Archive for category In the states

If You’re a Candidate Don’t Do this!

Mar 10

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This is simple.  If you’re running for office it’s generally a good idea not to associate your campaign, or your vision for leading, with former elected officials who have been kicked out of office by voters.  When we say kicked out we don’t mean lose an election – no we mean kicked out ala California’s Gray Davis.  Remember him?  You know, he was recalled by the voters in 2003 – only the 2nd governor in the history of the U.S. to be recalled – for mismanagement of a few major things in California.

Well, it looks like Nevada Democrat Lieutenant Governor candidate Bob Goodman didn’t get the memo, because former Governor Davis figures prominently on the Nevada Democrat’s campaign website.

Bob and Gray

Promise, we’re not doctoring pictures or making this up.  Read from Goodman’s own website:

During one of California’s most beautiful seasons, in the midst of spectacular scenery, SATDA’s Chairman, Mr. Robert Goodman, again met with Former Governor Gray Davis to follow-up on projects initiated during their meeting last month as well as review several additional ones.

Robert Goodman and SATDA were proud to host the Former Governor and his wife in China and escort them to the APEC meeting in Qingdao. During this trip where the Vice-Governor of the Shangdong province, Mr. Sun Shoupu, received the Former Governor and SATDA’s Chairman, solid ties were developed between SATDA and Mr. Davis that we continue to develop and strengthen.

During their July meeting in California, the two leaders discussed several new initiatives and trends that SATDA has been responsible for developing. Mr. Davis praised the work we continue to do to promote Sino-US trade, and the repeated successes we are reaping in expanding trade and investment between China and the USA for our members. He continued, “SME’s in both China and America need to increase their understanding of each other so they can develop the trust and cooperation needed to produce win-win situations.” Mr. Davis also worked with SATDA’s Chairman, Mr. Goodman, on several obstacles that continue to be issues in expanding trade and investment and discussed the feasibility of implementing certain suggested solutions.

We wouldn’t post if it weren’t true.  Does heralding the great respect for former Governor Davis speak to prospective Lt. Governor Goodman’s management style in government.  Does Nevada need to be another California?  That’s probably a question Goodman’s fellow candidates Paul Murad, Robert Randazzo, and Jessica Sferrazza ought to be asking, no?

And on the Republican side there’s only one candidate – the favorite to win out right in November – Lt. Governor Brian Krolicki.

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We Don’t Need No Facts!

Mar 10

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When running for office it’s ones tendency to engage in a bit of hyperbole – or fact stretching.  It’s never good to engage in such fact stretching when the stretched facts are easily found on this web thingy.  South Carolina Democratic Lt. Governor candidate Ashley Cooper appears to have stretched a bit when he claimed in a campaign video that South Carolina leads the nation in unemployment.  A quick check of that shocking revelation, because we always thought Michigan had the honor of leading the nation in unemployment, revealed that the truth might be screaming a bit as it is stretched.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state that leads the nation in unemployment is….Michigan at 14.3%, Nevada at 13%, Rhode Island at 12.7%, and then South Carolina at 12.6%.

One wouldn’t normally equate 4th place with leading, but maybe the definition of leading has changed.  You can see the video for yourself – he makes his bold redefinition of leading just 12 seconds into the video, so you don’t have to watch it all.

By the way, Mr. Cooper appears to be the only Democrat candidate running in this race, but Republicans Ken Ard and Bill Connor are competing for the GOP nomination.

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Who Says You Can’t Run for 2 Offices At Once?

Mar 10

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Seemingly nobody that Pennsylvania Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Steve Urban talks to.  You see Urban is one of 9 Republicans who are competing to be the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor.  Steve Urban is currently a County Commissioner in lovely Luzerne County, PA – which is about 120 miles north of Philadelphia.  It’s great that he wants to serve his fellow citizens of the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania this way, but what’s really interesting is that he’s developed a fall back plan should the whole 9-way GOP primary not work out for him.

Doubling His Fun?

What’s the fall back plan you ask?  Why it’s easy really.  While Mr. Urban was dropping off his petitions to run for Lt.  Governor, he also dropped off his petitions to run for State Senate in the 14th district.  The 14th is an open Democrat seat that has no other Republican candidates and 3 Democrat candidates all seeking to fill Raphael Musto’s seat serving the great people of the greater Wyoming Valley.

Urban said he will simultaneously campaign for both seats.

“The lieutenant governor works very closely with the Senate, and the issues are very similar,” Urban said.

He does not believe any Republicans are running for the 14th Senatorial District, so he would be running unopposed in the May 18 primary. Urban said he doesn’t believe any of the other Republican lieutenant governor candidates have “statewide name recognition.”

“I think it will be a more regionalized race,” Urban said. “The governor and lieutenant governor run independently, and I believe the people of the commonwealth ought to have a choice,” he said.

Urban said he has not decided what he will do if he wins Republican nominations to both seats.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” said Urban.

So there you have it – you can run for two offices at once. Wonder if this trend will spread to other parts of this great democratic experiment?

Think we’re making this up – read the full story right here.

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Redistricting: It’s in the states

Mar 4

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From Karl Rove/Wall Street Journal:

The political world is fixated on whether this year’s elections will deliver an epic rebuke of President Barack Obama and his party. If that happens, it could end up costing Democrats congressional seats for a decade to come.

