Incumbent Chris Cannon took a crushing loss to a challenger in the Utah Republican primary last night
Pew: US following election via Web
Once Barack Obama started Twittering, John McCain created a MySpace page, and Hillary Clinton joined Facebook, it became apparent that the 2008 presidential election was relying heavily on social media. But now, a Pew survey has the numbers to prove it, concluding that 46 percent of Americans have used the Internet for politics so far this election season, with topics like Obama and online videos taking a front seat. (more)
Will Iowa finally send a woman to Congress this year?
(desmoinesdem)
Iowa and Mississippi are the only two states that have never sent a woman to Congress or elected a woman governor, but last week Republicans nominated Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa's second CD, and Democrats nominated Becky Greenwald in Iowa's fourth CD. Bleeding Heartland discusses why previous women candidates for Congress didn't win in Iowa, and evaluates the hurdles facing Miller-Meeks and Greenwald.
GOP Recruits make Dems Chortle
By JOSH KRAUSHAAR | 6/11/08 6:56 PM EST
Meet Bob Kelleher, the Republican nominee against Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) this year.
He is an 85-year-old attorney with some downright unconventional views. He believes the American system of representative government should be replaced by a parliamentary system. He calls for socialized medicine, advocates nationalizing the country’s oil and gas industries and believes taxes should be raised significantly to eradicate poverty.
It’s not the standard GOP platform, but nevertheless Kelleher defeated four other candidates in the primary to claim the Republican nomination.
Among those he bested were former state House Majority Leader Mike Lange and businessman Kirk Bushman, who had courted statewide donors and visited Washington to meet with national party representatives. It was Kelleher’s first victory after 15 losses as a Democratic Party and Green Party candidate.
Needless to say, the Republican Party wants nothing to do with him.
If Kelleher were an aberration, his candidacy might be easier for Republicans to swallow. But he’s not.
He’s one of a handful of GOP Senate nominees who are, well, not exactly who the party had in mind. (read more...)
Colorado and Virginia
06.10.08 -- 11:16PM
As I and innumerable others have mentioned, the red states that seem genuinely ripe for flipping this year are Colorado and Virginia. Others are definitely possible. But those are the ones that might even be considered probable.
The most recent poll of Viriginia (May 22nd) has Obama beating McCain by 7 points (49%-42%). And the one immediately previous has Obama down by 3 points (47%-44%).
Colorado is even stronger for Obama. The most recent poll (Rasmussen, May 21st) has Obama up by 6 points and the one previous to that (Ramussen, April 21st) had him up by 3.
The Senate
Unlike the House which elects all 435 members every 2 years, the Senate considers itself a "continuing body" in that only about a third of its members are standing for election every 2 years. This year, however, is a little different in that not only are 1/3 running for election but that we also see in the map above that 2 states have BOTH Senate seats up for grabs ...and that both seats are currently held by Republicans.
This year is particularly different, as well, in that 23 of the Senate seats up for grabs are GOP held as opposed to only 12 held by Democrats. If you add in the factor of the failed Bush presidency. We're looking at a true rout, ladies and gentlemen. The only question is how big of a rout will it be.
Keep an eye toward the tremendous number of Republican retirements too. Nobody is better connected than a US Senator ...if they feel that it's not worth the fight ...then it's not worth the fight.
Every single Republican-held Senate seat is in play no matter how strong the Republican the election returns were last time out. "Veto Proof", is a given for the 2008 results. The question is will the Democrats have enough of a luxurious majority to enforce party unity and oust scalawags like Joe Lieberman from the caucus.
Please help keep us abreast of the latest developments in your "ol' backyard" and of any other news that you run across for Senate seats that fascinate you. Leave your observations and scoops in the comments and we'll promote the best from time to time to new posts.
Electing Barack Obama will be futile if we don't give him a posse. Make sure that you are not only registered to vote ...but that you actually vote and you cast a vote for the Democratic Senator and Congressperson that will allow his vision of change to become reality.
The House of Representatives
In case you forgot, ALL 435 seats in the House are up for re-election every 2 years. That's one of the reasons that it's pretty tough to be a congressperson ...you're always running for re-election and always raising money for the next election.
We here at Yanqui Mike are tracking what are believed to be the 93 most competitive House races of the year... according to Wikipedia and The Cook Political Report, Rothenburg, and CQ Politics. That doesn't mean that there won't be more than those races popping up on the radar as competitive ...but we'll start with those.
The distinctive character of the 2008 races is defined by the fact that this is a presidential election year, the weaknesses of the Republicans trying to run in the wake of a failed Bush presidency, the massive retirements of GOP representatives (and their inability to find top-notch talent to run in their stead) and the special elections that have been held during 2008 which have seen them fall to Democrats in districts that have tremendously loyal Republican voter bases.
Please help keep us abreast of the latest developments in your "ol' backyard" and of any other news that you run across for Congressional Districts that fascinate you. Leave your observations and scoops in the comments and we'll promote the best from time to time to new posts.
Electing Barack Obama will be futile if we don't give him a posse. Make sure that you are not only registered to vote ...but that you actually vote and you cast a vote for the Democratic Senator and Congressperson that will allow his vision of change to become reality.
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