Thursday, December 29, 2011

Washington State: Redistricting Creates 5 Democrat, 4 Republican & 1 Toss-Up

The map has the potential to shake up the state's political landscape, according to Shannon's reporting.
The bipartisan draft map appears to leave Democrats with strong positions in five districts including (Adam) Smith and Dicks, Republicans with strong positions in four districts including (Dave) Reichert and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler in the 3rd, which retains a band of south Thurston County, all of Southwest Washington and all of Klickitat County east of the Cascades.
Control of a new 10th Congressional District, however, is less certain.
Denny Heck, a longtime Olympia Democrat, ran in the right-leaning 3rd district last year and lost to Herrera Beutler. He filed for another run in 2012 and now appears positioned well to run in a new 10th, if the new plan passes. Similarly, Republican Dick Muri lost to Smith last year in the 9th and is raising money but has not designated which district he’ll run in; he is positioned to run in the 10th, too.
University Place Patch

Gallup Poll: Americans See Views of GOP Candidates Closer to Their Own

Massachusetts: Scott Brown's Year End Fundraising Letter

English: Scott Brown, Republican U.S. Senator ...
Scott Brown via Wikipedia

It's hard to believe that another year is almost over and another election season is almost upon us.

Despite all of the partisan dysfunction in Washington, I was proud to play a significant role in several pieces of serious legislation that will help improve our economy, put people back to work, protect America and end corrupt practices in Congress.  Some of the highlights include:

I led the way on two important pieces of jobs legislation that became law, including a bill to help put returning veterans back to work.  My "No Contracting With The Enemy" bill, supported by Gen. David Petraeus, prevents our tax dollars from flowing into the hands of terrorists.  And my STOCK Act will ensure Washington lives under the same laws as everyone else by banning insider trading by members of Congress.

But as the year comes to an end, we look ahead to a difficult and grueling election year.  The Washington/Beacon Hill special interests have already spent over $3 million on negative and misleading attack ads distorting my pro-jobs record.

But with your continued support, we'll be able to fight back, set the record straight, and let voters know what is really at stake in 2012. 

Before the end of the year, will you please make a donation to help me raise the final $7,216 left to meet our 2011 fundraising goal? 

Thank you in advance for standing with me, and please have a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year.

Sincerely,

Scott Brown

P.S. The crucial end of the year finance deadline is on Saturday.  Please help me raise the final $7,216 to meet our 2011 goal and send a loud message to the Beacon Hill/Washington political establishment by donating today.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Nevada: Republicans Looking Forward to Taking Control of Senate in 2012

Democrats could lose as many as five seats in the Nevada Legislature next year, a conservative Republican leader says.
Dan Burdish, executive director for Citizen Outreach, cited changes made to election districts during redistricting in October and a recent switch of 63,582 voters from active to inactive status by the Clark County Election Department.
He predicted Thursday that Republicans will pick up two state Senate seats, giving them a 12-9 majority in that house, and three Assembly seats, leaving them trailing Democrats 23-19.
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Louisiana: Decade of Democrat Decline

Of the 49 states that observe voter registration, four-sevenths require some affirmation of partisan status. And of those 28 states, in 25 Democrat registrations have declined since 2008 and in three-quarters of them Republican registrations have followed the same course. Meanwhile, those not affiliated (often called “independents” but legally in Louisiana known as “no party” registrants) have gone down in only 10.
Bayoubuzz.com

Nebraska: Ben Nelson Retires, Golden Opportunity for GOP

, U.S. Senator from Nebraska.
Ben Nelson via Wikipedia
Democratic Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson will be retiring from the Senate after the end of his second term, he announced on Tuesday.

In a video statement released Tuesday afternoon, the two-term senator confirmed his decision not to run for re-election, citing a desire to spend more time with his family and "look for new ways to serve our state and nation."
Election results by county for Nelson's 2006 r...
Ben Nelson's 2006 Senate Win via Wikipedia
"There is much more that needs to be done to keep America strong. And while I relish the opportunity to undertake the work that lies ahead, I also feel it's time for me to step away from elective office, spend more time with my family, and look for new ways to serve our state and nation," Nelson said. "Therefore, I am announcing today that I will not seek reelection. Simply put: It is time to move on." 

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

New Jersey Redistricting: District 6 Crystal Ball

English: US Rep. Frank Pallone
Frank Pallone via Wikipedia
Frank Pallone's district became even more heavily based in Middlesex County than it was before. Therefore, it is also more Democrat. With the addition of Carteret, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, northern Edison and South Plainfield, liberals do not have much to worry about when it comes to the 6th District. Also of modest gain for Pallone, the towns of Dunellen and Middlesex were taken out of the new boundaries. Both towns lean slightly toward the Republicans. One town in the same region that will be missed is Plainfield in Union County. It was put into the new 12th District instead. Also the part of Franklin Township in the old 6th has been removed, uniting all of Franklin Township in the 12th. In Monmouth County, Pallone gains the rest of Marlboro (a battleground town) and two GOP towns—Oceanport and West Long Branch. The biggest loss to the Democrats in the district is probably Neptune with its combination urban/suburban population. Ocean Township, a toss-up town, was also lost to the 4th district. Overall, this is good news for Frank Pallone and the Democrats. However, a dark cloud on the horizon might be that since Pallone is from Monmouth County (Long Branch) and the district is even more centered in Middlesex County, a Democrat from the latter might decide it is time to challenge Pallone in the primary. If Pallone retires, look for his replacement to come from Middlesex.

