A new study by Ernest Reock, Jr. of Rutgers University concludes that New Jersey will retain all 13 of its congressional districts after the 2010 census, despite the Garden State’s loss of 72,500 residents in 2006. However, districts in South and Central Jersey are set to shrink.
That doesn’t quite jibe with Polidata’s projection which pegged New Jersey as losing a seat in the next re-apportionment. Election Data Services also projects NJ to lose a district.
New Jersey currently has a 7 Dem, 6 GOP congressional delegation, but that could easily be pushed into a 9D-4R split with the retirements of Reps. Ferguson and Saxton.
The nerves are starting to wear extremely thin among GOP activists these days. Via Blue Indiana, the Muncie Star Press has the sordid details:
A Republican voter registration deputy faces battery charges after he tackled a newspaper reporter and hit the Democratic 6th District congressional candidate after a contentious Delaware County Election Board meeting this afternoon.
The meeting had just ended when Will Statom, GOP registration deputy and secretary of the local Republican Party, attacked Star Press reporter Nick Werner while Werner was interviewing Ball State University student Johanna Perez about hundreds of last-minute voter registrations for Democrat Barack Obama’s campaign.
“He did not seem very happy that we were stating our opinions,” Perez said afterwards about Statom.
Werner said Statom seemed critical of his reporting, sarcastically saying to make sure he screwed up the story again.
Statom had just walked past Werner when Statom turned around and pushed Werner against the wall, grabbed him and they fell to the ground, according to witnesses.
Barry A. Welsh, Democratic 6th district congressional candidate, who attended the meeting, stepped in, and Statom turned around and hit Welsh in the eye.
“When Nick went to the floor, I tried to break it up,” Welsh said.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen abusive behavior from GOP operatives on the campaign trail. Remember Trent Wisecup, the chief of staff to Michigan Rep. Joe Knollenberg? Sadly, it probably won’t be the last time, either.
Multiple Republican sources say Andy Unanue is preparing to drop out of the Republican U.S. Senate race and will be replaced by former Congressman Dick Zimmer.
The arrangement is not final, but Unanue has reportedly agreed to drop his candidacy, while Zimmer has agreed to replace him.
Unanue’s three member committee on vacancies has until next Wednesday to officially change candidates.
Zimmer, 63, a lawyer in Washington, represented the state’s 12th District in Congress from 1991 to 1997 before losing in the U.S. Senate race in 1996 to Robert Torricelli. In 2000, Zimmer lost a bid to reclaim his old House seat from Rep. Rush Holt, D-Hopewell Township.
For help with the title, please watch this instructional video:
At a pro-war rally in our nation's capitol yesterday, hosted by the right-wing group Vets for Freedom, congressional candidate David Bellavia made a major faux pas in his introductory statements before John McCain took the podium. “Rest assured that people like Senator McCain will be the goal and the men that my two young boys will emulate an admire. You can have your Tiger Woods. We have Senator McCain!” Bellavia bellowed, implicitly referring to Barack Obama, eliciting a chorus of “ooooh”'s from the mostly white crowd. He later referred to John McCain as “the real audacity of hope.” All hail the mighty Republicans– the party of racial insensitivity!
If this were just some average citizen venting venom and casting condescension, it would not be worthy of notice. But this guy is running for Congress in the 26th District of New York State. The fact that the GOP firmly stands behind him as he rattles off this incendiary rhetoric– McCain made no reference to Bellavia's statements in his own speech, which directly followed– shows what a disgusting operation the GOP truly is.
Unfortunately, the mainstream media has largely ignored the incident– Keith Olbermann commented on it on “Countdown,” and the issue was visited by Chris Matthews on “Hardball,” but it hasn't made headlines in a big way. Hopefully, it will at least catch the eyes of voters in the Buffalo area, and in neighboring upstate districts. NY-26 looks to be an easy win for us this year, as Jon Powers is a strong candidate; I just hope this incident at least has a ripple effect in the region, if not the nation.
Recently the small Western Kentucky town of Benton had their annual Tater Day. What is Tater Day you may ask? Well, it is a festival that started in the late 1800s as a celebration of the first day of spring. Residents of Western Kentucky would gather together and trade sweet potatoes. It features a parade, that circles the town and a Ms. Tater Day pageant.
It also has political overtones and many candidates down through the years have come to meet their constituents in Western Kentucky and participate in the Tater Day parade.
