I would say that only the Democrats are about ready to go to the mattresses over leadership positions but sadly it's not true. In the new majority, Pelosi's rise to the Speaker's seat seems uncontested. But that means that the majority leader's position is open, as is that of majority whip (the old whip, Steny Hoyer, is ostensibly the heir apparent for the majority leadership). Hoyer has obviously thrown his hat into the ring; Roll Call says he's gotten support from a broad cross-section of the party. But crazy old Jack Murtha wants to run too, though for reasons that have many Democrats scratching their heads. If I had to guess I'd say Steny wins this one, though perhaps not without making some concessions to the Murtha faction (probably on the war). As to the majority whip, Rahm Emmanuel is said to be considering a run. I despise Rahm with just about every fiber of my being - but I'll say this for the man, he's a damn good politician and his party owes him everything. If he runs, expect him to be a shoe-in (the fact that he's an all-star fundraiser certainly won't hurt his chances).
On the other side in the GOP minority, Hastert made headlines when he (rather as expected) announced that he will seek to be minority leader. Fact of the matter is he deserves to be stripped of his seniority - I'm blaming him for Foleygate. That of course leaves a wide-open seat...and if there's one thing our new minority doesn't need, it's a civil war. Thus far, I've only heard of two candidates seeking the spot: currently Majority Leader John Boehner and Mike Pence. Boehner hasn't been in the spotlight long enough for me to get a good sense of him. Pence has, however: he's conservative as hell (and may piss off the handful of moderates who didn't get blown away) but a great mind and a good leader. I think Pence could keep a minority pretty disciplined, which may prove invaluable but I'm not sure whether or not Boehner wouldn't be able to do the same. I can't make any sort of prediction on this one, but if the survivors are feeling embittered about where the present leadership has taken them, expect Boehner to be returned to the party ranks.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Let the Infighting Begin
First of the 08s
The Senate only "officially" went blue yesterday (Allen is expected to concede at some point today, making it really official), but already things are shaping up for 2008. Unofficially, contenders have been locking up key operatives in states like Iowa for months. According to the Des Moines Register, however, things are getting rolling today with an announcement by outgoing Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack that he will be running for the Democratic nomination in 2008.
Vilsack has neither the star power nor the fundraising ability to truly challenge a top-tier candidate of the Obama/Clinton/(Edwards?) league. In fact, I don't even think he's a viable #2 like Richardson or Bayh might be. But as the Iowa hometown boy, he could be something of a spoiler in that state's caucus. By later throwing his support to Clinton or Obama, he could certainly lock up some cushy post like Ag Secretary...which is probably what he's really aiming for.
Let me reiterate: the important part of this story is not that Vilsack is running. It's that two days after the midterm elections, people are starting to throw their hats in the ring.
I'm Back!
So sometime in September school/political disillusionement caught up with me. My decision (not made explicitly) not to blog was also a product of being overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of news about the elections.
However, Tuesday night, the Democratic wave wiped away much of my disgust with the party and was replaced by the knowledge that we can better ourselves in the minority. And because I feel like I can do some good by keeping an eye on the new Democratic Congress, I'm back!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Ohio Called
D Strickland over R Blackwell...while it's not surprising, I am surprised they've called it now.
First Round of Updates
Things are looking up in the IN2, down in the IN8...
KY3 is looking worse than the KY4 (which is surprising...)
Lugar wins. Big surprise.
MSNBC has already called it for Sanders in VT.
