Free Republic

NNot so long ago, a job with Lehman Brothers opened doors. Now, it threatens to slam one on the leading Republican contender for governor in 2010. John R. Kasich, the former congressman from Westerville, left the storied investment banking firm shortly after it collapsed in September, severing a six-year relationship as a managing director of Lehman's investment banking division. As Kasich prepares to challenge Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, his association with a firm that has come to symbolize the avarice of Wall Street almost certainly will be used against him. "If he becomes a candidate for governor, I'm sure that...

SEATTLE -- An exclusive KIRO Team 7 Investigation discovers the state will send ballots to thousands of convicted felons in the next week, even though many can't legally vote. The Secretary of State’s Office fired up a new multimillion-dollar computer in 2006. Its job was to catch, and then cancel, illegal voters. Well, not all illegal voters. KIRO-TV recently ran its own data to double check the state's work. Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne found out the system was set up to ignore the existence of approximately 24,000 convicted felons. The State of Washington never stopped sending Tracy Wilkinson ballots in...

Gregoire stole the first election with the help of massive voter fraud in King County with ACORN tactics.....

The race for Washington’s next Governor is now a tie. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds incumbent Christine Gregoire and challenger Dino Rossi each attracting 48% of the vote. Gregoire is viewed favorably by 51% and unfavorably by 47%. Her job performance is rated 43% good or excellent from voters, while 35% say she is doing a poor job. Former State Senator Rossi’s ratings are 50% favorable, 48% unfavorable.

Seattle (AP) -- A judge says the word "Republican" doesn't have to appear next to Dino Rossi's name on the November ballot for the Washington governor's race. Rossi had listed his affiliation as "prefers GOP party," referring to the Republicans' Grand Old Party nickname. Democrats sued this week after a survey showed Rossi had more voter support with the "GOP" tag than he did with the "Republican" tag.

For the fifth time this year, two of the three gubernatorial candidates met for a debate. This time, it was a different two. Republican Pat McCrory and Libertarian Mike Munger debated the economy, health care and education in an hour-long event hosted by UNC-TV, agreeing more than they disagreed. Democrat Beverly Perdue skipped the debate. Though they agreed more than they disagreed during the debate, McCrory and Munger differed on offshore drilling and the death penalty. McCrory argued drilling would lower gas prices eventually, while Munger said it was a gimmick but worth doing anyway. McCrory said he would move...

OLYMPIA — The state Democratic Party filed suit Tuesday in an attempt to force Dino Rossi to list his party preference as "Republican" on the November ballot instead of "GOP Party." Democrats say the Iraq War and low approval ratings for President Bush have left the Republican Party a damaged brand and that Rossi is trying to distance himself by using GOP as his affiliation. Rossi is running against Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire. He lost to Gregoire by 133 votes in the 2004 election, and polls show this race to be close as well. Polls by Stuart Elway have suggested...

Olympia, Wash. (AP) -- Washington state Democrats sued a state official Tuesday to get a Republican listed on the ballot, arguing a candidate is obscuring his party identity by ballot language that says he "prefers GOP party." The candidate, Dino Rossi, is facing a rematch this November with Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire, who beat him by 133 votes four years ago after three counts and a court challenge. The lawsuit the party filed against Secretary of State Sam Reed argues that "allowing Mr. Rossi to obscure his true party preference and affiliation directly violates the law, would mislead a substantial...

P2008 - DAILY POLLING UPDATE. Here is our daily update of the latest independent state polls on the Presidential race: ALABAMA (USA Polling Group): McCain - 52%, Obama - 25%. FLORIDA (Miami Herald): McCain - 47%, Obama - 45%. FLORIDA (Research 2000): McCain - 46%, Obama - 45%, Others - 3%. ILLINOIS (Research 2000): Obama - 56%, McCain - 36%. ILLINOIS (Rasmussen): Obama - 56%, McCain - 40%. IOWA (SurveyUSA): Obama - 54%, McCain - 43%, Others - 2%. IOWA (Research 2000): Obama - 53%, McCain - 39%, Others - 3%. MICHIGAN (EPIC/MRA): Obama - 43%, McCain - 42%, Nader...

Hollywood star Val Kilmer is tipped to become the next governor of his home state of New Mexico - by the politician currently in the hot seat. Democrat Bill Richardson has to step down from the position when his second term ends in 2011 - and he would love to hand over the keys to the governor's mansion to Kilmer. He says, "I like the idea. Val Kilmer is a New Mexican, he was Batman. You know there have been successful actors going into politics. I haven't talked to him about it, I don't know how serious he is, but...

