Free Republic

With Thursday's California Supreme Court ruling regarding same sex marriage, we can expect a resurrection of one of the most shopworn political epiteths: San Francisco values. GOP Rep. Sam Graves unveiled an ad this week using the money phrase to disparage his Democratic challenger Kay Barnes, aka the "Big City Mayor" (formerly that is, of Kansas City.) Barnes' sin: She attended a fundraiser thrown by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and she shares Pelosi's "San Francisco Values." You know what that means. Or at least what it is supposed to mean. Nevertheless, you've GOT to see Graves' commercial only to check...

I was going to title this post "Bend Over, America", but I didn't want to upset the gays. So, by this time I'm sure most of us were expecting to be paying nearly $1 a gallon again for gas and the last of our troops would be coming in from Iraq. Well, at least that's what we were promised by the new Democrat majority in Congress. Instead, their planned retreat from Iraq has (thankfully) failed numerous times and since taking control of Congress, gas prices have risen more than $.50 a gallon. Is anyone allowed to say these things in...

President Bush threatened to veto the Foreclosure Bill proposed by the democrats. *link* This bill created by democrats wants to allocation billions of taxpayer funds to bail out individuals who basically bit off more they can chew it attempts to prevent foreclosure on homes across the county. Rep. Neugebauer from Texas brings up a valid point “The American people don’t want to make their neighbor’s payment when they’re having trouble making their own”, which is precisely what this bill would do. Assuming the bill passes, and homeowners are pulled from the brink of defaulting on their mortgage loan, what makes...

In the 5th Congressional District, incumbent Republican Dan Burton gets to try for yet another term in November. Burton withstood a challenge from former Marion County Coroner Dr. John McGoff, saying his opponent was very well-financed with special interest money. Plus, he says his campaign had problems with the Indianapolis print media. Heading into November, Burton believes the main issue will be the economy. McGoff says the Republican crossover vote was probably the biggest factor in his loss. Burton faces Democrat Mary Etta Ruley in the general election.

Rep. Patrick McHenry says the candidates who want his seat in Congress don't want to talk about his voting record. Unfortunately for the North Carolina Republican, there's plenty of other material for them to work with. The contest has gotten so ugly that McHenry's GOP opponent has accused McHenry of putting American lives at risk after he returned from Baghdad - perhaps a new height in primary election squabbling. "It's getting a little testy out there," said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. "Campaigns are modern-day warfare, so you are going to pull out...

The Republican free-for-all to replace retiring GOP Rep. John Doolittle is ugly and getting uglier, with the campaigns spending plenty to tag one candidate as a greedy carpetbagger and the other as a big-spending liberal. Those are fighting words in the Fourth Congressional District, which rambles from the Sacramento suburbs of Rocklin and Roseville east to Lake Tahoe and north to the Oregon border. Former Rep. Doug Ose and state Sen. Tom McClintock are brawling for the GOP nomination in a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats 47 percent to 30 percent and the incumbent is leaving after being named in...

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jerry McNerney, a freshman Democrat, has emerged as one of the Republicans' top targets in Congress this year, making the race in his district that rarity in California politics — a national battleground contest and a true tossup. In 2006, McNerney pulled off one of the big upsets of the year when he knocked off Republican Richard Pombo, a committee chairman who earned the ire of environmental groups. Now, efforts by the GOP to retake the district, which stretches from Stockton through Alameda County to Morgan Hill, ensures an expensive campaign and should be one of the...

Born December 9, 1962 in Madigan Army Medical Center – Fort Lewis, Washington State Following his service in the Army, Pete’s father earned a PhD in paper chemistry and began a career with Champion International. After various moves, the Olson family settled in Seabrook, Texas in 1972. Pete attended public school and graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1981. He played varsity basketball his Freshman year and later graduated from Rice University in 1985 with a BA in computer science and enrolled in the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. On the day he completed the Texas...

Given recent results in congressional elections and current polls, and given the beating we took in 2006, there is significant concern that 2008 will result in the Democrats making sweeping gains in the House and Senate. Given the electoral history of the past few decades, I believe that the fears of Democrats picking up an additional 5 or more seats in the Senate, or 20 or more seats in the House, are WAY overstated, PROVIDED McCain wins by a few points or more in November. Why? I surveyed the Senate elections occuring in presidential years. In no year at least...

