State News Shot

Editorial: Where Did Democrat Secretary of State Herrera’s Campaign Vows Go?

Last Updated on Monday, 30 August 2010 12:33 Written by rslcpol Monday, 30 August 2010 12:33

From ABQjournal.com:

Their allegations are made all the more disappointing given that Secretary of State Mary Herrera campaigned for her office on a platform of cleaning it up and institutionalizing accountability and transparency in the wake of her predecessor, Rebecca Vigil-Giron. Vigil-Giron is charged in a 50-count indictment focusing on more than $6 million in federal voter education funds.

Vigil-Giron has routinely cited politics as the fuel behind the incendiary allegations against her.

That gives her something in common with Madame Secretary, as Herrera likes to be called. She also claims to be the victim of politics.

Rather than show New Mexicans how well her office is run and how responsive it is, Herrera has spent her tenure making excuses, making a flight to India, and making a scene, stomping off after placing the two remaining complainers on leave and dismissing “blatantly false and ridiculous claims being thrown at the press like red meat in an election year.”

It’s for investigators and perhaps the courts to decide whether there is another round of potentially illegal activity involving the office.

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Arizona Republican Tom Horne Declares Victory in AG Race

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:24 Written by rslcpol Monday, 30 August 2010 12:28

From abc15.com:

The race to become the Republican nominee for Arizona attorney general has apparently come to an end.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne declared a victory over Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas via Twitter Sunday afternoon. Horne confirmed to ABC15 he posted the celebratory message on the social media site.

A statement from Horne’s campaign says he is now looking forward to the general election in November, where he will face off against Democratic nominee Felecia Rotellini.

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Democrats Poised to Lose between 6 and 12 AG Posts

Last Updated on Monday, 30 August 2010 12:10 Written by rslcpol Monday, 30 August 2010 12:09

From Governing.com:

It’s no surprise that the 2010 election cycle is looking ominous for Democrats. The party is in danger of losing the U.S. House and Senate. It’s poised to fall below a majority of the governorships, and is about to lose a slew of state legislative chambers.

So what about state attorney general races? Pretty much the same story. A 32-to-18 Democratic edge over the Republicans is distinctly at risk.

According to interviews with dozens of partisan and nonpartisan sources in the 30 states with attorney general elections this fall, the Democrats are poised to lose between six and 12 AG posts. If they suffer a net loss of just six seats, the Democrats would hold on to their now-solid majority, though by just a single seat. But if the Democrats were to lose a net 12 seats, they’d see the GOP take the lead by the same 3-to-2 margin they currently enjoy.

This is the third cycle in which I’ve handicapped and analyzed the attorney general races; it marks the first time the project has run in Governing. The previous projects were published in Roll Call in 2006, and Stateline.org in 2008.

Typically, the AG races are analyzed once in the summer and once in the fall, with late-breaking updates added through Election Day.

In all, 43 AG offices are popularly elected. The remaining seven are appointed by a governor, the Legislature or the state Supreme Court.

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Michigan Republicans Pick Secretary of State and Attorney General Nominees

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:24 Written by rslcpol Monday, 30 August 2010 09:43

From the Michigan Messenger:

There was less infighting during the nominations for other positions. Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson became the nominee for Secretary of State on the second ballot, beating out state Sen. Cameron Brown. That race looked to belong to state Sen. Michelle McManus a few weeks ago, but perhaps recent accusations of wrongdoing by the Republican clerk of Grand Traverse County and by a former employee scared delegates away from her. She only received 237 votes.

And despite an earlier fight over seating delegates who would favor Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop in becoming the nominee for Attorney General, former Appeals Court Judge Bill Schuette won a narrow victory and Bishop then asked the convention to make it unanimous.

Schuette will face Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, nominated in an April Democratic convention, to replace Mike Cox. Ruth Johnson will face Wayne State University law professor Jocelyn Benson, also nominated in April, to replace Terri Lynn Land.

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Breaking More than 100 Years of Democratic Control

Last Updated on Monday, 30 August 2010 09:43 Written by rslcpol Monday, 30 August 2010 09:43

RSLC Political Director, Ben Cannatti, co-authors another piece in the series “RSLC State Race Spotlight” on Townhall.com:

From TownHall.com:

1898 was a long time ago, so it’s unlikely that anyone remembers when the Republican Party last controlled the North Carolina Senate. 2010 may be the year that everyone’s memory of Republican victory gets a boost. With redistricting on the agenda next year, the GOP’s goal of a majority in the Senate could go a long way to leveling the playing field and keeping both the state senate and house chamber more balanced for years to come.

At first glance, the current 10-seat dominance of the Democrats would make it a safe bet for them to retain a majority in the Senate, especially with the built-in advantage of so many historically “safe” Democratic districts. However, a combination of Dem retirements and a strong national mood favoring Republicans is opening up an opportunity for the GOP. Polling confirms that 2010 could be a tough political year for incumbent Democrats, according to analysis from the North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation: “If the political winds are blowing at the backs of Republicans this year, it is going to be increasingly difficult for Democrats to hold seats in GOP territory.