New Jersey Redistricting: District 5 Crystal Ball

English: , member of the United States House o...
Scott Garrett via Wikipedia
New Jersey lost one of it's districts after the census, so it is down from 13 to 12. The 5th district was chosen to be the one that throws two incumbents into direct conflict. Scott Garrett of Sussex County and Steve Rothman of Bergen County now share this district, but Garrett is the one who has the best prospects, because he lost a lot less of his territory compared to Rothman. Blows to Garrett included the loss of the southern 1/3 of Warren County, a small part of Sussex County and Wanaque and Bloomingdale in Passaic County.
However, Rothman lost almost his entire solidly Democrat district, which was largely absorbed into Congressman Bill Pascrell's old 8th District (the new 9th District). A few holdover towns that may help Rothman are his hometown of Paramus, Hackensack, Bogota, Lodi and a part of Teaneck. Still, this is a Republican district that has an outside chance of going Democrat if it is a good year for the party of Andrew Jackson.

UPDATE: Rothman is now said to be in the process of switching districts, and will challenge Bill Pascrell of the new 9th District. Good news for Republicans and bad news for Democrats. Look for the liberals to try to talk Rothman out of this by dangling an Obama bribe-job in front of his nose.

New Jersey Redistricting: District 4 Crystal Ball

Representative Chris Smith
Chris Smith via Wikipedia
Chris Smith's 4th District lost all of it's towns in northern Burlington County, but it is hard to say if this much of a plus or minus, since when taken together the towns really do not clearly favor one party or another. The district shed the two declining towns of East Windsor and Hightstown, which should make Republicans happy since they are solidly Democrat towns. Also, the district lost the part of Trenton that had belonged to it. Another reason for cheer. In Monmouth County, the district picked up GOP-friendly towns like Manalapan, Englishtown, the rest of Freehold Township which had been in Rush Holt's 12th District, Holmdel, Fair Haven, Rumson, Little Silver and Shrewsbury. A few battleground municipalities like Tinton Falls, Eatontown, Belmar and Ocean were added as well. And finally, even a few Democrat towns were tacked on for good measure, including Red Bank, Neptune and Lake Como,

New Jersey Redistricting: District 3 Crystal Ball

Census Bureau map of Brick Township, New Jersey
Brick, New Jersey via Wikipedia
Congressman Jon Runyon caught an important break when Cherry Hill, a large Democrat town, was removed from the 3rd District and Brick, a large Republican town, was added. This alone is such an improvement that it should be enough to keep Runyon congressman of that district after the 2012 election. The district also added a mix of Democrat and Republican towns in northern Burlington County. This should not have much of an impact because the addition of this region does not give either party much of an advantage. Southern Ocean County was lost to district 2, which does hurt Runyon, but it was more than offset by the loss of Cherry Hill and the addition of Brick.

New Jersey Redistricting: District 2 Crystal Ball

English: US Rep. Jo Ann Emerson
Frank LoBiondo via Wikipedia
Frank LoBiondo's 2nd Congressional District managed to stay mostly the same in most parts of the region except in the northeast. This is where the district added several towns in Republican-heavy Ocean County. These include Tuckerton, Little Egg Harbor, Eagleswood and a part of Stafford...in addition to all of the towns on Long Beach Island. This makes the district more Republican but not overwhelmingly so. Therefore, as long as incumbent LoBiondo does not retire, the Republicans can continue to expect to win this district. If he does retire, look for a major battle, because the district also has some urban areas and declining townships that strongly favor the Democrats. These include: Atlantic City, Pleasantville, Vineland, Bridgeton, Hammonton, Millville, Fairfield, Clayton and Salem.

New Jersey Redistricting: District 1 Crystal Ball

English: A Cherry Hill Public Parks sign locat...
Image via Wikipedia
Rob Andrew's 1st Congressional District in southwestern New Jersey has one of the least changed boundaries resulting from the redistricting. The biggest change results from one very liberal, very white town being added—Cherry Hill. Even though it is new to the district, Cherry Hill is arguably the most important municipality. When Rob Andrews decides to retire, Cherry Hill will be important in choosing his replacement. Odds are that the replacement will likely be from Cherry Hill or will at least need to be in the good graces of that large town to win the Democrat primary. Since the 1st District is almost completely a clump of Democrat towns, that will be equal to winning the general election.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

2/3 of British Believe Immigration Has Hurt Country

In the online survey of a representative sample of 2,006 adults, 69 per cent of respondents think immigration is having a negative effect on the UK.
Seven-in-ten Britons (72%) would like to decrease the number of legal immigrants who are allowed to relocate in the United Kingdom. A majority of respondents in all three age groups agree with this course of action, including 52 per cent of those aged 18-to-34.
Angus-Reid

New Mexico: Susan Martinez Enjoys High Approval Ratings

English: New Mexico State Governor Susana Martinez
Susana Martinez via Wikipedia
Some 65 percent of those surveyed said they approve of the job Martinez is doing, while 29 percent said they disapprove, according to a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (POS). The survey asked 500 registered voters about their opinion of the governor and was conducted between Dec. 12 and 13.
The POS poll surveyed respondents who were 34 percent Republican, 51 percent Democrat and 15 percent Independent. This reflects the general electorate in the 2008 general election and mirrors the current voter registration gap between Republicans and Democrats in the state at 17 percent, according to the POS.

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