This year, Heather Ryan and Greg Fischer were there to meet the fine people of Benton, and participate in the parade. Their opponents, Exxon Ed Whitfield, Mitch McConnell and Bruce Lunsford decided not to participate. Personally, I believe that a Representative or Senator should take every opportunity to meet the people they want to represent.
Well, two of the hardest working candidates to expand our Congressional majorities are Heather Ryan and Greg Fischer. Ryan is running against Exxon Ed Whitfield in Kentucky’s First Congressional District. Here she is meeting with a veteran constituent:
Unlike Exxon Ed Whitfield, Heather Ryan believes in meeting the veterans of our district and hearing their concerns. Of course Exxon Eddie doesn’t want to meet them because he voted against them. Heather would never vote against the welfare of our veterans as Exxon Eddie has here:
Whitfield voted for budget that cut veteran’s programs. Voted for final passage of the $2.6 trillion budget conference report for 2006. The report cut Medicaid spending by $10 Billion, every penny of the Social Security surplus, increased the national deficit by $167.5 Billion over 5 years and paved the way for drilling in ANWR. Furthermore, the conference report cut fudning for veterans’ healthcare by $13.5 Billion over 5 years. Yet the budget still found room for $106 BILLION in tax breaks for those who need it least. [HRC 95, Vote #149, 4/28/2005; Passed Republicans; 214-15: Democrats; 0-195; Independent; 0-1]
And here:
Whitfield voted against a $53 Million boost for Veteran’s Health Care and Benefits on MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2005 (FAILED BY 1 VOTE – WHITFIELD’S VOTE). The bill would have aded $8 million for combat-related trauma care, $6 million for poly-trauma centersto support wounded trops once they return to their homes, $9 million for VA medical and prosthetic research and $7 million for 100 additional staff to process claims for compenstation and pension benefits. Finally, the amendment would provide $23 million to help approximately 4100 spouses of service members with children whose spouse died during the War on Terrorism between September 11, 2001 and November 30, 2004 by making them eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. The amendment failed, 213-214 [HR 2528, Vote #224, 5/26/2005; Failed; Republicans; 19-210; Democrats; 193-4; Independent; 1-0]
You see, here at Ryan for Kentucky we believe in respecting our veterans with much more than talking points. We believe they have earned our respect, and all the benefits they and their families are entitled to. We consider it a disgrace that our Congressman rubber-stamped the Bush plan to send our soldiers to war without the proper training, equipment, and planning to accomplish their mission, and then allowed such disgraces as Walter Reed. Here is Heather’s take on respecting our veterans:
As a veteran of the United States Navy, and an active member of the American Legion, my dedication to the men and women in uniform is unyielding. The current service member is highly skilled, highly trained and highly ignored by this administration. The American people
were duped into an ill-conceived war under false pretenses and the administration continues to over utilize a national guard system which was never intended to be used for sustained combat missions. Congress must insist that an exit strategy be planned and implemented immediately. By the Bush Administration’s own account, the nation will be forced to reinstate the draft system again should we continue to over-tax our National Guard with sustained combat. I am not a supporter of reinstating the draft for as history clearly shows us, the draft is merely for those of us who are not wealthy enough to buy our way out of
active duty. We must not allow this ill planned and ill executed war to continue to destroy the brave men and women in our armed forces while simultaneously placing our nation at a heightened risk with a limited national guard.
Every day we see reports about how our veterans services have fallen into severe disrepair. The men and women who served this country deserve better. Our VA system needs a complete overhaul; from the GI Bill to health care to disability benefits, without a modernized system, we do those who served our country a grave disservice. Veterans deserve better.
Of course, Heather is a fellow veteran, so her views stem from experience.
Here is Heather decorating the Ryan for Kentucky van with a personal thank you note for Whitfield, McConnell, Bush, Cheney, and the Republicans for our $3.29 gas!!
I think she speaks for all of us with that thank you note!! Just to think, many in this country consider $3.29 gas cheap!!!
Heather is an awesome grassroots candidate who isn’t afraid to rub elbows with the average people she wishes to represent. Exxon Ed Whitfield was a no-show on Tater Day. Wanna see who Exxon Eddie sees fit to rub elbows with instead of veterans and his constituents?:
Well, that makes sense since Exxon Eddie has been an adoring rubber-stamp of W’s policies that hurt our veterans, while doling out hundreds of billions in corporate welfare to men like President Bush, and well himself!!!
