district, while Rahall recounts his efforts for coal in his. Oliverio followed up last week by releasing a seven-point strategy that addresses such areas as trade, worker training and small business tax breaks. [See which industries are giving money to Rahall's campaign.]
Manchin has stumped on his nearly six years as governor, and his campaign's first TV ad mentions that record in passing. But the spot otherwise decries Raese's negative tone. Manchin also approached the family of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd about Raese's ad, because it included an image from the July memorial for Byrd at the state Capitol.
The Senate race will decide who will serve out the roughly two years left in Byrd's term; the 92-year-old Democrat died June 28. After hearing from Manchin, Byrd's family slammed Raese in a statement for using the image of Manchin sitting beside Obama. Raese's campaign said it did not intend to invoke the memorial, and countered that Manchin was seeking to sidestep the ad's main thrust.
When recently asked about his party, Manchin cited its policies that he argued have historically improved the quality of life in the U.S. But he also denounced "entitlement mentalities without responsibilities," and attempts to "add more regulations and make it much more difficult for businesses to compete in the global market."
"Voters should be angry at everyone in Washington for not talking to each other," Manchin told AP. "What Washington needs is a good dose of commonsense West Virginia, and the responsible government we've been running."
Among other attacks, Raese supporters allege that Manchin supports cap-and-trade. The Obama administration proposal aims to limit greenhouse gas emissions from such sources as burning coal. That came as a surprise to Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association.
"He's clearly said he's opposed to it, and opposed to it because of the damage he feels it will bring to the coal industry and the coal-using industry here in West Virginia," Raney said.
Signs of a voter enthusiasm gap in West Virginia appear mixed. More than 94,200 ballots were cast in the Democrats' special U.S. Senate primary Aug. 28, when Manchin bested two other candidates with 73 percent of the vote. Nearly 54,100 voters chose among the 10 Republican candidates. Raese won with 71 percent.
Democratic primary voters outnumbered Republicans, though not quite by the nearly 2-to-1 margin the majority party enjoys among all registered voters. Democratic turnout equaled 14 percent of the party's registered voters, compared to 15 percent for the GOP.
The two parties saw similar turnout results in the regular May primary for the state's 1st Congressional District seat. There, Oliverio upset multi-term incumbent Rep. Alan Mollohan for the Democratic nod, while McKinley prevailed among a field of six Republican hopefuls.
But in the 3rd Congressional District, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 3-to-1, May primary turnout was closer to 4-to-1 Democratic. With less than 20 percent of GOP voters turning out, Maynard squeaked past three other Republicans. Rahall defeated his primary challenger with more than 67 percent of the vote and nearly 26 percent of registered Democrats participating.
Obama lost West Virginia to Republican John McCain, receiving less than 43 percent of the vote in 2008. Obama did about as poorly in each of the state's three congressional districts. But while his support for cap and trade was a factor, six of the seven counties that Obama carried produce coal including state leader Boone.
Polling since suggests that Obama remains decidedly unpopular in the Mountain State. West Virginia was tied with Utah for the second-highest Obama disapproval rating, after Gallup surveyed 780 state residents between January and June. With just 34 percent of West Virginians polled approving of the president's job performance, only Wyoming's approval rating was lower at 29 percent.
US News
Coast to Coast, Tea Partiers Promote Their Cause
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Originally billed as a chance to reflect on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a series of raucous tea party rallies around the country on Sunday ended up focusing almost entirely on an event still to come — the Nov. 2 election.
Click here to find out more!
"We are your everyday, average, churchgoing families, we represent the majority of people in this nation, and we're ready to take back our government," said Pam Pinkston of Fair Oaks, Calif., one of about 4,000 people to attend Sacramento's "United to the Finish" gathering.
Thousands of tea party activists also turned up at rallies in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis to spread their message of smaller government and focus their political movement on the pivotal congressional elections in November.
Several thousand people marched along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Washington Monument to the Capitol, many carrying signs reading "Congress You're Fired" and "Let Failures Fail and "Impeach Obama."
"It wouldn't bother me to make a clean sweep," said Michael Power of Decatur, Ala., endorsing term limits for members of Congress. "There are some good ones, but we can lose those."
Leslie and Gary Morrison of Redding drove 150 south to the former McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento with their dog Phoebe, just two weeks after flying to Washington to attend a large rally hosted by conservative commentator Glenn Beck. They said they liked the feeling of solidarity at the tea party events.
"This is a way to get people focused before the election," Leslie Morrison said. "And it's a way to get the tea party's true numbers seen."
Many attending the various rallies wore red, white and blue clothing and carried yellow flags with the picture of a snake coiled above the inscription "Don't Tread On Me."
In Sacramento, speakers railed against health care reform, the economic stimulus and President Barack Obama while standing in front of a 12-foot plastic replica of the Statue of Liberty.
