Official local elections thread

[stoshuaj]

lines have been drawn and pretty much beat the hell out of the Presidential election however not a lot of discussion pertaining to state elections.

Arguably can have more personal impact and you may have greater influence in these.

I'm voting in Va. for the first time this year. I'm kind of on the fence about Warner/Gilmore but probably leaning more toward Gilmore. (although I think he'll lose) I'm in Goode's Congressional district but no way in hell I'm voting for Goode. I also don't think there's any way in hell the Periello beats him but I'm not voting for Goode.

[AsburySkinsFan]

Our big in state race this year in Kentucky is between Mitch McConnell ® and Bruce Lundsford (D). I think Mitch will win, I would be tempted to vote for Lundsford but he's one of those multi-millionaire business owners who sets his eyes on a political office, in the past 5 years that I've lived in Kentucky he's run for no less than 3 political offices and each time fails. If I vote for McConnell, and that's an IF it will be because he is a voice for Kentucky in the Senate and has brought a lot of earmarks to Kentucky, one earmark is actually rebuilding a road that I use daily that is in desperate need of growing from 2 lanes to 4. Lundsford would unfortunately be a rookie senator and would leave Jim Bunning as the senior senator for Kentucky either way I don't think that's a good thing.

[SkinsHokieFan]

The VA-11 is going to be very interesting

Unfortantley I am in the VA-8, and Jim Moran is a shoo-in, even though he is an embarrasment to the Northern VA area

The VA-11 is being contensted for Tom Davis' seat since he is retiring. Keith Fimian ® and Gerry Connely (D) are running

I have paid close attention to this race because I worked for Tom many years ago (back in high school) and am interested to see who takes his spot

I chalked this seat for Connely back in the spring but didn't realize Fimian, who is a guy who ran a home inspection business, would raise so much money and run a pretty good campaign.

Right now all Connely has to go on is "Fimian is too extreme" and has run an awful set of ads, with goofy looking people saying "Fimian, too extreme for Northern VA"

Connely cannot actually link Fimian to the extreme Catholic group Fimian is part of called Legatus (think Opes Dei type) because he would be playing the "guilty by association" card Republicans have nationally. But its obvious Connely is trying to run on Fimian being out of touch with the VA-11 as a staunch pro-lifer

Fimian on the other hand has hit Connely hard, in particular on the joke that has become property taxes in Fairfax County, in particular when the board decided to switch land and building assesments last year to try and generate more revenue.

Connely I still think pulls this off, but it has been far closer then it should have been because of his pathetic and ineffective campaign. On the whole he has been an effective chariman, except for his games with the property taxes

[SkinsHokieFan]

http://www.fidelis.org/press.aspx?pid=41

Just to give you an example of the reaction that occurred in the Catholic community

Democrats Playing With Fire in Virginia - Attack on Catholic Comes at a Bad Time

September 12, 2008

CHICAGO – The national Catholic based advocacy group Fidelis is calling on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to immediately suspend a series of attack mailings directed against Virginia congressional candidate Keith Fimian’s Catholic faith.

The ads explicitly attack Fimian for his association with Legatus, a prominent Catholic social organization that does not take any political stands. The group was heralded by the late Pope John Paul II, and is active in providing spiritual assistance to business leaders in dioceses across the country. The mailings chastise Fimian for participating in a group that “promotes rolling back women’s rights,” and “encouraging women to be more submissive.”

Fidelis president Brian Burch commented: “The attack mailings against Keith Fimian are simply beyond the pale. If the Democratic Party wants to criticize Fimian on the issues, they are more than welcome to do so. But to attack a faithful Catholic because of his private association with a non political group that is well respected and active in the Church smacks of a level of religious bigotry that has no place in American politics.”

“What the producers of these mailings ironically forgot is that Catholics also believe that men must love their wives, as Christ loved the Church. Which means, devoting their lives unconditionally to their spouses, taking Christ’s death on the cross as their model,” said Burch.

The controversial mailings come on the heels of public comments by House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi and vice presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden, who have been publicly criticized for obscuring the clear teaching of the Catholic Church on sanctity of human life. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, along with other prominent bishops, issued statements correcting both Biden and Pelosi.

“American Catholics are in the midst of a historic period as they seek to discern the proper role of conscience and faith when it comes to political choices. The Democratic Party has been a friend to Catholic voters in the past, yet over the years has left many Catholics behind by embracing positions incompatible with Catholic teaching,” continued Burch.

“If the Democratic Party is truly serious about appealing to Catholic voters, they will end this smear campaign against Keith Fimian’s Catholic faith.”

[SkinsHokieFan]

BTW OP-this would be a great thread to discuss local elections

Could you change the title to something like "Official Local Elections" thread?

[stoshuaj]

BTW OP-this would be a great thread to discuss local elections

Could you change the title to something like "Official Local Elections" thread?

done per request

interesting, some of the nuances of local politics

[Popeman38]

Yeah. I am in District 10, and have the envious job of watching the Judy Feder (D) -vs- Frank Wolfe ® election.

In my Congressional race, I will do whatever it takes to prevent Feder from winning. She is an EXTREME liberal. She is left of Obama and Hillary. She was the author of Hillary's failed universal health care proposal for the Clinton presidency. Plus, she is stuffing my mailbox with negative adds and hanging them on my doorknob at least 3 times per week.

I am voting for Mark Warner (D) in the Senate race. However, since he left office he has become more of a partisan than he was in office which is an extreme dissappointment. If he is the Mark Warner that was GOV, we will be ok. If acts like the Mark Warner of the campaign, he will lose his position as a true moderate and become a partisan Dem.

It really is disgusting what politics has denegrated to.

[SkinsHokieFan]

Yeah. I am in District 10, and have the envious job of watching the Judy Feder (D) -vs- Frank Wolfe ® election.

In my Congressional race, I will do whatever it takes to prevent Feder from winning. She is an EXTREME liberal. She is left of Obama and Hillary. She was the author of Hillary's failed universal health care proposal for the Clinton presidency. Plus, she is stuffing my mailbox with negative adds and hanging them on my doorknob at least 3 times per week.

I am voting for Mark Warner (D) in the Senate race. However, since he left office he has become more of a partisan than he was in office which is an extreme dissappointment. If he is the Mark Warner that was GOV, we will be ok. If acts like the Mark Warner of the campaign, he will lose his position as a true moderate and become a partisan Dem.

It really is disgusting what politics has denegrated to.

Feder is just awful. She would be a big dissapointment for the area. Reminds me of Leslie Byrne who served one term in the early 1990s that Tom Davis booted out of Congress in 1994.

Frank Wolf has been excellent to the region, and losing him would be a big shame

I am hoping one of these days Democrats wise up and kick Moran out and nominate someone "fit to be in Congress"

If the Dems were not so close to 60 Senators, Mark Warner would have my vote. I really think he'd be much more effective somewhere else then the Senate

I just fear a fillbuster proof Dem senate, so I'll go ahead and vote party lines this year

[SkinsHokieFan]

Can anyone else fill in on some local elections?

I am curios to see about who is running in your district and what the chances are

Does Cindy Sheehan have a chance at beating Pelosi? OLS

[expensivegift]

My district is Montgomery County and parts of PG County. Because of the redistricting Connie Morella lost to Chris Van Hollen a couple years. This year there is no chance of a Republican winning because of sheer demographics.

I also go to college in Frederick County. The district here is Frederick county plus all of Western Maryland. Bartlett is the incumbent and he's a Republican, one of the most conservative members of congress. He'll probably win re-election again.