State News Shot

Iowa Democrat AG finds himself in a Fight for the Job

Last Updated on Friday, 29 October 2010 01:34 Written by rslcpol Friday, 29 October 2010 01:34

From Omaha.com:

Democrat Tom Miller has served 28 years as Iowa attorney general. Re-elected by wide margins, he didn’t even have an opponent in 2006.

This year is different.

An aggressive, energetic and well-financed campaign by Republican challenger Brenna Findley, a former aide to western Iowa’s U.S. Rep. Steve King, has turned the race into what is now considered a toss-up.

Stefan Schmidt, a political science professor at Iowa State University, said he would have scoffed if someone told him in January that Miller was in political trouble.

“I would have started laughing and said, ‘Are you on crack?’” Schmidt said.

But now, “I’m predicting that there is a good chance (Findley) will win by a very narrow margin.”

Miller disagrees with such assessments.

“We’re always prepared for a race, and we knew this would be a difficult year,” he said. “We don’t agree with the pundits that it’s a toss-up race. We feel that I have a lead and we will continue to maintain that lead

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NM: Democrat Secretary of State Loses Out

Last Updated on Friday, 29 October 2010 01:33 Written by rslcpol Friday, 29 October 2010 01:33

From The New Mexico Independent:

But in a sharp rebuke of Democratic Secretary of State Mary Herrera (whose office will announce next Tuesday’s election results) four of the five papers also backed former Otero County clerk and state Sen. Diana Duran, Herrera’s Republican challenger.

Herrera’s office has been beset by allegations of mismanagement and controversial firings in recent months.

The Rio Grande SUN’s endorsements for governor and secretary of state will appear in Thursday’s paper, editor Lou Mattei said Wednesday morning. The Sun, which recently broke several stories about allegations of mismanagement and corruption in Herrera’s office, will likely endorse Duran as well.

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NM: Republican Outspending Democrat in Secretary of State Race

Last Updated on Friday, 29 October 2010 01:32 Written by rslcpol Friday, 29 October 2010 01:32

From The Daily Times:

Republican Dianna Duran is outspending incumbent Democrat Mary Herrera in New Mexico’s race for secretary of state.

Duran spent about $130,500 during the past three weeks and Herrera had expenditures of $78,800. Advertising accounted for most of the spending.

Campaign finance reports filed Thursday show Duran raised $77,600 and Herrera collected about $41,200.

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RSLC on the Air – Kentucky Democrat Senator Mike Reynolds is Dead Wrong

Last Updated on Friday, 29 October 2010 02:41 Written by rslcpol Friday, 29 October 2010 01:20

Check out the latest RSLC ad in Kentucky below:

RSLC on the Air – Kentucky’s Elizabeth Tori Standing Firm

Last Updated on Friday, 29 October 2010 01:19 Written by rslcpol Friday, 29 October 2010 01:19

Check out the latest RSLC ad in Kentucky below:

State Races Could Shape U.S. Political Future

Last Updated on Thursday, 28 October 2010 02:25 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 28 October 2010 02:25

From Wall Street Journal:

When U.S. voters go to the polls next week, there’s a lot more at stake than just who controls Congress next year.

The outcome could also decide who holds power in the House of Representatives–and maybe even the White House–over the next decade.

The reason? Legislatures all across the nation will redraw the boundaries of congressional seats based on the 2010 Census, as required every 10 years by the U.S. Constitution. The party that wins more governor races and state legislatures will gain the upper hand in the remapping process.

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Political Mapmaking for next decade hinges on Party Power

Last Updated on Thursday, 28 October 2010 02:24 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 28 October 2010 02:24

From Tribstar.com:

When voters head to their polling places on Nov. 2, the reapportionment of congressional seats to correspond with census data may not be uppermost in their minds.

But redrawing the political boundaries of the state’s voting districts is a coveted task for the party in power.

The way the lines are drawn — to include or exclude pockets of voters that historically lean one way or the other — can turn a district from Democrat to Republican or vice versa.

That’s why Republicans and Democrats alike contend the results of Tuesday’s election will have long-lasting impact.

As Republican legislator Brian Bosma, a one-time state House speaker, told an audience last week, to the victors will go the spoils of redistricting.

“This election will determine the leadership of this state for the next decade,” Bosma said.

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KS: GOP Bus Rolls; Aims for Clean Sweep

Last Updated on Thursday, 28 October 2010 02:10 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 28 October 2010 01:54

From CJonline.com:

Schmidt, the state Senate majority leader running a tight race against Six, said Kansans yearn for a legal representative who will join litigation against federal health reform. Six declined to file a brief with about 20 states objecting to provisions of reform approved by Congress and Obama.

“Kansas is sitting on the sidelines,” Schmidt said.

Six said it would be a waste of Kansas resources to piggyback on a federal case that would be decided with or without his input. Kansas will benefit from any court ruling on the issue, he said.

Kobach, who leads in polling against Secretary of State Chris Biggs, said he would push for state laws requiring Kansans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and to provide a picture identification card when voting. He said Biggs hadn’t done enough to catch voting cheaters, but Biggs said Kobach was exaggerating claims about the integrity of Kansas elections.

“We’re going to make some commonsense reforms,” Kobach promised.

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CA AG Candidate Says He’ll Be Nonpartisan

Last Updated on Thursday, 28 October 2010 01:32 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 28 October 2010 01:32

From scpr.org:

The race for California attorney general pits Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley against San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris. Both are career prosecutors. The similarities stop there. Harris bills herself as an innovator. Cooley says he’s a by-the-book lawman.

Retired LAPD Detective Jimmy Trahin remembers training Steve Cooley in the early 1970s as a reserve police officer.

“First thing I noticed about Steve is that he was one of these gung-ho types,” Trahin told a reporter a couple of years ago. “He just couldn’t wait to get out there and pick up bad guys.”

Trahin recalls one confrontation with three robbery suspects on the rough streets south of downtown Los Angeles.

“It was an all knock-out brawl. And it ended up, other officers came in and Steve backed off,” Trahin said. “Then he came back in with his baton, and he was doing his number to try to keep these people down, and he ended up hitting half of the other cops that were there with his baton.”

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MI: GOP Candidates Hold Big Leads

Last Updated on Thursday, 28 October 2010 01:29 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 28 October 2010 01:29

From DetroitNews:

The Republicans go into the final days of the election campaign with sizable leads over Democrats for every statewide office, according to a Detroit News poll released Wednesday, with Rick Snyder getting strong support throughout the state and southeastern Michigan.

The numbers point to a possible GOP sweep of the governor, attorney general, secretary of state and Supreme Court races. Though the poll did not ask voters about legislative races, the Republican tide suggests Democratic control of the state House is also in play.

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“There is a Republican tide in Michigan,” said Richard Czuba, president of Glengariff Group Inc., which conducted the poll for The News and WDIV Local 4.

The state’s independent voters, who broke for the Democrats in 2006 and solidified that shift in the 2008 Obama victory, “are voting in unison with the Republicans” this year, he said.

Jason Fligger, an architecture intern who lives in Detroit, is part of the move to back Republicans. He said he was a big supporter of President Barack Obama and normally votes Democratic but will vote Tuesday for Snyder, who holds a 53 percent to 35 percent edge over Democrat Virg Bernero among likely voters, with 8 percent undecided.

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