Martin Lands Big Endorsement From AJC
Georgia’s largest newspaper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has endorsed Jim Martin in his December 2nd runoff against obstructionist Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss. In their endorsement the AJC’s editorial board lauded Martin for his commitment to helping “the little guy” and his ability to work across party lines:Martin, the Democrat, has been a fighter for the little guy throughout his life, and he’s proved effective in that role. He served his country in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and as a state legislator, lawyer and head of the state Department of Human Resources. Throughout his public life he has been known as a workhorse not a showhorse, someone whose first concern was getting the job done well rather than trying to get the credit.And what about Sen. Chambliss?
In fact, Martin was so well-respected for his competence and ability to work across party lines that when Gov. Sonny Perdue became the state’s first Republican governor in a century, he asked Martin to remain as head of the state Department of Human Services.
In his six years in the U.S. Senate, Chambliss has set a very different course. He fought against stricter immigration policies not out of a sense of compassion, but because easy immigration and lax enforcement served the interests of industry. When he fought against reform of farm subsidies that cost taxpayers billions, it wasn’t out of concern for the small family farmer. The reforms championed by President Bush but opposed by Chambliss would have cut payments only to huge corporate farms.Ouch! Those are some rough words from the people that know Chambliss best.
Time and again, on issue after issue, Chambliss has taken the side of the powerful and influential over those of the taxpayer and general citizen. His performance this year at a Senate hearing, in which he took the side of corporate management by browbeating a safety whistle-blower at a Savannah sugar mill, has become the stuff of legend. (A few months earlier, an explosion at the plant had killed 14 workers.)
Runoff elections are all about turnout and having a strong ground game. You can help Jim Martin win and elect another progressive to the United States Senate by contributing to our efforts or by volunteering to help get out the vote in Georgia or on the phone.
Begich Wins in Alaska
Seven down, two to go! Last night, Democrat Mark Begich was declared the winner in Alaska’s US Senate race. Begich, the current mayor of Anchorage, defeated Senator Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in the body’s history and a recently convicted felon. With the win in Alaska, Democrats now hold 58 seats in the Senate (including Independents Bernie Sanders and, apparently, Joe Lieberman), just two short of a filibuster-proof majority. To reach the 60-vote threshold, Al Franken must win his recount in Minnesota and 21st Century Democrats endorsed candidate must defeat Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss in their December 2nd runoff.
If you’d like to help Jim Martin in Georgia you can donate to his campaign or volunteer to help get out the vote.
Let's Take A Stand
This month we won a historic electoral victory. But our work didn’t end on election day – it only started.
As President-elect Obama said on election night:
“This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.”
The time to make real, lasting change is upon us.
Now we must repair the damage inflicted by eight years of Republican misrule, and put our country back on track. As progressives, we must fight to ensure that the Democrats in control of our government respect the voters and enact policies that put the American people first.
The first 100 days of our new government could very well determine America’s path for years to come. To make sure our voices are heard, 21st Century Democrats has drafted a petition outlining our priorities to the Democratic leadership. The petition was based on feedback from our membership, and our desire to see progressive activism extend beyond the election and into
This is a critical time for our country. We can’t sit back and let the Republicans in Washington push the Democrats to the right. We’d like to as everyone to take a moment to check out our Progressive Priorities 2009 petition, and share it with your friends. Your signing the petition will let our leadership know that we want progressive change, not a Republican-lite government.
Saxby Chambliss Has No Regrets About Attacking War Hero
On Monday, shameless Republican Saxby Chambliss went on Hannity and Colmes and defended his 2002 television spot slandering his opponent, Senator Max Cleland. The ad was roundly condemned by both Democrats and Republicans for montaging pictures of Senator Cleland – a Vietnam Veteran who lost both legs and his right forearm – with images of Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and questioning his commitment to national security.
Even Senator McCain was disgusted, telling reporters:
“I’d never seen anything like that ad. Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to the picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield—it’s worse than disgraceful. It’s reprehensible.” -John McCain, 2002We need to send a strong message to Republicans that we’re not going to let them win any more elections with these despicable campaign tactics. Here is a TV ad Senator Cleland cut for fellow Vietnam Veteran Jim Martin:
Protect The Vote
21st Century Democrats is partnering with NoVoterLeftBehind.net to prevent Republicans from stealing this election. Right now, we’re working to ensure that Democrats in 12 close federal and state-level races receive the support they need to win their election. 21st Century Democrats and NoVoterLeftBehind.net are looking for volunteers to help keep our elections honest. You can also help by making a donation to our ActBlue page.