Gubernatorial Scorecard
| State | Republican | % | Democrat | % | |||
| Alaska | Murkowski | Knowles | |||||
| Arizona | Goldwater | Napolitano | |||||
| Arkansas | Beebe | Hutchison | |||||
| California | Schwarzenegger | Angelides | |||||
| Colorado | Beauprez | Ritter | |||||
| Florida | Crist | Davis | |||||
| Illinois | Topinka | Blagojevich | |||||
| Iowa | Culver | Nussle | |||||
| Maine | Woodcock | Baldacci | |||||
| Maryland | Ehrlich | O'Malley | |||||
| Michigan | DeVos | Granholm | |||||
| Minnesota | Pawlenty | Hatch | |||||
| Nevada | Titus | Gibbons | |||||
| Oklahoma | Istook | Henry | |||||
| Oregon | Kulongoski | Saxton | |||||
| Rhode Island | Fogarty | Carcierri | |||||
| Texas | Perry | Bell | Strayhorn | Friedman | |||
| Wisconsin | Green | Doyle | |||||
| Wyoming | Hunkins | Freudenthal |
House Scorecard
| Arizona | GOP | % | Dem | % |
| 1 | Renzi | Simon | ||
| 5 | Hayworth | Mitchell | ||
| 8 | Graf | Giffords | ||
| California | ||||
| 4 | Doolittle | Brown | ||
| 11 | Pombo | McNerney | ||
| 50 | Bilbray | Busbee | ||
| Colorado | ||||
| 3 | Tipton | Salazar | ||
| 4 | Musgrave | Paccione | ||
| 5 | Lamborn | Fawcett | ||
| 7 | O'Donnell | Perlmutter | ||
| Connecticut | ||||
| 2 | Simmons | Courtney | ||
| 4 | Shays | Farrell | ||
| 5 | Johnson | Murphy | ||
| Florida | ||||
| 13 | Buchanan | Jennings | ||
| 16 | "Foley" | Mahoney | ||
| 22 | Shaw | Klein | ||
| Georgia | ||||
| 8 | Collins | Marshall | ||
| 12 | Burns | Barrow | ||
| Idaho | ||||
| 1 | Sali | Grant | ||
| Illinois | ||||
| 6 | Roskam | Duckworth | ||
| 8 | McSweeney | Bean | ||
| 10 | Kirk | Seals | ||
| 13 | Biggert | Shannon | ||
| 17 | Zinga | Hare | ||
| Indiana | ||||
| 2 | Chocola | Donnelly | ||
| 8 | Hostetter | Ellsworth | ||
| 9 | Sodrel | Hill | ||
| Iowa | ||||
| 1 | Whalen | Braley | ||
| 3 | Lamberti | Boswell | ||
| Kentucky | ||||
| 2 | Lewis | Weaver | ||
| 3 | Northup | Yarmuth | ||
| 4 | Davis | Lucas | ||
| Minnesota | ||||
| 1 | Gutknecht | Walz | ||
| 5 | Fine | Ellsworth | ||
| 6 | Bachmann | Wetterling | ||
| Nebraska | ||||
| 3 | Smith | Kleeb | ||
| New Hampshire | ||||
| 1 | Bradley | Shea-Porter | ||
| 2 | Bass | Hodes | ||
| New Mexico | ||||
| 1 | Wilson | Madrid | ||
| New York | ||||
| 19 | Kelly | Hall | ||
| 20 | Sweeney | Gillibrand | ||
| 24 | Meier | Arcuri | ||
| 25 | Walsh | Maffei | ||
| 26 | Reynolds | Davis | ||
| 29 | Kuhl | Massa | ||
| Nevada | ||||
| 2 | Heller | Derby | ||
| 3 | Porter | Hafen | ||
| North Carolina | ||||
| 11 | Taylor | Shuler | ||
| Ohio | ||||
| 1 | Chabot | Cranley | ||
| 2 | Schmidt | Wulsin | ||
| 6 | Blasdel | Wilson | ||
| 13 | Foltin | Sutton | ||
| 15 | Pryce | Kilroy | ||
| 18 | Padgett | Space | ||
| Pennsylvania | ||||
| 4 | Hart | Altmire | ||
| 6 | Gerlach | Murphy | ||
| 7 | Weldon | Sestak | ||
| 8 | Fitzpatrick | Murphy | ||
| 10 | Sherwood | Carney | ||
| Texas | ||||
| 22 | Write-In | Lampson | ||
| Vermont | ||||
| 0 | Rainville | Welch | ||
| Virginia | ||||
| 2 | Drake | Kellam | ||
| Washington | ||||
| 8 | Reichert | Burner | ||
| Wisconsin | ||||
| 8 | Gard | Kagen | ||
| Wyoming | ||||
| 0 | Cubin | Trauner |
Senate Scorecard
| Arizona |
| Kyl |
| Pederson |
| Connecticut |
| Lieberman |
| Lamont |
| Schlesinger |
| Maryland |
| Steele |
| Cardin |
| Michigan |
| Stabenow |
| Bouchard |
| Minnesota |
| Kennedy |
| Klobuchar |
| Missouri |
| Talent |
| McCaskill |
| Montana |
| Burns |
| Tester |
| New Jersey |
| Menendez |
| Kean |
| Nevada |
| Ensign |
| Carter |
| Pennsylvania |
| Santorum |
| Casey |
| Rhode Island |
| Chafee |
| Whitehouse |
| Tennessee |
| Corker |
| Ford |
| Virginia |
| Allen |
| Webb |
| Vermont |
| Tarrant |
| Sanders |
| Washington |
| Cantwell |
| McGavick |
