Posted on 12/18/2006 10:35:30 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj
It took nearly six weeks -- talk about a long election night wait -- but we finally have a winner in the race for Vermont State Auditor. Incumbent Randy Brock (R) appeared the winner on election night by a margin of 137 votes. After the statewide recount, and correcting for errors in how paper ballots were tabulated in some rural communities, it turns out Brock lost to accountant Tom Salmon Jr. (D) by 104 votes. It was Vermont's first statewide recount in 26 years. Before election day, Brock was one of six African-American Republicans holding statewide elective offices around the nation. Now, with Brock's defeat -- and the defeat of 3 others in 2006 -- that GOP total drops to only two (Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams and Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson).
*ping*
Recount Over: Upset in Auditor's Race
WCAX News
Montpelier, Vermont - December 18, 2006
The state-wide election recount is over and the numbers now show an upset. It appears Republican incumbent Randy Brock has been defeated by his Democratic challenger, Thomas Salmon.
In unofficial totals, Salmon, who lost on Election Day, appears to be the recount winner. It would mark the first statewide race in Vermont history to be overturned by a recount.
Early on election night, it was clear. The race for Vermont Auditor would be the one to watch. Brock and Salmon were neck and neck. At the end of the night, Brock beat Salmon by just 137 votes.
That razor-thin margin, led Salmon to call for a state-wide recount.
For 2 weeks, the numbers went back and forth as more than 250- thousand ballots were recounted by hand in all 14 counties.
"The recount process is very precise," said Secretary of State Deb Markowitz. "Every ballot is hand counted twice. Not only is there a counter and a marker, but also two people observe it from opposite parties."
When the last ballots were recounted, a surprise upset. The results were overturned. Salmon appears to be the real winner.
"In each of the cases, what happened was there was a clerical error. People put numbers in the wrong columns or people added incorrectly," said Markowitz.
But again it's very close. Brock appears to have lost the race for Auditor by just 104 votes.
"We want a result that we can have confidence in," said Brock.
But neither Brock nor Salmon will declare victory or defeat in a too-close-to-call race that's flip-flopped for more than a month and a half.
"We've learned in this election already once, how unwise it is to arrive at conclusions based on unofficial results," said Brock.
"Until the results are certified, I don't think it would be prudent to call this a victory. We're not there yet," said Salmon.
That's because the results must still be certified and the vote totals could change again.
Washington Superior Court will begin reviewing the recount on Thursday. The judge there will look at some ballots that are still questionable. Those are the ballots that the recount teams could not agree on . For example, they weren't sure who the voter was picking.
But Markowitz says it's doubtful there are enough of those ballots that will go to Brock to change the recount results. She expects that Tom Salmon will be Vermont's next Auditor.
It appears most of the election day errors occurred in rural towns that still use paper ballots that are counted and tabulated by hand. For example, votes for Salmon were mistakenly assigned to Liberty Union candidate Jerry Levy.
This was the first state-wide election recount in 26 years in Vermont. and we should also note Brock outspent Salmon in his campaign for reelection. Brock laid out about 123 thousand dollars. Salmon spent just over 50 thousand.
Darren Perron - Channel 3 News
They must have employed vote recounters from King County in Washington State.
It's interesting these situations always seem to turn out in favor of the same party. Things that make ya say "hmmmm...."
Yeah, no kidding. Although what they mean by "Washington Superior Court" is Washington County, VT. It's the county that the State Capital of Montpelier is located in.
All these recounts turn out the same. No more until we could remove the corrupt DEMonfascist party from the process.
Demonrats steal another one. Allow them to get their hands on the ballots, and they'll "recount" their way to victory every time.
Doesn't pay to be black AND republican it seems.
Link below says "volunteer counters" are used for the recount. No wonder Brock went from being a winner to a loser.
http://www.vermontguardian.com/local/112006/AuditorRecountStart.shtml
Yep. Just another example of the Lefties fighting with all their might to keep a black guy from being successful without their "assistance". If he doesn't think like them, he must be destroyed at all costs. Those bastards are the antithesis of equality, fairness and dignity. I hope Brock runs again in 2 years and kicks butt over his opponent.
