State News Shot

Florida: Democrat Attorney General Race gets Heated

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:37 Written by rslcpol Friday, 13 August 2010 01:01

From Sunnewspapers.net:

It was supposed to be a friendly contest between two friendly lawmakers, two lawyers, who wanted to be the state’s top cop. At the beginning they frequently referred to each other as “my friend” or “my colleague” in the most cordial way in public.

But the niceties are gone in the Democratic attorney general primary between state Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, and state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, replaced with irritated rhetoric from both camps.

First, Aronberg accused Gelber of being BP’s lawyer after BP contracted Gelber’s firm Akerman Senterfitt for legal counsel related to the Deepwater Horizon spill. In recent commercials, he said Gelber was a partner at the firm. Gelber was not a partner at the firm, and ultimately left it after he learned that it had agreed to represent the oil giant.

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Candidates for Ohio AG Square Off

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:37 Written by rslcpol Friday, 13 August 2010 12:57

From The News-Herald:

The four candidates for Ohio attorney general appeared Thursday in Kirtland to discuss health care, crime, casinos, the economy and other issues.

Incumbent Democrat Richard Cordray, Republican Mike DeWine, Libertarian Mark Feldman, and Constitution Party member Robert Owens took part in a joint taped television interview at Lakeland Community College.

The interviews will be shown at a later date on the college’s cable channel as part of The News-Herald’s Campaign 2010.

Moderators for the 40-minute forum were Jim Collins, editor emeritus for The News-Herald and Lakeland’s executive-in-residence, and The News-Herald City Editor John Bertosa.

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IL: GOP Leader Says Party Will Take the House and the Governor Seat

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:38 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:40

From the News-Gazette:

The No. 1 Republican in the Illinois House said voter anger will fuel a drive this year to allow the GOP to control the Illinois House for the first time since 1996 and to regain the governor’s office.

“What I think that drives so much of the voter anger is that I don’t think they think that those in charge are listening,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross of Oswego.

He gave a short pep talk Wednesday afternoon on behalf of GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady to about 35 Republican loyalists at the Champaign Public Library.

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Dem AG Primary Candidate Picks State Senate Primary Favorite

Last Updated on Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:36 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:36

From BuffaloNews.com:

A Democratic contender for the state attorney general’s job is jumping into the turbulent waters of Erie County Democratic politics today by endorsing Sen. William Stachowski for re-election.

But Sean Coffey, a former federal prosecutor, says he has motivations beyond Stachowski: stop Steve Pigeon, the former Erie County Democratic Party boss and counsel to an embattled state senator from the Bronx.

“Steve Pigeon is not a force for good in New York state government,” said Coffey, one of five Democrats vying in next month’s party primary for attorney general. He will be in Buffalo today to endorse both Stachowski and Marc Coppola, who is running against Republican Sen. Michael Razenhofer.

Coffey said Pigeon is too close with Tim Kennedy, the Erie County legislator challenging Stachowski, a Lake View Democrat, and that Pigeon wants to get more of his allies elected to office in Albany.

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MI: Democrats Cybersquat in AG Race

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:38 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:34

From wlns.com:

For years, Bill Schuette (SHOO’-tee) has used the slogan “Schuette on Duty” to campaign for Congress, the state Senate, the Michigan Court of Appeals, and attorney general.

Now, the Midland Republican has lost the website http://www.schuetteonduty.com to the Michigan Democratic Party, which also bought right to use the name with other extensions. Democrats plan to use the site to criticize Schuette.

Schuette campaign manager Rusty Hills brushes off the move, saying he’s sure voters will find Schuette’s official site http://www.billschuette.com.

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Florida Democrat AG Candidates Reverse Course as they Attack Each other

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:38 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:23

From tampabay.com:

Democrats Dave Aronberg and Dan Gelber fought against big money in politics as lawmakers but as the two battle in an increasingly negative primary election for attorney general, they are reversing course.

A political committee tied to Aronberg is accepting dozens of unlimited checks — including 21 for $5,000 or more — from lobbyists and special interests to fuel television commercials attacking Gelbert for his former law firm’s ties to BP.

It’s exactly what Aronberg, a state senator from Greenacres, fought to prohibit when he sponsored legislation this year to put a $500 limit on contributions to political committees.

Likewise, Gelber created a political committee in July and took big-dollar contributions from trial lawyers and special interests to pay for a mailer tarring Aronberg for his negative attacks and Republican-leaning votes on legislation.

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NH: Democrat Legislator Resigns after ‘Dead Palin’ Remark

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:38 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:20

From CNN Political Ticker:

A New Hampshire state legislator resigned his office Thursday after becoming the second Democrat in as many days to speculate about Sarah Palin’s death on Facebook.

State Rep. Timothy Horrigan made the remarks Wednesday night in a thread discussing the Alaska plane crash that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens.

“Well a dead Palin wd be even more dangerous than a live one…she is all about her myth & if she was dead she cldn’t commit any more gaffes,” Horrigan wrote.

Horrigan was commenting on another post by a Democrat running for the state house, party activist Keith David Halloran, who found himself in hot water Wednesday after writing about the crash: “Just wish Sarah and Levy [sic] were on board.”

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MI: Secretary of State Candidate Wants to Ask about Organ Donation

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:38 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:15

From AnnArbor.com:

The issue of whether Secretary of State employees follow a “just ask” policy has been a point of frustration among organ transplant advocates in the state who say the extra step of asking makes a difference. They say Michigan has a lower rate of drivers on the organ donor registry because there’s no policy to explicitly ask them if they would like to be a donor.

Gift of Life Michigan has been among groups lobbying for a Michigan law that would require the state to explicitly ask drivers at Secretary of State offices whether they want to be on the state’s donor registry.

About 30 other states require the “just ask” policy.

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GOP AG Candidate Doesn’t Like Delays in System

Last Updated on Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:08 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 August 2010 01:08

From Cleveland.com:

A “tough on crime” reputation plays well on the campaign trail for Ohio attorney general candidates.

It worked wonders for former Republican Attorney General Betty Montgomery, who won two terms in the 1990s by talking a big game about the law enforcement functions of the office.

So as Democratic Attorney General Richard Cordray and his Republican challenger, Mike DeWine, battle to become Ohio’s top lawyer for the next four years, both desire to be seen as the better choice for handling the law enforcement portion of the office.

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National: The Great and the Small

Last Updated on Friday, 13 August 2010 10:43 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 12 August 2010 09:30

Cross posted at REDistrictingMAjorityProject.com:

From Reid Wilson at National Journal

It’s no surprise that legislative campaigns feel the wind at their backs — or in their faces — more than federal ones, strategists on both sides say. After all, legislators run their campaigns with much less cash than higher-ticket races, rendering them unable to define themselves and therefore leaving their fates dependent on voters’ moods.

“There are fewer resources dedicated to these downballot races. The name I.D. is going to be lower, so they are more susceptible to the national wave,” said Chris Jankowski, a GOP strategist who heads REDMAP, the party’s top redistricting initiative.

This year, the wave could wash over Great Lakes states and push half a dozen chambers into the GOP column. Republicans need to pick up just three seats to wrest control of the Indiana House; they need only four to take over the lower chamber in Ohio; two seats are all it would take to win the Wisconsin Senate; and four seats are necessary to win back the Wisconsin House.

All this matters because, as both parties say, control of governor’s mansions and state legislatures means control of the pen that draws district lines. Republicans are expected to do well in governor’s races in Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Pennsylvania — all seats currently held by Democrats.

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