Posted on 09/12/2006 7:00:07 PM PDT by VU4G10
Moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, his political career at risk from a more conservative challenger, led in early returns Tuesday in a contest that could be crucial in the larger fight for control of Congress.
With 3 percent of precincts reporting, Chafee had 2,735 votes, or 55 percent, to Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey's 2,241 votes, or 45 percent.
The last big day of primaries before the November elections also brought intriguing Democratic contests for Senate in Maryland and a House seat in Minnesota. In all, nine states and the District of Columbia voted, with the other states including Arizona, Delaware, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Wisconsin.
In Rhode Island, Chafee won support from the Republican establishment, even though he has consistently bucked the Bush administration and the GOP-led Congress on the environment and abortion, and was the lone Republican to vote against the use of military force in Iraq.
(AP) This photo provided by the candidate shows Republican challenger for Arizona's Eighth Congressional... Full Image
But if he loses the primary, polls show Democratic nominee Sheldon Whitehouse, a former attorney general, would be the likely winner in the fall. With Democrats hopeful they can gain the six seats needed to win control in the Senate, that makes the seat critical.
Polls a month before the primary showed the two Republicans running even.
The House race in Arizona for a seat left open by retiring moderate GOP Rep. Jim Kolbe also has drawn national money and interest. Eleven major-party candidates for the seat that stretches from Tucson to the Mexican border were entered in the party primaries.
National GOP leaders angered Republican candidates when they jumped into the race to support state Rep. Steve Huffman, a moderate who in a recent poll was trailing a former state lawmaker, Randy Graf.
Party officials have expressed concerns Graf may be too conservative to win the seat in November.
(AP) Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz, speaks during a press conference in the American University of Beirut,... Full Image
The two leading Democratic contenders are former state legislator Gabrielle Giffords and former local television anchor Patty Weiss.
In Maryland, Democrats decided between Rep. Ben Cardin and Kweisi Mfume, former head of the NAACP, for a Senate candidate to fill Paul Sarbanes' seat. The winner will face GOP Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who - if he won - would be the lone black Republican in the Senate. He has nine rivals for the Republican nomination but is expected to win easily.
Judges extended voting hours in Baltimore and nearby Montgomery County by one hour because of problems that delayed the opening of some polling places. Officials said some election judges did not show up on time and others had trouble getting into the facilities.
In Minnesota, Democrats were picking among four candidates for a House seat in a district that includes Minneapolis. The party backed state legislator Keith Ellison, who would be Congress's first Muslim member if he won. But Ellison found himself in a tough, four-way battle.
Elsewhere:
- District of Columbia voters choose between City Council member Adrian M. Fenty and longtime council Chairman Linda W. Cropp in the mayoral primary. In heavily Democratic Washington, the primary is tantamount to the general election.
- New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer looked to be coasting to a primary win for governor against Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. Spitzer is expected to easily win in the fall. And one-term Sen. Hillary Clinton faced a long shot anti-war candidate in the primary.
- Also in New York, the Democratic primary for attorney general pits former federal Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo - son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo - against Mark Green, the former New York City Public Advocate.
- In Vermont, Rep. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic nomination for Senate. Sanders, who plans to run as an independent, aims to win the seat of retiring Sen. James Jeffords, the Senate's lone independent. Three Republicans sought the GOP nomination, with businessman Richard Tarrant leading in early returns.
No, 80% and Linc by a mile. I only hope he holds the seat in Nov. for organizational help for the Pubs and then just forget him. Chafee declared winner. Cardin and Queesy are in a mess in MD. cheating, fraud calls of Dem vs Dem. Nice for Steele if it holds up.
There's a pattern here.
In RI, the national Republican party has supported Democrat Chaffee with tons of money and a barrage of really slimy attack ads in print, radio and TV.
In AZ-8, the national party has supported a quasi-Democrat in the primary. It's all about who they will be more comfortable having in the Club, lining his and his relativess' pockets with your tax dollars.