Kudos to the North Carolina GOP for recognizing this opportunity early on, and recruiting candidates for all 50 seats. State Sen. Pete Brunstetter (R-Forsyth) summed it up back in July for the Winston Salem Journal, when he “predicted a strong Republican push this year.” It’s a full-court press in the Tar Heel state. By having a candidate in every Senate race, the GOP isn’t leaving any lanes open for the Dems.

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New Mexico Attorney General Faces Cover up Allegations

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:24 Written by rslcpol Friday, 27 August 2010 01:03

From the New Mexico Independent:

Attorney General Gary King attempted to cover up allegations of wrongdoing by Secretary of State Mary Herrera, an Española attorney charged Thursday.

Attorney Rudy Martin said his client, A.J. Salazar, spoke to the FBI last week after turning over telephone numbers and potential witnesses to state Attorney General (AG) investigators five months ago, about the time he quit as Herrera’s state elections director and alleged wrongdoing in a resignation letter.

“The two (AG) investigators did their job,” Martin told The Independent. “Gary tried to play politics and swept everything under the rug” to help Herrera and other Democrats in an election year, Martin said. That lack of action ultimately led two of his other clients — Herrera’s office manager, Manny Vildasol, and her public information officer, James Flores – to also go to the FBI with allegations of wrongdoing, Martin added.

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Hey Democrats: Where’s your Turf?

Last Updated on Friday, 27 August 2010 12:58 Written by rslcpol Friday, 27 August 2010 12:53

Not long ago, our friends on the other side of the aisle proclaimed, “It’s time to force Republicans to fight on our turf!” (Exclamation theirs) and “Fewer Republican-leaning districts would help us hold a Democratic majority.”

While having fewer Republican-leaning state legislative seats in the mix might help Democrats, victory for the democrats is simply not in the cards. In state after state, all signs point to an increase in the number of Republican leaning seats by the day.

It is understandable why they want to force us onto “their turf”, but where exactly is that? Republicans are poised to pick up at least four Democrat-controlled chambers in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with at least another dozen in play.

So, Where’s the Turf?

This week the Democrats hinted that it might be Tennessee, touting an article in The Tennessean about the Democrat effort to “regain a majority in the Tennessee State House.”

Parade, meet rain.

This morning, an article by the same reporter in the same paper announced, “Tennessee Republicans say their party is leading in seven districts targeted by Democrats, based on the results of a poll conducted for the House Republican Caucus. In highlights of the poll released this week, the caucus says Republicans average a 23-percentage point advantage over Democrats on a generic legislative ballot in … House districts … described as vulnerable by Democratic leaders.”

As indicated in the RSLC REDMAP Report, Democrats will not take control of a single state legislative chamber in the country this year, including chambers such as the Texas House, Michigan Senate and Tennessee House. If the Democrats want to force us onto their turf, we’re happy to discuss it. But please point us in the right direction.

Chairman’s Corner: Primaries and Polling Results Show Continued Momentum

Last Updated on Friday, 27 August 2010 12:51 Written by rslcpol Friday, 27 August 2010 12:51

From RSLC.com:

We are less than two weeks from Labor Day – the unofficial start to the campaign season. However, as you well know, the campaign season has been underway for many months at the RSLC as we prepare for the fall elections. Last week, we celebrated the 62nd state legislative special election victory – a race in which the President inserted himself only to see the Democrat lose significantly. This week, Florida, Arizona and Alaska held primaries to decide between candidates in several spirited campaigns. Here is the latest on candidate developments and opportunities.

Republicans marked a huge win in California this month by holding the 15th District senate seat, blocking Democrats from getting closer to a super-majority and striking a blow to the Obama political machine. National Journal reports:

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Texas GOP Questions Democrat Leaders Residency

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:24 Written by rslcpol Friday, 27 August 2010 12:44

From Dallas Morning News:

State Republican Chairman Steve Munisteri says House Democratic leader Jim Dunnam “has actively deceived the voters” of Central Texas about where he lives. State GOP spokesman Bryan Preston goes further, saying Dunnam “has made himself ineligible” by living outside his district for the past eight years.

Dunnam, though, says Republicans are beating a dead horse. He says although he maintains two houses — to keep kids in schools he says the GOP tried to rip his family from, in a remap after the 2000 census — he has been and still is a legal candidate. And he insists he’s more than happy to take the matter to the voters on Nov. 2.

Munisteri raised it at a press conference today in Waco. He insisted that Dunnam doesn’t live in District 57, the district he’s represented since 1996, but in the adjoining district of Rep. Doc Anderson, R-Waco, or District 56. The latter lies entirely within McLennan County. Since the 2001 redistricting, Dunnam’s District 57 has rambled from part of Waco across three other rural counties to Madisonville.

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AZ: Democrat becomes AG nominee; Republican AG Primary still not decided

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:24 Written by rslcpol Friday, 27 August 2010 12:41

From the Arizona Republic:

Felecia Rotellini became the Democratic nominee for attorney general Thursday after her lead widened significantly and her chief opponent conceded the race.

But as election officials continued to tally thousands of ballots from Tuesday’s primaries, the Republican nominee for attorney general remained uncertain.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne widened his lead significantly against former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas on Thursday but declined to declare victory.

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