The Voter’s Speakeasy

Follow Up on the Results of the 2009 General Election:

The New Jersey State Assembly will hardly change in composition as a result of the election (see our winner’s list). Incumbents ran for re-election in 72 of the 80 seats up for election, winning all of these races. Of the eight open seats, seven were won by a member of the same political party as the incumbent. In District 4, unofficial election results seem to indicate that Republican Dominick DiCicco won an open seat formerly held by a Democrat (freshman Assembly Member Sandra Love). As a result, once the newly-elected officials are sworn in, the party composition of the Assembly will change from 48 Democrats-32 Republicans to 47 Democrats-33 Republicans. While the Democrats will still hold a majority in the Assembly, New Jersey will be losing two key Democratic officials: Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, who withdrew from the 2009 election, and Governor Jon Corzine, who lost his seat to Republican Chris Christie.

The Virginia House of Delegates had more turnover than the New Jersey State Assembly, but incumbents running for reelection were still victorious 89% of the time (see our winner’s list).  Eight of the Democratic incumbents lost their seats to Republican candidate (Districts 3, 21, 23, 32, 34, 51, 67, and 83), while only one of the Republican incumbents lost their seat to a Democrat (District 93). In addition, one Democratic incumbent lost in the primary election, but the seat was ultimately retained by a Democrat. Of the ten open seats, only one switched to a different party than that of the incumbent: District 52 went from Republican (Jeffrey Frederick) to Democrat (Luke Torian). Though some recounts are still pending, as the results stand now, it appears that Republicans will have a net gain of six seats in the House of Delegates, changing the party composition from 53 Republicans-43 Democrats-2 Independents-2 Vacant Democratic Seats to 59 Republicans-39 Democrats-2 Independents.

Virginia statewide elections also went in favor of the Republican party.  The open Gubernatorial seat, currently held by term-limited Democrat Tim Kaine was handily won by Republican Bob McDonnell with nearly 59% of the vote. The seat of Lieutenant Governor was retained by Republican Bill Bolling and the open seat for Attorney General remained Republican, with current State Senator Ken Cuccinelli set to replace Bill Mims.

In total, there were 185 federal and state seats up for regular election on November 3, 82% of which were retained by incumbents (153 total). Of the 164 incumbents running for reelection, 153 (93%) won. Both independent incumbents won reelection, giving them a 100% win percentage. Only 1 of the 78 Republican incumbents did not win reelection (99% win percentage), while 10 of the 84 Democratic incumbents did not win reelection (88% win percentage).

Special Elections

The open seat for Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court swung Republican with the election of Joan Orie Melvin. Previously, Democrats had 4-3 majority on the court; it is now 3-4, in favor of the Republicans.

The Special Election for the U.S. House seat in New York District 23 resulted in Bill Owens (endorsed by the Democratic Party and Working Families Party) winning a seat previously held by Republican John McHugh. U.S. House District 10 in California (previously held by Democrat Ellen Tauscher) will remain Democratic, with the election of current Lieutenant Governor of California, John Garamendi. Before the election, the party composition of the U.S. House was 256 Democrats-177 Republicans-1 Vacant Republican Seat-1 Vacant Democratic Seat; it is now: 258 Democrats-177 Republicans.

Summary of Party-Changing Seats in this Election:

-1 of 1 Republican U.S. House seats went Democratic (special election)
-2 of 2 Democratic Gubernatorial seats went Republican
-the new office of Lieutenant Governor in New Jersey went Republican
-1 of 1 Democratic State Supreme Court Justice went Republican (special election)
-9 of 93 Democratic House/Assembly seats went Republican
-2 of 85 Republican House/Assembly seats went Democratic

-Kristen Vicedomini, Research Director

Unofficial results have been coming in across the country for the November 3rd election.  Here are the winners, state-by-state:

California: Congressional District 10

Maine: Ballot Measures

New Jersey: Governor and State Assembly, Ballot Measures

New York: Congressional District 23, Ballot Measures

Ohio: Ballot Measures

Pennsylvania: Justice of the Supreme Court

Texas: Ballot Measures

Virginia: Governor and State House

Washington: Ballot Measures

This year, two states will determine the legal status of same-sex unions by popular vote.

• Earlier this year, Maine’s State House and State Senate approved legislation that would permit same-sex couples to marry, recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states, and “allow individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages.”  In response, Maine citizens petitioned for a people’s veto to appear on the November 3rd ballot.  If this measure is approved, same-sex couples would be prohibited from marrying.

The state of Vermont enacted legislation permitting same-sex marriage in April of this year (see: Senate vote, House vote, Governor Jim Douglas’ veto,  House Override of Veto, Senate Override of Veto).  State Senator Kevin Mullin introduced an amendment to this bill that would have forced a legislative referendum on the measure, but it failed in the Senate.  Not long after, the Connecticut legislature (see: Senate Vote, House Vote) and the New Hampshire legislature (see: House Vote, Senate Vote with Amendment) each passed similar bills.  The State Assembly of New York passed such a bill as well, but it has yet to reach a vote in the State Senate.  Also in 2009, The Supreme Court of Iowa ruled that a 1998 law defining marriage as strictly between one man and one woman was unconstitutional.