Freshman Rep. David Davis (R-Tenn.), who won a crowded Republican primary in 2006 with just 22 percent of the vote, is in a two-man race this year with one of his vanquished foes. Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe (R) finished fourth in 2006 with 17 percent of the vote, but has quietly become one of the few challengers in the country this year to out-raise an incumbent. He reported collecting $120,000 between January and March, compared to $80,000 for Davis, who still holds a 2-to-1 advantage in total cash. Better still, with the 2006 runner-up to Davis deciding against another...

Rep. Patrick J. Murphy (D-Pa.) has been one of the most high-profile freshman members of Congress in his first term. As one of Barack Obama’s most visible supporters in Pennsylvania, he routinely appears as a surrogate to tout Obama’s candidacy. And because he is the only Iraq war veteran serving in Congress, Democrats have turned to Murphy as someone with the credibility to speak out against the war. But while Murphy has emerged as a rising star in Democratic circles, Republicans have quietly recruited a candidate with an equally compelling story who is now on pace to raise the amount...

Many of those with political experience in the Fox Valley are working to analyze the results from our March 8 special election to fill the U.S. House seat left vacant by Dennis Hastert. One thought offered, that GOP voters thought it was a done deal and stayed home, is wrong! Many who voted crossed the aisle. I did. Jim Oberweis set the tone with his negative material. Many voters were put off by the aggressive ads. Bill Foster addressed people with some respect. Look at election results from the February primary. State Sen. Chris Lauzen won Aurora districts by a...

State Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, announced today he will not be a candidate for the Congressional seat being vacated by Bud Cramer. Butler, who is serving his seventh term in the Alabama Legislature (fourth in the Senate), was considering running as a Republican for the north Alabama congressional seat. "After much prayer and consideration, I have decided not to run. I appreciate the support of many across the district and the state who encouraged me to seek the office, but at this time being with my family and finishing the job I stated in the State Senate is my priority,"...

Though retiring Republican incumbents hold two western New York seats near Syracuse and the Canadian border, the party is having a difficult time coming up with top-notch candidates to hold the seats. In the past day alone, two top recruits have told the Washington GOP establishment that they will not be seeking their party's nomination to replace Reps. Tom Reynolds and Jim Walsh, while Democrats have largely settled on their candidates. Walsh's Twenty-Fifth District, based around Syracuse, looks like one of the best pickup opportunities Democrats have in the Northeast. Former Congressional aide Dan Maffei, a Democrat who came just...

Shelby County Register Tom Leatherwood said today he will challenge U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn in this year’s Republican primary for the 7th Congressional District seat she has held since 2002. His entry gives Blackburn her first intra-party challenge since she won the congressional seat by defeating six opponents in the GOP primary of 2002, including three prominent Shelby County Republicans -- lawyer David Kustoff, state Sen. Mark Norris and Memphis City Council member Brent Taylor. “Yes, I’m in (the race),” Leatherwood told The Commercial Appeal today. “This is something that began to brew with me maybe a year or so...

Do we have enough young people to carry the flag of conservative values in public office for the next generation? Specifically, people who fit the following description: under the age of 50currently holds office or is a declared candidate for US Senate/House or Governor...or...merits being recruited for officeholds all or most of these (or more) conservative principles: Pro-lifePro-2nd AmmendmentSmaller govermentLower taxesFewer entitlementsSecure bordersAggressively pursue war on terrorism Know anyone who fits the bill?

Republicans appear to have found their candidate to run in the seat of retiring Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) after their previous nominee, New Lenox mayor Tim Baldermann, abruptly dropped out of the race last month. Businessman Martin Ozinga, who owns a Chicago-area concrete company, announced he will be seeking the support of the district’s party leadership, and appears to all-but-assured of the nomination, according to a state GOP operative. The 11th Congressional District State Central Committee will be officially naming a replacement candidate at a meeting on April 30. “After much prayer and careful consideration – and at the urging...

Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks says he won't run for the 5th Congressional District seat being vacated by Bud Cramer. Brooks, who's a Huntsville lawyer, said Thursday he has been encouraged by many voters to qualify as a Republican for Congress. But he said he has many trials coming up and can't abandon his clients during their time of need. Brooks said he also has family commitments that take priority. Brooks ran for lieutenant governor in 2006 and finished third in the Republican primary.

The announcement produced outpourings of praise for Cramer and then immediate scrambling by potential successors who have until April 4 to qualify for the June 3 Democratic and Republican primaries. The general election is Nov. 4. State Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, said he plans to visit with political and other leaders in Washington to gauge his chances of winning the seat. The physician joins about a half-dozen others who either have been asked to run or are considering running, including Huntsville attorney Ray McKee, who has qualified as a Republican. State Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, is being courted by Gov....

Former homebuilder Bill Dew, a Republican, announced Monday that he will challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson in the 2nd Congressional District. Matheson, a four-term Democrat, represents a district that covers the southeast part of Salt Lake County, a small northeastern part of Utah County, and, in a horseshoe-shaped area, eastern, southeastern and southwestern Utah. This is Dew's first run for elective office. A millionaire through his homebuilding business, Dewbury Homes, Dew said he is willing to "spend substantial" amounts of his own money in the race. He declined to give a number. Matheson has been challenged by wealthy Republicans before....

The Republican race for Mississippi's third congressional district will go to a runoff. Charlie Ross won the most votes out of a field of seven candidates. Gregg Harper came in second place, with David Landrum trailing in third. Ross, a former state senator, was cheered by a crowd of supporters Tuesday night at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. The 52-year-old Brandon resident told WLBT Tuesday afternoon that he expected to be in a runoff. He said he was excited about leading the pack of qualified candidates. "It's like we're in the third quarter of a ball game,"...

A wheelchair manufacturing company owned by congressional candidate Dan Meuser and his family paid a $23,000 fine in 1997 for employing illegal immigrants. Mr. Meuser, president of Exeter-based Pride Mobility Products, acknowledged the fine in an interview and said the complaint by what was then the Immigration and Naturalization Service was prompted by the company’s hiring of three illegal immigrants. The workers presented the company 13 years ago, then known as Pride Health Care Inc., with false identification that included fake Social Security numbers. Fighting illegal immigration has been a linchpin of Mr. Meuser’s campaign. In a television ad aired...

Former GOP state chairman Kevin Mannix made it official Thursday, entering the race for the Oregon congressional seat being vacated by Democrat Darlene Hooley. Mannix will have to fight for his party's nomination against Mike Erickson, a wealthy businessman from Lake Oswego who ran against Hooley in 2006. On the Democratic side, a primary contest is set between state Sen. Kurt Schrader and political consultant Steve Marks. Some unions have also been quietly floating the idea of a run by Jim Hill, the former state treasurer who ran for governor in 2006. Mannix represented the city of Salem in the...

Follow the logic: 1.) Government routes funds -> subsidy to cover some of the bill -> Insurance industry gets a dramatic influx of income -> most influential lobbyists get the exclusive subsidy contracts -> unfair competition and antitrust complaints -> legal framework gets delayed 2.) Unions lose bargaining power as they no longer have the required negotiation of health insurance for workers -> kicking unions in the mouth even more in the face of an already unregulated globalized workforce -> unemployment 3.) No requirement to insure workers -> less workers for same productivity due to weakening Unions -> corporations get...

In 2006, Chris Carney, a liberal college professor, took the seat. This year, we at RedState hope to take it back with Chris Hackett. Mr. Hackett, a CPA, is both a fiscal and social conservative. He is pro-life and anti-earmarks. His opponent, Chris Carney, has been spending federal dollars on earmarks claiming they bring the bacon home to the tenth. The problem is, Carney can't explain how his vote for fruit fly research in France brings jobs home. Chris Hackett, on the other hand, can deftly explain how growth in Washington kills jobs in the 10th. The 10th Congressional District...