There have been a couple of stories that have swirled about over the last month or so regarding gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue. These stories have been reported at Under the Dome, at Jeff Sykes' blog and over at Red Clay-- but there certainly has not been concomitant, prominent, drumbeat coverage in most of the mainstream media that I have seen. The Raleigh News and Observer, however, had this story about the first situation I will describe. In any case, the matters to which I refer are as follows: 1. Perdue's interest in a certain Florida development company was not recorded...

(English-language translation) The most recent [Puerto Rico election] poll by El Vocero and Univisión indicate that 57% of those interviewed favor [Resident Commissioner and] New Progressive Party (PNP) candidate for Governor Luis Fortuño, while 29% would vote to re-elect [incumbent] Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá [with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD)]. Fortuño’s current lead over Acevedo is 28 percentage points. When comparing to the poll published on May 29, it was observed that the PPD leader shortened by 4 [percentage] points the lead the PNP leader had at the time. Other candidates, and the [number of] undecided [voters], also increased their...

Steve Poizner Launches 2010 Gubernatorial Exploratory Committee Former Senate Republican Leader Jim Brulte to Chair Committee 23 Republican Elected Officials Support Potential Candidacy California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner today announced that he has officially launched a 2010 gubernatorial exploratory committee. “This morning I filed the necessary papers with the California Secretary of State to establish an exploratory committee for Governor.” “I am taking the first formal step toward running for Governor in 2010 because I believe in California and I understand that meeting the challenges of the 21st century requires new and innovative ideas.” “Today, we no longer face competition...

Pat McCrory has the lead in a new poll. According to a recent poll by SurveyUSA, the Republican gubernatorial candidate had 49 percent, Democrat Beverly Perdue had 41 percent and Libertarian Mike Munger had 5 percent. Five percent of respondents were undecided. "Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released four weeks ago, McCrory is up 5 points and is in the lead for the first time; Perdue is down 6 points and trails for the first time," the pollsters write. The survey of 671 likely voters was conducted between Sept. 6 and 8. The margin of error is plus or...

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner made official Monday what's been expected for months: He's running for governor in 2010. The state's only Republican statewide officeholder besides Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will file paperwork today to open an exploratory committee to succeed Schwarzenegger in two years. The move is the first formal step taken to enter the race. "I am taking the first formal step toward running for governor in 2010 because I believe in California and I understand that meeting the challenges of the 21st century requires new and innovative ideas," Poizner said in a statement. Poizner, 51, sold a...

After his strange speech in Philadelphia, Gov. Brian Schweitzer may have just hand-delivered an issue, wrapped in red ribbon on a silver platter, to his Republican opponent and his critics. The Democratic governor has seemingly been coasting to an easy re-election victory over Republican Roy Brown ... Schweitzer's meteoric rise may have been slowed down a tad last week. That's when reports surfaced of his odd speech July 14 to a national trial lawyers' convention in Philadelphia in July. "And the advantage is, you know, when you've got a governor on your side, whoa!" Schweitzer says in the speech. "You...

RENTON (WA)— Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told Barack Obama supporters Saturday that Washington needs a huge Obama victory to "carry" into office Democrats whose wins are less certain. Specifically, he mentioned Gov. Christine Gregoire, who is in a tight race with Republican challenger Dino Rossi, and Democrat Darcy Burner, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in the 8th Congressional District. Dean, a 2004 presidential candidate and former governor of Vermont, gave an impassioned speech to a crowd of Democrats packed into the Renton Carpenters Hall. The crowd cheered madly as Dean told them the McCain campaign appeals...

Democrats are expected to make strong gains in state legislatures this fall, but what do these stronger Democratic majorities mean? A look at Washington State may show what is in store for the rest of the country. Public employee unions are handing over vast amounts of money to the incumbent governor's re-election campaign, while the governor is simultaneously sitting at the bargaining table negotiating contracts with these very unions. If it seems inappropriate for the governor, Christine Gregoire, who is locked in a very tight re-election, to benefit personally from the parties that her office is negotiating with, that's just...

WA: Obama 49, McCain 47 Gregoire 46 Rossi 52

The McCain-Palin ticket's rise in the polls is giving optimism to Republican candidates down the ballot as well, helping lift fund raising and stirring excitement among supporters. Republican Party officials tracking congressional races and gubernatorial contests suggest they have seen an increase in volunteers since Sen. John McCain announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate Aug. 29. The following week, the National Republican Congressional Committee raised $247,382 in online donations -- double its take for all of August. The average contribution that week was $101, the low-dollar total suggesting enthusiasm among grass-roots supporters. Republican candidates across the country...