Last year, the citizens of Arizona, Florida, and California approved constitutional amendments to define marriage only as the legal union of one man and one women.  Members of the Wyoming State House attempted to pass such an amendment this year, but it failed.

• Washington’s Referendum 71 does not permit same-sex marriage, but would affect the status of those in domestic partnerships.  According to the Official Explanatory Statement- as supplied by the Attorney General- approval of this referendum “would amend references in numerous state statutes so that rights, responsibilities, and obligations granted by or imposed by state law on married couples and their families would apply equally to state-registered domestic partners” (see: Senate Vote, House Vote).

In Nevada, domestic partnerships were first established this year (see: Senate Vote, House Vote, Governor Jim Gibbons’ Veto, House Override of Veto, Senate Override of Veto).   New Mexico and Hawaii legislatures tried to do the same, but were unsuccessful.

-Kristen Vicedomini, Research Director

We have finished the Testing period for the California District 10, Special Election.  A dismal 21% of candidates were willing to complete the Political Courage Test, telling citizens where they stand on the issues.  We thank the few and the brave.  The candidates were bipartisan in both their participation and refusal.  A Democratic, Green, and Republican candidate completed the Test while numerous candidates from both major parties refused.

-Peter Bultman, Political Courage Test Director

There are currently 14 candidates vying to fill the seat of former Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D) who resigned on March 18 to accept the position of Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.  The race has attracted a wide range of candidates from five different political parties, which include: American Independent Party (Constitution Party affiliate), Democratic Party, Green Party, Peace and Freedom Party, and the Republican Party.  President Obama won the district with 65% of the vote in 2008, suggesting the Democrats are well positioned to hold the seat.  The candidates have been sent the Political Courage Test, which is due back at our research office on August 26.

As our second summer in Montana draws to a close, it’s important to reflect upon something.  Project Vote Smart truly is a national organization, and it is pretty extraordinary in this way.  Not only do interns come from all corners of the country (from California to Maine, Florida to Wisconsin, and Texas to Indiana), but membership exists in all 50 states.  As we know very well, simply to get from one office to the other, it is necessary to travel through Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Montana.  Or, if you’re doing it the long way like we are, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona.  What better opportunity is there to learn a bit about these states than from the perspective of two veteran PVS staff members?  Thus, we’ve decided to write in our blog along the way to share a bit about each of the states we’re going to see.

-Bonnie Wolf, Tucson Office Director and Tallie Spiller, Internship Coordinator

Here in the Speeches department, we put thousands of speeches into the PVS database each year. This repetitive task can be boring at times, but when we stop to read some of the speeches, we often have to fight the urge to laugh out loud. Forget about kids, we’ve found that Congresspeople really do say the darndest things!

Some quotations simply leave us scratching our heads. This one from Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a good example: “I’m not afraid of August. It’s a month.”

We’ve also found that Representatives often devise unique metaphors to spice up their speeches. From Representative Steve King, “Reclaiming my time for a moment, I would point out that the carbon credits are the modern-day equivalent of the reason that Martin Luther came forward and nailed his positions up on the Diet of Worms which is, the church was selling indulgences.”

Other times, representatives use some interesting descriptive words.  Here’s one example from Representative Sam Farr, “National parks have the significance of being national. And if you think that it’s okay to carry guns in national parks, why not carry them into the National Cemetery, into the national White House, into the national Capitol, into the National Arboretum. The list goes on and on. This is a dumb amendment–and Congress should be embarrassed that we have to vote on it.”

Other Congresspeople intentionally use humor to connect with their constituents. Representative Jeff Flake, for example, identifies an “Egregious Earmark of the Week” and then follows it with a snappy pun relating to the earmark. A few weeks ago he picked an earmark granting $475,000 for the creation of business incubators in Casper, Wyoming. Reflecting upon this earmark, Flake quipped, “Looks like earmark reform doesn’t have a ghost of a chance this year.”

Whether it’s a slip of the tongue or a well-planned joke, Congresspeople say some pretty funny things. And thanks to the speeches department, you don’t have to miss a single one!

-Julie Zorb (University of Notre Dame, 2011, Political Science and French Double Major, from Phoenix, AZ), Speeches Intern

The U.S. Congress will have a new member as of today, Democrat Judy Chu, representing California District 32.

According to the “Semi-Official Results” provided by the California Secretary of State’s office, she beat out Libertarian Christopher Agrella and Republican Betty Chu with 61.67% of the vote in Tuesday’s Special Election.  Current U.S. Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, had previously held this seat.

The U.S. Congress is still incomplete though: Ellen Tauscher resigned from her seat  (California- District 10) on June 27th to become the Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security.  As detailed by Article I, Section 2, Clause 4 of the U.S. Constitution, all vacancies in Congress are to be filled by a Special Election.  California is somewhat unique in that all qualified candidates, including 3rd party candidates, participate in the Special Primary Election, which will be held on  September 1, 2009 in this case.  If one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, that person is considered “elected” to the office.  If no candidate receives a majority, the top vote-getter for each party moves on to the Special General Election, scheduled for November 3, 2009.  (California Election Code 10700-10707)

Keep an eye out for these Special Election candidates on our site, who will be added to our Voter’s Self Defense System once they’ve been qualified for the ballot.

-Kristen Vicedomini, Quality Control