This is really a shame. I hope Mr. Brock can make a comeback in 2008. The worst part is that Mr. Brock could have run for the open-seat U.S. House seat but decided to seek reelection instead.
Who were the other three black Republicans who are currently statewide elected officials but who lost in 2006? One is MD Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who lost the Senate race. Another is OH Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who lost the gubernatorial election. Wasn't Jeanette Bradley Ohio's State Treasurer until she lost a primary (perhaps for something else)? I assume she's the third.
We need to do something so that more black Republicans are elected statewide and to Congress. Part of the fault lies on Republican primary voters, who in 2004 chose not to nominate Herman Cain for the U.S. Senate from GA (he would have won easily), or state senator Jackie Winters for the U.S. House from Oregon (she would have had a shot against Congresswoman Hooley), or Dylan Glenn for the U.S. House from GA (in a ridiculously GOP district where the Democrat would have no chance), or Vernon Robinson for the U.S. House from NC (in a 66% Bush CD). Winters managed to get only 45% in the primary, and Glenn and Robinson got 45% each in the primary run-off in their respective races. In Cain's case, he would have had a good chance of beating Isakson in the run-off if he could hold him below 50% in the first round, but Cain fell a few percentage points short, and Isakson won with 53%. Just 5% more votes for those black conservatives would have resulted in three black Republicans in the House and a black Republican in the Senate. The black Republicans that won primaries in 2004 fell short in November, including James Garner in NY, Ada Fisher in NC and Clinton LeSueur in MS.
In 2006, black Republicans did better in the primaries (although unfortunately Keith Butler fell a bit short in the Michigan Senate primary), with Steele garnering the Senate nomination and Blackwell and Swann gubernatorial nominations, and Eric Dickerson (IN), Yvonne Brown (MS) and Vernon Robinson (NC) were our nominees for relatively competitive House seats (Bush got between 40%-47% in 2004), but fell victims to the Democrat sweep in November.
Our best chance at electing a black Republican to Congress in 2008 may come if Congressman Vern Ehlers, who turns 74 in 2008, retires in the MI-03, which gave President Bush 59% in 2004 but is slowly trending Democrat. Black conservative Republican Bill Hardiman represents about half the district in the state senate, and his reelection last month means that this will be his last term in the state senate. Hardiman would be unbeatable in the general election, since he has been elected twice in a very marginal district that includes all of Grand Rapids, but he may have to face outgoing state senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, who represents a little less than half of the district in the state senate but who certainly represents more GOP primary voters given the overwhelmingly GOP nature of his state senate district. If Ehlers retires in 2008 (or in 2010, for that matter), I hope Kent County Republicans consider the importance of having a black conservative Republican in Congress to show black voters that it's okay for them to follow their conservative principles. Here's some info on Hardiman:
http://senate.michigan.gov/gop/senator/hardiman/bio/index.htm
And here's Sikkema:
http://senate.michigan.gov/gop/senator/sikkema/bio/index.htm
There was never any indication he was focused on anything but Auditor. Mr. Brock is not a politician. He opted to run for the job against a troubled incumbent after he retired from the private sector. He might run again, but at 65 (in '08), he might prefer something else. Worse, yet, because a "name" candidate won (Tom Salmon, Jr), it becomes more formidable a challenge. Brock's problem was that he was a freshman who won in an upset in '04, and lack of name recognition, coupled with the GOP blowout, contributed to his defeat. Had he been elected previously, he might've held on. It's interesting you don't see the media chastising VT for failing to reeelect a competent and well-qualified Black to statewide office, that's because Mr. Brock ain't a rodent. Contrast that with Harold Ford, Jr...
"Wasn't Jeanette Bradley Ohio's State Treasurer until she lost a primary (perhaps for something else)? I assume she's the third."
Miss Bradley had two problems going for her. #1, she had been Taft's Lieutenant-Governor (considered a generally worthless job in the state, so much so that when I wrote for her successor, Bruce Johnson's, autograph recently, his office informed me he had already resigned), and #2, she was considered a liberal, and both contributed to her primary defeat (and we did not hold the office this November, only the Auditor's office was retained by a newcomer).
"We need to do something so that more black Republicans are elected statewide and to Congress."