Check out the NBLB.net Blog for all the latest information on recounts across the country and new opportunities to help protect the vote.
NoVoterLeftBehind.net and 21st Century Democrats are focusing on the following 12 races:
- OREGON.
Incumbent Republican Sen. Gordon Smith and Democrat Jeff Merkley, speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, remain neck and neck. With 75 percent of the votes tallied, Smith is ahead only by a small margin (525,942 to 510,799).- MINNESOTA. With all of the precincts reporting, the unofficial figures show the Republican incumbent, Sen. Norm Coleman, leading the Democratic challenger, Al Franken, by about 700 votes out of 2.4 million cast. Recounts are triggered in Minnesota when the winning margin is less than half of 1 percent.
- ALASKA. Recently indicted Republican Senator Ted Stevens has a narrow lead over challenger Mark Begich—106,351 to 102,998.
- GEORGIA. Georgia seems to be headed toward a runoff election, as Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss leads Democratic challenger Jim Martin by about 110,000 votes Wednesday morning with 96 percent of the state’s precincts counted. Chambliss had 49.8 percent to Martin’s 46.8 percent. Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley had 3.4 percent of the vote. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent, the top two vote-getters will face a December runoff.
- U.S. HOUSE. There are five House races that are deadlocked and likely heading toward recounts: California 4th – McClintock (155,771) and Brown (155,320);
New Jersey 3rd – Myers (144,360) and Adler (142,604); Washington state – Reichert (70,232) and Burner (69,083); Virginia 5th – Perriello (157,851) and Goode (156,694); and Maryland 1st – Kratovil (160,780) and Harris (159,787).- WASHINGTON STATE.
We are watching very closely the governor’s race in Washington State as it has been highly publicized as a rematch of the nail biter race in 2004, when Democrat Gregoire won the election by 133 votes after two recounts and a lawsuit. Although her lead was considerably greater this time around, Rossi refuses to concede.- MONTANA. The Montana’s secretary of state race is extremely close, with Democrat Linda McCollough deadlocked in a 49 percent tie with Republican Brad Johnson.
- GEORGIA. In Georgia, another runoff election is unfolding at the state level, as Democratic Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell is running almost even with Republican Lauren McDonald. This race comes to our attention because of the extenuating circumstances surrounding challenges to Powell’s candidacy. He had to fend off a dogged effort by Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, who tried – despite multiple court rulings – for months to keep him off the ballot. The state Supreme Court finally ruled (unanimously) late last week that Powell should get to stay on the ballot.
Too Close To Call
Several of 21st Century Democrats’ endorsed candidates are still waiting to find out if they’ve won their elections.Outstanding Races
Jeff Merkley – US Senate, Oregon
Speaker Merkley has a slight lead over GOP Senator Gordon Smith with 75% of the ballots counted. Oregonians vote exclusively by mail so they’re still waiting .
Smith concedes, JEFF MERKLEY WINS!
Jim Martin – US Senate, Georgia
Martin’s opponent, Senator Saxby Chambliss is just shy of the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. It’s looking more and more likely that this pair will face off again on December 2nd.
Darcy Burner – US Congress, Washington 8th
Darcy Burner trails Rep. Dave by approximately 1 percentage point with about half of the votes counted. It may be the weekend before we know the outcome of this rematch from 2006.
Mary Jo Kilroy – US Congress, Ohio 15th
Mary Jo Kilroy is just 147 votes behind Steve Stivers out of more than 250,000 votes counted so far. Absentee ballots are expected to continue arriving throughout the weekend.
Frank Kratovil – US Congress, Maryland 1st
Kratovil has a razor-thin lead, but this thing is definitely headed for a recount.
Linda McCulloch – Secretary of State, Montana
McCulloch is approximately 4,400 votes ahead of her opponent with more than 470,000 counted. It appears that she will pull the race out, but no confirmation yet.
Hannah-Beth Jackson, California State Senate, 19th District
Jackson has a very slight lead in this extremely expensive State Senate contest, but thousands of provisional and absentee ballots still need to be counted.
State Program: Montana
Statewide Races
| Steve Bullock | ||
| Linda McCulloch | ||
| Denise Juneau |
Montana Legislature
| Lane Larson | ||
| Gary Branae | ||
| Cheryl Steenson | ||
| John Fleming | ||
| Deb Kottel | ||
| Steve Bolstad | ||
| Del Dinstel | ||
| JP Pomnichowski | ||
| Jill Cohenour | ||
| Willis Curdy |
These Montana State House races are incredibly important as Democrats fight to maintain control of the body. Check back regularly for the latest updates!