Here is Heather and her daughter Ireland, our youngest member of Ryan for Kentucky, and future Democratic leader!!!:
Heather wasn’t the only awesome grassroots Democrat at Tater Day. The Progressive candidate for Senate, Greg Fischer also saw fit to meet the good folks of Benton and Western Kentucky. It seems his grassroots supporters were waiting:
Maybe they are so excited because Greg Fischer will fight for the Transformational change that will ensure all Kentuckians have access to healthcare:
Since career politician Mitch McConnell took office, the number of Kentuckians without health insurance has skyrocketed to 520,000. And currently there are 47 million Americans uninsured; the health care system in the United States is broken. An inefficient delivery system combined with non-patient focused bureaucratic barriers has caused health care costs to spiral out of control.
A single, serious injury or illness can be financially devastating for an insured, tax paying citizen. By the year 2010, healthcare cost as a percentage of gross domestic product is estimated to be 20 percent in the U.S. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimate that by 2017, healthcare spending per person will approximately double to $13,000 per person, and total U.S. health care spending will double to more than $4 trillion. This level of spending is simply unsustainable.
Attempts by politicians to address the issues have largely been ineffective as a result of the failure to consider hard facts and predictions, some based on concrete data from our own government organizations and agencies. The common notion that health care in the United States, although expensive, is ranked at the top globally, is a myth. As an example, America’s infant and maternal mortality rates currently rank below France, Canada, Germany, Australia, and Sweden, all with lower health care costs.
Transformational change is needed to address this crisis. A system is needed that not only serves as a catalyst for health care quality improvements, but also reduces the health care cost on businesses and individuals. A new system-understood by all American citizens and focused on prevention and public health-is needed.
The good news is health care solutions exist to spark this change. Additionally, our current national spending of $2.2 trillion provides adequate funding for the solutions.
Greg Fischer’s first legislative priority will be passing a bill that prevents members of Congress from accepting their gold-plated tax-payer funded health care coverage until universal health care is a reality for every American. Maybe then we can get started on real change for health care in America.
Solutions must be value-based and built around these principles:
Universal health care access for all citizens- All Americans deserve the dignity of quality health care that guarantees eligibility, is affordable and portable, preserves the private practice of medicine, and allows freedom to choose among doctors and other health care providers.
System modernization – We must improve the utilization of health care system dollars to lower health care delivery costs and improve patient safety. Involving all health care providers in the development of standards for electronic health information management is one example of common sense system modernization.
Wellness and prevention Because a significant part of health care costs in America is driven by behavior, a focus on improving personal health and prevention of serious diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and coronary disease is imperative. The creation of reimbursement incentives around wellness and prevention not only improves quality of life but will also help to lessen serious laterstage illnesses.
Innovation – Americans are the world’s most innovative citizens. We can encourage innovation and reduce costs by removing bureaucratic barriers for the development of less invasive treatments, better medications and devices for testing and treatment.
Here is Greg looking remarkably at ease among the voters of Western Kentucky despite chasing millionaire establishment candidate Bruce Lunsford in the primary, and millionaire Mitch McConnell when he wins the primary. Neither opponent saw fit to grace the good people of Western Kentucky with their prescense:
Wanna see where Bruce Lunsford’s sympathies lie?
Thats Ernie Fletcher, former corrupt Governor of Kentucky who Lunsford endorsed after losing the Democratic Primary to Ben Chandler in 2003.
In Kentucky, we have two awesome candidates to expand our Congressional majorities with fighting Democrats who won’t be afraid to fight for us. Please help these campaigns as they both face millionaire oppositon, and the golden-plated smear machine of Mitch McConnell.
Anzalone Liszt for Travis Childers (likely special election voters, 4/3-7):
Travis Childers (D): 41%
Greg Davis (R): 40%
(MoE: ±4.4%)
Those are the head-to-head results between Childers and Davis. However, in the special election on April 22nd, primary losers Glenn McCullough (R) and Steve Holland (D) will both be on the ballot (in addition to two third-party candidates). When all six names are read, Davis leads Childers by a statistically insignificant margin of 29%-27%. However, it should be noted that Holland is considering going to court in order to get his name off the special election ballot:
“I want the ballot clean,” Holland said Wednesday from the State Capitol where he is chairman of the House Public Health Committee. “I’m not going to Washington for six months, even if I am elected.”
McCullough said Wednesday he also has asked for his name to be taken off the special election ballot, but noted he isn’t “quite as adamant” as Holland.
More information from the polling memo:
Among undecided voters, Democrats have a 15-point advantage on the generic ballot (40% Democrat / 25% Republican), another sign of Childers’ expansion potential. This is the result of high undecided vote among blacks which will most likely go to Childers.