Frankly, every defeat for an incumbent is a win for America, in this corrupt Congress. I am still throwing Republican fund-raising solicitations in the trash -- by putting their thumb on the primary scales where it doesn't belong, they lost me.
Follow Chaffee vs. Laffey here:
http://www.electionri.com/Results/TopTicket.htm
With 72% of precincts in, it looks like Chaffee, with help from a lot of people who didn't vote in any other race (compare the race totals), has eked out a win.
Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, will be the new senator. The Dems are up one of the six they need.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
A number of the Senators you mentioned got part of their rating while they were coming up for reelection in red states.
There are about 17 or 18 states that are quite liberal. They elect liberals.
That leaves about 16 or 17 states that are evenly divided. Sometimes they elect DINOS and some times they elect RINOS. In these evenly divided states the moderates hold sway.
That is they almost always elect either a RINO or a DINO. That means the senate always has about 36 Conservatives and 36 Liberals. The remainder are some combination of RINOS and DINOS.
So what do fools always want to do? Throw out the RINOS and DINOS. And just once in our history has the Republican party managed to throw out all the RINOS. The result was LBJ and the passage of his great society. With the RINOS all gone, there was nothing left but DINOS and the Senate was filibuster proof.
And who did we have to thank for giveing the Democrats everything they ever wanted? Barry Goldwater that's who.
With over 60 seats in the Senate and total control of the HOuse the democrats were able to pass legislations that they had been waiting 40 years to pass.
Now again we have the Conservatives so anxious to give the Democrats every thing they want. And what do they want? Socialized medicine. Well when you get it, I hope you don't have enough money to travel to Singapore to get good medical treatment.
But just like the Goldwater fools from a generation ago.. you will talk about the stupid voters. But it is not the voters that are supid. It is the conservatives that are too stupid to know how the system works.
I hope your learn something from your defeat... but I would not bet on it.
Lots of Rats are more "moderate" than Chafee. If I can do this, thwe MSM/DBM (including Fox) can too. It's not rocket science. Sheesh.
(Source ACU ratings for 2005.
http://www.acuratings.org/2005all.htm#RI
Chafee (RI) 12
Lincoln (AR) 16
Pryor (AK) 24
Feinstein (CA) 12 (tie)
Boxer (CA) 12 (tie)
Salazar (CO) 32
Ben Nelson (FL) 20
Bayh (IN) 20
Landrieu (LA) 44
Levin (MI) 17
Stabenow (MI) 12 (tie)
Dayton (MN) 18
Baucus (MT) 24
Bingamin (NM) 13
Conrad (ND) 21
Dorgan (ND) 17
Johnson (SD) 13
Byrd (WV) 20
Kohl (WI) 13
Feingold (WI) 13
| South Carolina | Member | 2005 | 2004 | YOS | Life |
| GRAHAM | 96 | 92 | 11 | 91 |
Chafee's got his thong on--just like Boxer and her pals.
Lindsay Graham has a lifetime conservative rating of about 90% and led the fight to impeach Clinton (gotta love how freepers insist Harris get nominated for her "heroic" actions in 2000, but we're supposed to lynch Lindsey Graham and forget about his truly heroic actions in 1998). The fact you and a handful of other fanatical "die-Graham-die" gang are consumed with hatred over him because he voted the wrong way on issue or two and is nice to McCain (J.D. Hayworth, freeper icon, also adores McCain, but you people overlook that) does not make him a "RINO"
If Graham's record makes him a RINO, then roughly 85% of the Republican Senators are RINOs. You guys might as well start your own party if the bar of 90% conservative isn't "good enough" for you.
A commie like Linc Chaffee and his 80% liberal rating is a RINO. Graham is a lifelong conservative, although the Ned Lamont wing of the GOP is convinced anyone who doesn't agree with them 100% of time is an evil maxist scumbag and must be "purged"
Graham-hating "Republicans" = Lieberman-hating Democrats.
Graham wants to be McCain's vice president so he always supports him. Graham also plays to the media the same way McCain does.
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