State News Shot

GOP AG Candidates appear on TV Forum

Last Updated on Monday, 2 August 2010 03:07 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 03:07

From MiamiHerald.com:

In their first joint TV appearance Saturday, all three Republican candidates for attorney general matched wits and contrasted their qualifications to be the state’s next chief legal officer.

All three GOP hopefuls hit their strong points, but former Hillsborough prosecutor Pam Bondi seemed more confident Holly Benson and Jeff Kottkamp. With her anchorwoman-like looks and terse answers, Bondi excelled in a sound bite-driven format in which candidates were limited to answers of one minute or less.

Bondi also deftly used the chance to question her opponents, calling both “key members of the Crist-Kottkamp administration.”

Benson served as a two-time agency head appointee under Gov. Charlie Crist, but when she described her experience, she said: “I worked with Gov. Jeb Bush.”

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California Republican Cooley Leads in AG Poll

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:44 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 02:26

From SFGate.com:

Less than a month after a Field Poll showed San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley in a virtual dead heat in the Attorney General’s race — a poll cheered by Harris’ side — the Cooley campaign is touting a different poll with a markedly different result.

The survey, conducted by Hill Research Consultants for the California Republican Party, shows Cooley, a Republican, leading Harris, a Democrat, 41 percent to 34 percent. It has other good news for the GOP nominee: his lead is even larger (15 points) in the Democratic stronghold (and HUGE market) of Los Angeles. The poll also found Cooley leading “every other media market except San Francisco,” according to his campaign.

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Kansas Goes to the Polls

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:44 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 02:05

From ktka.com:

Tough battles have emerged in the Republican and Democratic contests for secretary of state. On the Democratic side are Secretary of State Chris Biggs, and Chris Steineger, a state senator from Kansas City. On the Republican side are J.R. Claeys of Salina, Elizabeth “Libby” Ensley of Topeka, and Kris Kobach of Piper.

For attorney general, Ralph J. De Zago of Herington and state Sen. Derek Schmidt of Independence are dueling in the GOP primary to face Attorney General Steve Six, a Democrat, in the general election.

There are no contested primaries for state treasurer. In the Republican Party primary for insurance commissioner, incumbent Sandy Praeger of Lawrence faces David Powell of El Dorado.

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PA: The Candidates Running for Lt. Governor

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:45 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 01:52

From Philly.com:

So here goes. It’s Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley, the Republican-endorsed candidate for lieutenant governor who won a nine-way spring primary with 26 percent of the vote.

(Yes, a nine-way primary. And there were three Democrats. S

OH: Republican Lawmaker Has Hope for Compromise on Redistricting

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:45 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 01:47

From StowSentry:

A Republican state lawmaker and candidate for Secretary of State is still pushing for a compromise on a ballot issue to change the way Ohio draws its legislative districts.

Sen. Jon Husted, who represents a Dayton-area district, said he hasn’t “given up hope” that Republicans and Democrats will agree on a resolution before next week’s deadline.

“The phones have been lighting up with both the good government groups and others who are interested in getting this done, seeing if we can’t get a compromise proposal on the table,” Husted said July 28 during a stop at the Ohio State Fair. “We’ve got counter offers and offers out there right now and hopefully they’re going to gain some traction.”

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PA: AG Corbett Leads in Latest Governor Poll

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:45 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 01:40

From RasmussenReports.com:

Little has changed in Pennsylvania’s race for governor, with Republican State Attorney General Tom Corbett earning 50% support this month against Democrat Dan Onorato.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Onorato, the chief executive of Allegheny County, picking up 39% of the vote. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and eight percent (8%) are undecided.

Corbett held a similar lead two weeks ago and at the end of June.

In May, just after both candidates won their party primaries, Corbett was ahead 49% to 36%. In surveys since February, the Republican’s support has ranged from 45% to 52%, while the Democrat’s in the same period has grown from 26% to 39%.

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VA Health Care Reform Lawsuit Clears first Hurdle

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:45 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 01:32

From The Washington Times:

Virginia’s lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s health care reform law cleared its first legal hurdle Monday as a federal judge ruled the law raises a host of complex constitutional issues.

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson’s decision stemmed from Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II’s claims that Congress exceeded its authority under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause by requiring citizens to buy health insurance or pay a penalty.

Judge Hudson’s ruling denied the Justice Department’s attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed, saying further hearings must take place before he can weigh the merits of the case. An Oct. 18 hearing previously was set in the case.

“Unquestionably, this regulation radically changes the landscape of health insurance coverage in America,” Judge Hudson wrote in his 32-page decision.

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Wisconsin offers Bounty Like No Other

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:45 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 01:27

From JSOnline:

If this is a year of opportunity for victory-starved Republicans, no state in the country offers more bounty than Wisconsin, where an entire Democratic power structure is in peril this fall.

Wisconsin is one of two states in the United States where Republicans have a plausible chance to take away from Democrats a governorship, both chambers of the Legislature, a U.S. Senate seat and one or more House seats. (Colorado is the other).

“There’s nothing that’s not on the table,” says state GOP chair Reince Priebus. “My expectation is this is going to be the biggest Republican year in the history of Wisconsin.”

That is far from guaranteed, of course. The odds of winning all those contests are much longer than winning any of them individually.

But two factors have created at least the possibility of a once-in-a-generation shift in the balance of partisan power in Wisconsin.

The first and most important is a political climate of public discontent, economic pessimism and sagging approval ratings for Congress and Democratic President Barack Obama.

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REDMAP Plans Investment in Key State Legislative Races

Last Updated on Monday, 2 August 2010 01:20 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 01:20

From The Detroit News:

The goal, say the organizers behind the Republican’s Redistricting Majority Project (REDMAP), is to gain GOP majorities this year to influence redistricting for the 2012 elections. Michigan is expected to lose a House seat because of its declining population and gains in population in the South.

That means the state’s 15-member House delegation will shrink to 14, and district lines will have to be redrawn by the state legislature and approved by the governor.

Democrats shot back at the Republican plan late Thursday. In a post on the group’s blog, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee officials said they’re “girding for the fight of our political lives. Redistricting is too important to the future of the Democratic Party and progressive policies to do any less.”

They noted the last redistricting in 2001 helped the GOP lose fewer seats in the 2002 midterms. Traditionally, midterms elections see losses for the sitting president’s party.

Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican State Leadership Committee, said the focus of the REDMAP strategy would be funding GOP candidates for state legislator positions focusing on “issues which cause votes to be cast,” like roads, schools and taxes, “not redistricting.”

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AG King – The ‘Gatekeeper’ to New Mexico’s Political Machine

Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 11:46 Written by rslcpol Monday, 2 August 2010 01:15

From nmpolitics.net:

After reviewing Attorney General Gary King’s record over the last four years a quote comes to mind: “Don’t mistake activity for achievement.” Attorney General Gary King has acted as the gatekeeper to a political machine that will go down in the books as perhaps the most scandalous in our history. Accordingly, one would think every corruption headline would have been followed by an accountability headline. Not the case – not even close.

Let’s examine the record and see if it warrants re-election for the gatekeeper.

First case up involves former state treasurer Michael Montoya, whose indictment was obtained by Attorney General Patricia Madrid before she left office. The indictment charged Montoya with orchestrating a campaign of bribes and kickbacks that rocked the state treasurer’s office. In 2007, King resolved this case by entering into an agreement with Montoya to plead guilty to one felony count of racketeering in exchange for dismissing 15 others. Following this deal, King stated he was “pleased” with the results and that his office had “sent a message that they will pursue whatever actions are necessary to protect the public trust.”

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