In St. Louis, crowds packed the area between the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River while a band dressed in powdered wigs and 18th century clothing belted out KISS's "I Want to Rock 'N Roll All Night."
Organizers say the events intended to call attention to what they describe as big government run amok and to recall the sense of national unity Americans felt the day after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The rallies also represent an opportunity to build momentum before the November election. The tea party is counting on its members to turn out in large numbers and prove that the movement is a political force with staying power.
"We've lost respect in the world. We are going broke. The American dream is dying and our social and cultural fabric is unraveling," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who spoke at the Washington rally. "People are scared. If we do not succeed in November, all that once was good and great about this country could someday be gone." [See who is giving money to Pence's campaign.]
Most of the rally-goers were already faithful tea party activists, and it will take a lot more than just them to make real waves at the polls, acknowledged Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler.
"We want to fire people up today, so that then they'll go out and get the new people," Meckler, of Nevada City, Calif., said backstage at the Sacramento event.
Tea Party Patriots claims to be the nation's largest tea party group, with 2,700 chapters, including at least 175 in California.
Beck and another tea party favorite, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, spoke to a crowd in Anchorage, Alaska, late Saturday — the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks — and discussed their feelings about that day in 2001.
"Here we are so many years later, and I fear we are forgetting," Beck said.
Party activists reject characterizations of their movement as an extension of the GOP, but the vast majority of its members are Republicans and independents who vote Republican.
But not Mary Jane Corcoran, a 58-year-old from Dayton, Ohio, who made the 360-mile trip to St. Louis to show her opposition to big government.
"I've sort of gotten away from being a Republican or a Democrat," she said. "I'm just a conservative."
US News
Click here to find out more!
"We are your everyday, average, churchgoing families, we represent the majority of people in this nation, and we're ready to take back our government," said Pam Pinkston of Fair Oaks, Calif., one of about 4,000 people to attend Sacramento's "United to the Finish" gathering.
Thousands of tea party activists also turned up at rallies in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis to spread their message of smaller government and focus their political movement on the pivotal congressional elections in November.
Several thousand people marched along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Washington Monument to the Capitol, many carrying signs reading "Congress You're Fired" and "Let Failures Fail and "Impeach Obama."
"It wouldn't bother me to make a clean sweep," said Michael Power of Decatur, Ala., endorsing term limits for members of Congress. "There are some good ones, but we can lose those."
Leslie and Gary Morrison of Redding drove 150 south to the former McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento with their dog Phoebe, just two weeks after flying to Washington to attend a large rally hosted by conservative commentator Glenn Beck. They said they liked the feeling of solidarity at the tea party events.
"This is a way to get people focused before the election," Leslie Morrison said. "And it's a way to get the tea party's true numbers seen."
Many attending the various rallies wore red, white and blue clothing and carried yellow flags with the picture of a snake coiled above the inscription "Don't Tread On Me."
In Sacramento, speakers railed against health care reform, the economic stimulus and President Barack Obama while standing in front of a 12-foot plastic replica of the Statue of Liberty.
In St. Louis, crowds packed the area between the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River while a band dressed in powdered wigs and 18th century clothing belted out KISS's "I Want to Rock 'N Roll All Night."
Organizers say the events intended to call attention to what they describe as big government run amok and to recall the sense of national unity Americans felt the day after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The rallies also represent an opportunity to build momentum before the November election. The tea party is counting on its members to turn out in large numbers and prove that the movement is a political force with staying power.
"We've lost respect in the world. We are going broke. The American dream is dying and our social and cultural fabric is unraveling," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., who spoke at the Washington rally. "People are scared. If we do not succeed in November, all that once was good and great about this country could someday be gone." [See who is giving money to Pence's campaign.]
Most of the rally-goers were already faithful tea party activists, and it will take a lot more than just them to make real waves at the polls, acknowledged Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler.
"We want to fire people up today, so that then they'll go out and get the new people," Meckler, of Nevada City, Calif., said backstage at the Sacramento event.
Tea Party Patriots claims to be the nation's largest tea party group, with 2,700 chapters, including at least 175 in California.
Beck and another tea party favorite, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, spoke to a crowd in Anchorage, Alaska, late Saturday — the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks — and discussed their feelings about that day in 2001.
"Here we are so many years later, and I fear we are forgetting," Beck said.
Party activists reject characterizations of their movement as an extension of the GOP, but the vast majority of its members are Republicans and independents who vote Republican.
But not Mary Jane Corcoran, a 58-year-old from Dayton, Ohio, who made the 360-mile trip to St. Louis to show her opposition to big government.
"I've sort of gotten away from being a Republican or a Democrat," she said. "I'm just a conservative."
US News
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