Indeed, not just Blacks, but Hispanics, Asians, et al. The Republican party will never be a long-term majority party until it can unlock the way to getting more non-Whites into the party, not just as voters, but as candidates.
"Part of the fault lies on Republican primary voters, who in 2004 chose not to nominate Herman Cain for the U.S. Senate from GA (he would have won easily), --- In Cain's case, he would have had a good chance of beating Isakson in the run-off if he could hold him below 50% in the first round, but Cain fell a few percentage points short, and Isakson won with 53%."
I supported him, of course, but he still had to contend with 2 Congressional heavyweights in the primary, Isakson, and Mac Collins. Isakson, to our pleasant surprise, moved rightward after his election to the Senate, and is doing an excellent job now. I believe Cain did toy with the idea of running for Lt Governor this year, but between his health concerns, and seeing that a 3-way race between himself, Casey Cagle and Ralph Reed, might've been a repeat of '04, and he didn't want to bother. Sadly, age and health concerns might keep him permanently out of public office.
"or state senator Jackie Winters for the U.S. House from Oregon (she would have had a shot against Congresswoman Hooley),"
Winters' loss, unfortunately, stemmed from some of her legislative votes (on taxes). As with Cain, if not moreso, her age was also a factor, as she was pushing 70, not exactly the age one embarks on a Congressional career. Sen. Winters was just reelected to another 4-year term. Perhaps she might consider a run for a statewide office in '08, instead, either Sec of State or Treasurer, or perhaps the open Governorship in 4 years... but she'd be 74 after being sworn-in.
"or Dylan Glenn for the U.S. House from GA (in a ridiculously GOP district where the Democrat would have no chance),"
Glenn's problem was one that was created by the then-majority GA legislative 'Rats, gerrymandering. With several seats converging near his home, he had to take a gamble with which one to run in. The one he chose to run in saw him accused of carpetbagging, and that ultimately contributed to his defeat. His opponent, of course, was the last Republican House Minority Leader, Lynn Westmoreland, no lightweight.
"or Vernon Robinson for the U.S. House from NC (in a 66% Bush CD)."
Sadly, Vern Robinson's biggest enemy was probably himself. While the 'Rats tolerate fools and characters, Robinson might've been a bit too colorful for the district against the more staid Virginia Foxx. He's viewed as a gadfly now. He might be better off setting his sights lower on a state legislative seat where he could be in a better position to rail against the 'Rats.
"The black Republicans that won primaries in 2004 fell short in November, including James Garner in NY, Ada Fisher in NC and Clinton LeSueur in MS."
Sadly, the party gave precious little funds to these candidates. Garner's was especially criminal, given how the national party tried to tout him against the nutty and hypocritical Carolyn McCarthy. Also sadly, Garner's run later contributed to his defeat as Mayor of Hempstead, L.I. As for Dr. Fisher, her run against the entrenched Mel Watt was going to be formidable. LeSueur was one of our brighter stars, but lack of money against dim bulb and racist demogoguer Bennie Thompson was also too much to overcome. Even the more moderate Espy family member couldn't dislodge Thompson this year. If our hands were not tied to drawing lines to benefit cretins like Watt and Thompson, we could have a better shot at defeating them with our candidates.
RE: Michigan. I'm not sure Rev. Butler would've been able to do much better than Bouchard did in the end. The fact that we even blew the Governorship, which was in the bag up until a month before, shows how horrible things were. I surely hope Sen. Hardiman manages a breakthrough (unfortunately, at 61 in '08, he's no spring chicken, either -- I wish we had a slew of 20 to 50 somethings available !), Sikkema, whom is 4 years younger, might still beat him because of his leadership position. Outside of this, I see very few opportunities for non-White Republicans in '08. This was supposed to be the year, and it was an unprecedented fiasco, right up until the last... the subject of this thread.
That is too bad. New England was the scene of a great blue flood, and not many Republicans were able to withstand it.
Boy,you've got that right.Both Brock's defeat in VT and Steele's defeat in MD don't bring a whimper of protest from the NY Slimes...whereas,here in Massachusetts,voters were told that refusal to vote for the black "progressive" for Governor would be a despicable sin.
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