SurveyUSA polls the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate race (likely primary voters, 4/5-7, 3/8-10 in parens):
Kay Hagan (D): 21% (18%)
Jim Neal (D): 20% (21%)
Duskin Lassiter: 6% (6%)
Marcus Williams: 5% (7%)
Howard Staley: 4% (4%)
Other/Undecided: 45% (44%)
(MoE: ±3.7%)
Nothing terribly revealing here — primary voters are unfamiliar with both Hagan and Neal, but one would expect these numbers to settle out once the candidates ramp up their advertising efforts with four weeks to go until primary day.
If the Democratic race here is neck-and-neck between state Treasurer Richard Moore and Lt. Gov. Beverly Purdue, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory looks like the prohibitive favorite for the GOP nod.
11:28PM: Nick Lampson’s campaign manager’s statement on the results:
Lampson for Congress campaign manager Anthony Gutierrez
issued the following statement tonight regarding the results of the CD22
Republican primary runoff:
“Congressman Lampson has promoted NASA while his opponent didn’t know the
name of the Johnson Space Center in a recent debate. He has worked on
transportation issues while his opponent supports more toll roads and a big
government land grab called the Trans-Texas Corridor. And he has worked for
affordable health care while his opponent opposes the State Children’s
Health Insurance Program. Congressman Lampson is an independent voice for
Texas. His opponent is a Washington insider with little or no knowledge of
this district.”
9:55PM: Yup, this one is over. The Chronicle is calling the race for Olson, who will face off with freshman Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson in November.
9:27PM: Gibbs is falling behind in the e-day votes now, too. A Snelly Gibbr loss is a loss for hilarity.
9:13PM: Sekula Gibbs is winning the e-day votes counted so far, but Olson’s early vote advantage looks formidable. RIP Gibbr?
8:30PM Eastern: Olson gets a huge early lead based on the advance ballots.
Polls will close at 6PM Mountain Time (8PM Eastern) in the hot runoff race between former Rep. Shelley Sekula Gibbs (heh) and former Sen. Cornyn chief of staff Pete Olson. We’ll keep tabs on the results in this thread as they come in.
In the meantime, here were the results of the March 4th primary:
Candidate
Votes
Percent
Snelly Gibbr
16,681
29.72%
Pete Olson
11,630
20.72%
John Manlove
8,388
14.94%
Robert Talton
8,163
14.54%
Dean Hrbacek
5,864
10.44%
Cynthia Dunbar
2,114
3.76%
Jim Squier
989
1.76%
Brian Klock
992
1.76%
Kevyn Bazzy
879
1.56%
Ryan Rowley
424
0.75%
While I think we’re all cheering for a Sekula Gibbs victory, this was a fun and nasty primary that either GOPer will walk away bruised from. The Gibbr picked up the endorsements of Hrbacek and Dunbar, while virtually every other Republican on the planet has endorsed Olson. Let’s see how this shakes out.
Aight, y’all … in less than month, voters will head back to the polls and decide which candidate best represents Louisiana values. Don Cazayoux’s campaign is putting the final touches on their sprint to the finish and they need our help to put them over the top. It’s time to get their message out and make sure all the voters know that Don will stand up for Louisiana families.
Don has promised to stand up for Louisiana’s middle class families by fighting to provide access to high quality, affordable health care, while at the same time making it easier for small businesses to provide health care to their employees. He’s also committed to keeping the lower tax rates for middle class families, so they can keep what they earn, and reinvest it right here in Louisiana.
CQ Quarterly called this race a “No Clear Favorite,” which is astonishing, as this district has been represented by a Republican for the last 30+ years. Even the Cook Political Report called a Cazayoux-Jenkins matchup “a perfect storm for Democrats”:
Insiders on both sides agree the nomination of the current favorites – moderate Democratic state Rep. Don Cazayoux and GOP newspaper publisher Woody Jenkins – would present something akin to a perfect storm for Democrats in the May 3rd special general election.
Cazayoux, much like neighboring Democratic Rep. Charlie Melancon did in 2004, could very plausibly take advantage of GOP disunity and use his rural background to cut into the heart of the district’s GOP base.
Folks, we can win this one. But we need to step it up. You can donate, or volunteer. In order to win this one, we all have to step it up.
Let’s set a goal of $10,000 from the netroots. Right now, Don’s raised $60,810 from 110 donors over at ActBlue.
Let’s make it $70,810 in 7 days. I know we can do that.