Some of the most important contests this fall will be way down the ballot in communities like Portsmouth, Ohio and West Lafayette, Ind., and neighborhoods like Brushy Creek in Round Rock, Texas, and Murrysville Township in Westmoreland County, Pa. These are state legislative races that will determine who redraws congressional district lines after this year’s census, a process that could determine which party controls upwards of 20 seats and whether many other seats will be competitive.

Read the rest…

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One Young Candidate

Mar 4

Posted by Parched in In the states, Rising Stars | 1 Comment

In Washington State’s 18th legislative district Republican incumbent state representative Jaime Herrera is leaving his seat to run for Congress.  That leaves an open seat for Republicans to defend as the GOP seeks to win a majority in the Washington House of Representative in November – where the GOP needs 14 seats to take control of the chamber.  In the 18th, Republican are well positioned to hold the seat with 5 candidates running to fill Mr. Herrera’s seat.  You’ve got a Mayor Pro-Tem, a county planning commissioner, and educator, a businesswoman, and a 17 year-old high school student.

That’s right – 17 year-old Skyview High School senior Anthony Bittner is one of 5 Republican candidates seeking the GOP nomination in the August 17th primary.  Apparently Anthony is a planner.  He’ll turn the statutorily required 18 years old in April – plenty of time before the June 11 filing deadline to be legally eligible to run and hold office.  From the Columbian:

Bittner describes himself as a Republican with independent ideas and conservative values.

“As the son of a small-business owner, I have experienced firsthand the oppressiveness and unfair burden the government forces upon hard-working families,” he said in a statement.

He said he already feels burdened by the state’s budget deficit and would work to reduce government’s intrusion into private lives and the business world.

Other candidates in the race are talking about job creation, Bittner said in an interview, but he disagrees with that approach. “They want to give money to these companies,” he said. “I think we should be taking away the tax burden. I don’t think it should be the government’s job to create jobs. It’s the job of businesses to create jobs.”

He brings a different skill set to the table than any of his opponents – but the question is will anyone take him seriously.  Bittner has his Twitter page up already, though with only 12 followers and him not following anybody kind of makes it hard to get the word out.  Can’t find his campaign website or a Facebook fan page yet…this guy should be nailing those mediums ahead of his older opponents right?

The 18th is a big district for Republicans to hold onto if they want to make real gains in November – will the Republican nominee have to choose between campaigning and freshman orientation?

The Rock?

Chanelling "The Rock"?

Is the Republican candidate one of the GOP’s rising stars?  Will we be reading about Anthony running for Governor of Washington in 10 years?  Is that too soon?  Of course not – heck at 17 he’s already at least 3 years behind Jonathan Krohn.

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Tea Party: Candidates walking the line in search of new voters

Feb 22

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Is Texas Republican governor primary candidate Debra Medina continuing to tread outside the Republican primary main stream with these latest comments at a Texas Tea Party rally this weekend on who’s to blame for Joe Stack’s flying a single engine plane into the Austin IRS building?  Is she appealing to new voters who she’ll need to make the GOP runoff, or is she talking herself onto an island?

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Dem AG Says Dem AG Candidate Not Qualified

Feb 3

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A quick follow up on the saga of whether or not Connecticut Democrat Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz is qualified to seek the office of attorney general – an office for which she is actively campaigning.  The current occupant of the office, Democrat Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is running for United States Senate, with Chris Dodd out of the way he can finally do something, has essentially stopped Bysiewicz’s candidacy in its tracks.

During a news conference in his office, Blumenthal said Bysiewicz, who recently dropped a bid to run for governor and, instead, run for attorney general, does not have enough years as a practicing attorney.

Blumenthal said Bysiewicz, of Middletown, has not accumulated 10 years in the legal profession. In a formal opinion, Blumenthal said that the requirement for “active practice” means more than retaining a law license.

“Active means something more than being a member of the bar,” Blumenthal told reporters.

The Connecticut Post has the full story. You can imagine that Democrat former legislator George Jepsen and current Democrat State Representative Cameron Staples are gleefully pushing this story around Connecticut. And, a story like this makes for a better February day for Republican State Senator Andrew Roraback, Republican former prosecutor John Pavia, and GOP State Representative Arthur O’Neill – who are all reportedly mulling or exploring the race.

Susan Bysiewicz might be toast.

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A Cornhusker Kickback Mashup

Jan 29

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A good way to wrap up the week…and the Cornhusker Kickback.  Just think – if it weren’t for Henry McMaster, and his band of bipartisan state attorneys general, none of this would’ve ever been possible.

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Candidates and their wardrobes

Jan 28

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Is it right, regardless of what state law says, for a candidate to use campaign funds to pay for clothes for candidates?  We heard about this is in 2008 – and it’s popping up again, this time in Texas.  If you’re a candidate, what would you do?

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The Secretary of State is That Important

Jan 22

Posted by Parched in In the states, Rising Stars, secretary of state | No Comments

In Ohio, Republican Secretary of State candidate Jon Husted is proving that, at least in Ohio, people think the office of secretary of state is pretty important.

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, announced that he has more than $2 million on hand in his campaign fund for the secretary of state’s race.

“This is evidence that support for my campaign for Secretary of State continues to grow,” Husted, a former House speaker, said in a press release.

Maybe Ohio voters remember previous elections where the Secretary of State’s office played a less than neutral role in elections. Maybe they remember Joe the Plumber. There are a number of states in 2010 with SOS races that carry implications beyond run of the mill state elections.  You can read the rest of the story here.  You can learn more about Jon Husted here.

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