So much happened in last night’s elections. Tea Party candidates knocked off a few incumbents and establishment candidates, some old faces kept their seats even though there was plenty of pressure. The nation’s capital will have a new mayor in November and Maryland will see a rematch in the Governor’s election. The election season is heating up with interesting races from New Hampshire to California. Here’s a recap of what happened last night:
Delaware: Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell had a sweeping 53% win in the Delaware Republican nomination. Her opponent, former governor and nine-term congressman, Mike Castle joined the growing line of GOP losses to Tea Party candidates; Castle is in the company of fellow Republicans Senators Robert Bennett (R-Utah) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Representative Bob Ingles (R-SC). This result has major implications for a very moderate state like Delaware and immediate word was the National Republican Senatorial Committee would not spend money on this race (update: NRSC announced they will back O’Donnell). There were also rumblings that Castle might run as a write-in candidate as he will not endorse O’Donnell’s campaign.
Washington, D.C.: In the country’s most scrutinized mayoral race, 39-year-old Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty lost his re-nomination bid to D.C. Councilman Vincent Gray. The two campaigns have clashed over a number of issues over the past few months, but none more so than the future of D.C. public education. Fenty’s choice to bring in Michele Rhee as public schools chancellor set of sparks in the district because of her controversial approach to teacher’s unions. Yesterday “the people of the District sent a message loud and clear,” according to Gray (Bloomberg). Time will tell what that message is.
Maryland: Bob Elrich, with John McCain’s endorsement, won the Republican nomination for governor, against Sarah Palin’s gubernatorial pick, Brian Murphy. Elrich, who served as governor of Maryland from 2003-2007, will run against his former rival– incumbent Democrat Martin O’Malley. In the state Senate, a number of incumbents lost the nomination to their own party.
Massachusetts: Representative Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Service Committee, won the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District against 29-year-old Rachel Brown. If you remember Brown is the woman who challenged Frank during the town hall events. Frank compared Brown to a “dining room table.” Frank, who has held his seat since 1980, will run against Republican nominee 34-year-old Sean Bielat. All four candidates for governor are running unopposed. They are: Democrat Deval Patrick, Republican Charles Baker, independent Timothy Cahill, and Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein.
New Hampshire: The New Hampshire Republican primary result is still too close to call. Kelly Ayote and Ovide Lamontagne are competing to run for retired GOP Senator Judd Gregg’s seat. Like other primaries this year, the Republican nomination is a struggle between a GOP candidate (Ayote) and a Tea Party- backed contender (Lamontagne). To add to the drama, Sarah Palin has shown her support for Ayote. Whoever wins will face Democrat — and Representative for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District– Paul Hodes.
In the Democratic primary to replace Rep. Hodes, upstart candidate Ann Kuster defeated long-time party activist Kartina Swett. Swett’s husband served as a member of congress from New Hampshire as well as her father, the late Tom Lantos.
New York: After the scandals surrounding former governors Spitzer and Patterson, New Yorkers have now put their faith and their votes in Democratic nominee Andrew Cumo, the Attorney General for New York, and Republican nominee Carl Paladino. Paladino, a Tea Party backed candidate, defeated former congressman Rick Lazio in what was seen as a surprising result. In the senate races, incumbents Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand both won the Democrat nomination for their senate seats— Schumer was uncontested, and Gillibrand won with 76% of the vote. Republicans Jay Townsend was chosen to challenge Schumer, and former Westchester congressman Joseph DiGuardi to challenge Gillibrand.
Rhode Island: Providence Mayor David Cicilline won the Democratic nomination for the 1st Congressional District. He will run against Republican nominee John Loughlin for retired Representative Patrick Kennedy’s congressional seat. A win for Cicilline would make him the fourth openly gay member of Congress.
Wisconsin: In the governor’s race, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett won the Democratic nomination. Barrett will run against Republican nominee Scott Walker, a Milwaukee County executive. Wisconsin’s current governor, Jim Doyle, did not seek re-election. Senator Russ Feingold won the Democratic nomination and will face Republican nominee Ron Johnson.
Tags: Delaware, election, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Results, Rhode Island, Washington DC, Wisconsin
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Amanda Pagay Bio: Email the author at: blog(at)rockthevote.com |
“All four candidates for governor are running unopposed. They are: Democrat Deval Patrick, Republican Charles Baker, independent Timothy Cahill, and Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein.”
ACTUALLY, Green Party candidate (Green-Rainbow in MA) Jill Stein IS running opposed. The corporate media is trying to shut her out. Tuesday night was the second radio debate that’s excluded her. This morning at 9AM will be the third. And the major media consortium has gone back-and-forth on her. Inviting her, then arbitrarily uninviting her, and then re-inviting her to one of their two debates but demanding she raise $100,000 by October 1st in order to be included in their second debate. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sets a high bar of 10,000 certified signatures to get on the ballot in November, and Stein got over 16,000 certified signatures by grassroots volunteers. She’s polled as high as 8%, and has won plenty of acclaim for her debate performances, and has injected some incredibly relevant and common sense solutions into the political conversation. Which is why they want to keep her out… because they want to narrow the range of acceptable dialogue, keeping “single-payer healthcare” off the lips of a dumbed down electorate. Well that’s not democracy, and that’s not acceptable. She’s on the ballot and voters deserve to hear what she’s got to say. Don’t let them censor our voices. Check out JillStein.org to see what her campaign is all about. Go to DemocracyDays.com to help build the clean money tidal wave that can reinvigorate the political process and knock these gatekeepers off their perch. I hope that Rock the Vote! can take a strong stand on these anti-democratic debate exclusions! Have you thought about hosting any governor’s debates? Come to Massachusetts and help us ROCK THE VOTE!