State News Shot

GOP Says Senator Copied her Husband’s Work; Former Blago Consultant

Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 August 2010 12:21 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 10 August 2010 12:21

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

Wisconsin Republicans have accused a state senator of plagiarizing her husband’s writing on taxes.

The state Republican Party claims three essays written over the past three years by Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, lift passages nearly verbatim from columns written by her husband, Douglas Kane, once a consultant to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Republicans say the similarities raise questions about Vinehout’s credibility.

“This is the definition of plagiarism,” said John Hogan, executive director of the Committee to Elect Republican Senators. “Does she have any original ideas?”

Kane said Vinehout was out campaigning on Monday and couldn’t comment. He said he wrote drafts of some of her columns, much like a campaign staff writer would write a candidate’s speeches. Some of the language from his works carried over, he said.

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OH: New Poll has Republican Mike Dewine up in AG Race

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:41 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 10 August 2010 11:55

From the Ohio Republican Party:

Republican challenger Mike DeWine holds an impressive, double-digit lead over incumbent Democrat Richard Cordray in the race for Ohio Attorney General, according to a new poll released today by the Ohio Republican Party.

DeWine leads Cordray by 12 points in the statewide sample of 600 likely voters, holding a formidable 19-point lead among critical independents. He also leads in each of Ohio’s three largest media markets – Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. DeWine’s strength comes in part from his strong showing among base Republican voters (88% – 8%), while Cordray is losing nearly 20 percent of Democrats.

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Ohio AG Discloses Thousands of Dollars of help from Democratic Party

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:41 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 10 August 2010 10:25

From dispatchpolitics.com:

After running a campaign with virtually no expenses – and getting criticized for it – Attorney General Richard Cordray last week reported thousands of dollars worth of help from the Ohio Democratic Party.

In a complaint to the Ohio Elections Commission, Republicans accused Cordray of trying to hide campaign expenses behind the facade of the Ohio Democratic Party, which Cordray denied.

In his latest fundraising report, however, Cordray reports thousands of dollars in assistance from the Ohio Democratic Party in July, including $28,452 in payroll expenses.

The campaign of Cordray’s opponent, Republican Mike DeWine, called the disclosures “a huge shift from past practice” and speculated that it likely was the result of the allegations in the elections complaint.

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RSLC in the News: Rust Belt Offers GOP Chance to regain Policy Shine

Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 August 2010 09:39 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 10 August 2010 09:39

From The Wall Street Journal:

In their quest for these prizes, Republicans are bringing significant resources to the table. Ed Gillespie, a former national party chairman, this year is running the Republican State Leadership Committee, an organization devoted to electing state officials. He says the committee has assembled 85,000 individual donors and will bring $18 million to state-level battles, including many in the upper Midwest.

If Republicans succeed in taking most of those targets, they will be re-establishing a beachhead that was crucial to the party and its national policy thinking in the 1990s. So, yes, there are sexy governor and Senate races under way in California, and Tuesday’s primaries in Colorado have big national significance. But ground zero in 2010 may well lie in the decidedly less sexy Rust Belt.

The significance of this battle is partly political. State leaders will redraw congressional districts after the 2010 elections, and, obviously, Republican leaders would make that process more favorable to their party. In addition, the states of the upper Midwest, though their populations have declined, remain crucial in presidential politics, and Republican governors might help deliver those states for a GOP nominee in 2012 (though, as Republicans found when President Bill Clinton won re-election easily in 1996, their ability to do so is limited).

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Oregon Businesses Seek to end Democrats Supermajority in Legislature

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:41 Written by rslcpol Monday, 9 August 2010 02:09

From OregonLive.com:

Oregon business lobbyists, still stinging from their defeat in the Measures 66 and 67 tax fight on the ballot this year, are trying to build a sophisticated campaign operation they hope will have a big impact on this year’s legislative races.

Lobbyists from a broad array of business groups have been meeting regularly throughout the year to put together a targeted list of legislative races they can pour their money into this fall. The aim, participants say, is to reduce the size of the big Democratic majorities in the Senate and House while trying to empower moderate legislators more sympathetic to business interests.

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Health Care Reform Litigation Heats Up

Last Updated on Monday, 9 August 2010 01:55 Written by rslcpol Monday, 9 August 2010 01:55

From AustinBusinessJournal.com:

Twenty state attorneys general and governors, including Texas’ Greg Abbott, along with an influential national small-business group filed their response to the federal government’s motion to dismiss their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal health care reform law.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed its motion to dismiss in June in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, claiming the court lacks jurisdiction and that the complaint fails to state a claim for which relief can be granted.

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Primary day in CT tomorrow

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:41 Written by rslcpol Monday, 9 August 2010 01:53

From RepublicanAmerican.com:

The same poll showed Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele gaining ground among likely voters in the Republican gubernatorial primary but still trailing former ambassador and Greenwich businessman Tom Foley.

In total, there are 44 primary races _ 21 Republican and 23 Democratic, according to Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. That’s the highest number in recent memory, partially driven by a large number of incumbent politicians, including Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, deciding not to seek re-election.

Besides governor, there are primaries for U.S. Senate, four of the state’s five congressional districts, lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, secretary of the state, General Assembly and judge of probate.

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Voting Begins in Florida Primaries

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:42 Written by rslcpol Monday, 9 August 2010 01:39

From Fox4Now.com:

Floridians are out at the polls voting for Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, Republican candidates for governor and casting ballots in the two primaries for attorney general.

The primary isn’t until Aug. 24, but Florida voters can cast primary votes beginning Monday. Candidates and party officials were rallying supporters to get out early to ensure they’ll have a chance to vote.

In the governor’s race, Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum faces Rick Scott, the former Columbia/HCA CEO who is spending tens of millions of his own dollars in the primary.

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Lively Races for VT Secretary of State

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:42 Written by rslcpol Monday, 9 August 2010 12:53

From BurlingtonFreePress.com:

It has been 12 years since Vermonters elected a new secretary of state, the person who oversees the state’s elections, keeps track of all the state’s archived records, regulates professionals from accountants to veterinarians and is the first place someone has to go when forming a business to incorporate it.

Secretary of State Deb Markowitz, a Democrat who has held the job for six two-year terms, is not seeking re-election. She is running for governor.

After such a long time and for an office with such a broad reach, it should come as no surprise the $95,156-a-year job has attracted a lot of interest and generated a robust debate. Two candidates each from the Democratic and Republican parties are competing in the Aug. 24 primary in hopes of earning a spot on the Nov. 2 general-election ballot.

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WY: Republican Unopposed for Secretary of State

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:42 Written by rslcpol Monday, 9 August 2010 12:42

From trib.com:

Republican Max Maxfield is happy to avoid a primary for secretary of state so he can promote his track record in Wyoming’s second most powerful office.

Andrew Simons, the sole Democrat in the Aug. 17 primary, is seizing the chance for a head start to promote his desire to open Wyoming’s ballot initiative process.

“Wyoming citizens don’t really have a check on government the way it is now,” said Simons, who wants to make it easier to put issues before voters.

The secretary of state is essentially a lieutenant governor who would step in should the governor become incapacitated.

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