Oregon Media: Merkley To Win US Senate Race
Oregon media is reporting that 21st Century Democrats’ endorsed candidate Jeff Merkley will defeat US Senator Gordon Smith:Democrat Jeff Merkley has ousted Republican Gordon Smith from his U.S. Senate seat, The Oregonian projects.As of 9:30am, Merkley is leading smith 742,227 votes to 719,101 votes with 79% of precincts reporting.
Merkley, a five-term state lawmaker and former Habitat for Humanity director, took advantage of a surge of Democratic support to win a close, bitterly fought battle with Smith, who has served 12 years in Washington.
Election Day In DC
This post was written by 21st Century Fellow Ellen AustinNovember 4 was the most highly anticipated election day that I have ever lived through. I had a feeling that the election would be decided before I went to sleep, but actually watching John McCain make his concession speech before midnight was rather strange, as I don’t have any clear memories of presidential elections prior to 2000, and in both 2000 and 2004 we went to sleep not knowing who would be inaugurated in January. It was amazing to watch the decisive results come in as polls closed across the country and to hear Senator Obama announced as the next president. I was very proud to be an American.
Washington, D.C. was a very exciting place to be on Election Day. Throughout the day, before any information was available, the city felt like it was preparing for something big to happen. I have never been able to be around so many people who were so excited and cared so deeply about politics. Indeed, because I voted by absentee ballot, I felt a bit left out; the accessory of the day was “I Voted” stickers, which I never received.
One of my professors said at the beginning of the semester that politics is the sport that Washington is best at, and watching the returns come in was almost like watching a big football game. When states were counted for Obama, the room erupted with cheers. The few McCain supporters in the room were far outnumbered by the Obama supporters.
After Obama was pronounced the winner, there was an incredible amount of excitement in the city. Large groups of people gathered together in several areas of the city, and throughout Washington, cars were honking their horns, people were shouting in excitement and celebrating Obama’s historic victory. As cliché as it sounds, it felt like the change that Obama has been talking about since he began his marathon campaign twenty one months ago had finally come, and we could finally breathe a huge sigh of relief that the monumental error that has been the Bush administration is coming to an end.
2008 Election Results Update -- 1 PM
| Tom Allen | ||||
| Jim Martin | ||||
| Jeff Merkley | ||||
| Andrew Rice | ||||
| Jeanne Shaheen | ||||
| Tom Udall | ||||
| John Adler | ||||
| Judy Baker | ||||
| Kay Barnes | ||||
| John Boccieri | ||||
| Darcy Burner | ||||
| Andre Carson | ||||
| Steve Driehaus | ||||
| Donna Edwards | ||||
| Bill Foster | ||||
| Joe Garcia | ||||
| Gabrielle Giffords | ||||
| Kirsten Gillibrand | ||||
| Debbie Halvorson | ||||
| Martin Heinrich | ||||
| Jim Himes | ||||
| Christine Jennings | ||||
| Mary Jo Kilroy | ||||
| Ann Kirkpatrick | ||||
| Larry Kissell | ||||
| Suzanne Kosmas | ||||
| Frank Kratovil | ||||
| Nicholas Leibham | ||||
| Ben Lujan | ||||
| Mike Lumpkin | ||||
| Dan Maffei | ||||
| Betsy Markey | ||||
| Raul Martinez | ||||
| Gary Peters | ||||
| Chellie Pingree | ||||
| Mark Schauer | ||||
| Dan Seals | ||||
| Carol Shea-Porter | ||||
| Dennis Shulman | ||||
| Jackie Speier | ||||
| Linda Stender | ||||
| Harry Teague | ||||
| Gary Trauner | ||||
| Christine Gregoire | ||||
| Jack Markell | ||||
| Kate Brown | ||||
| Steve Bullock | ||||
| Rich Cordray | ||||
| Denise Juneau | ||||
| Linda McCulloch | ||||
| Jim Roth | ||||
| Clint Zweifel | ||||
| Wendy Davis | ||||
| Hannah-Beth Jackson | ||||
| Daniel Biss | ||||
| Michael Calderin | ||||
| Ty Cobb | ||||
| Adam Fetterman | ||||
| Anton Gunn | ||||
| Deb Lavender | ||||
| Al McAffrey | ||||
| Connie Pillich | ||||
| Dan Scripps | ||||
| Rick Taylor | ||||
| Barbara Favola | ||||
| Andy Meisner | ||||
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