Dermatologist Shelley Sekula Gibbs and former U.S. Senate staffer Pete Olson indicated on Wednesday they will campaign based on their contrasting service and backgrounds after emerging from a congressional contest whose 10 conservative candidates agreed on virtually every policy issue. The pair advanced to an April 8 runoff that will produce the Republican nominee to challenge Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, in the 22nd Congressional District.

I drove up to Auburn Tuesday to see Tom McClintock rhetorically throw his hat into the ring. "The ring" in this case refers to the 4th Congressional District, and the cliché is historically appropriate. Apparently derived from a frontier tradition of throwing one's headgear into a boxing ring to announce one's pugilistic intentions, it was popularized as a political term by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. "My hat's in the ring. The fight is on, and I'm stripped to the buff," Roosevelt said as he announced he would challenge a heretofore fellow Republican, William Howard Taft, for the presidency. Which is...

Navy reservist Charles Summers, a candidate for the open seat in the 1st Congressional District, is in Maine on a 15-day leave during his 10-month tour of duty in Iraq. more stories like thisThe Scarborough Republican, who returned home Thursday, said he is spending time with family and friends and catching up with people he hasn't seen in a while. Summers said Navy regulations bar him from making any campaign appearances or even discussing the race until his stint of active duty ends in May. Summers, a lieutenant commander based in Baghdad, said he has been traveling around Iraq while...

10th District Republican congressional challenger Lance Sigmon has released a TV commercial that details how in 2004 Rep. Patrick McHenry “purposely misled voters about his resume,” according to Sigmon. In the ad, Sigmon questions “why McHenry claimed to run a business that didn’t exist,” when he first ran for Congress in the 2004 Republican primary. The TV spot also states that McHenry improperly profited from a 2006 real estate deal in which “a campaign donor sold McHenry a house undervalued by at least $25,500. The highly respected political journal Roll Call, in an October 2007 article citing official North Carolina...

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun may be picking up another opponent in the Republican primary this July. State Sen. Nancy Schaefer (R-Turnerville) just told us that she’ll decide “in the next few days” whether to enter the race. This is important because it would force a three-way geographic split in the 10th District congressional contest. Broun hails from Athens. House Majority Whip Barry Fleming, who announced last summer, draws his support from Augusta. Schaefer currently represents northeast Georgia, which provided Broun with much of his surprise margin of victory in last year’s special election to replace the late Charlie Norwood. Schaefer...

Texan and super-conservative Bob Perry formally endorsed Brian Klock for the Texas Congressional seat in CD-22. A Republican candidate for the District 22 congressional seat will be getting a lot of attention today with a very unique campaign ad. klockforcongress.orgIt's yet to be seen just whether it's negative or in his favor. Now in the private sector, Brian Klock remains a commander in the US Navy Reserve. He's an underdog candidate trying to gain new ground. Later Monday, his campaign will unveil a billboard (pictured above) on the Southwest Freeway near Fountainview. It shows crosshairs trained on downtown Houston, it...

Another seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission soon may be opening as Republican Kris Mayes announced Tuesday that she is interested in making a run for U.S. Congress in District 1. Mayes' announcement does not come a surprise to most. In the past month, those close to her and her staff have mentioned the run "could be eminent." She has formed an exploratory committee, but has not filed for candidacy listing with the Arizona Clean Elections Commission. Former Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon and Malcolm Barrett, chairman of the National Propane Gas Association and a Prescott native like Mayes, have pledged...

The chairman of the Illinois Republican Party says he's confident a candidate will emerge to replace 11th District congressional nominee Tim Baldermann. And Andy McKenna says he respects Baldermann's decision today to withdraw from the race. Baldermann says in a statement released today that he can't juggle his family life, his congressional candidacy and his two municipal jobs. He's mayor of the Chicago suburb of New Lenox and police chief of Chicago Ridge. Baldermann says he plans to file withdrawal documents with the Federal Election Commission on Monday. He had been slated to face Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Debbie...

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), an opponent of the war in Iraq, is in a statistical tie with primary challenger Joe McLaughlin, according to a poll released Tuesday by McLaughlin’s campaign. The poll, conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, shows Jones leading McLaughlin 43-41, with 5 percent supporting another candidate and 11 percent undecided. Forty-eight percent of voters said it was time for someone new in the congressional seat, while 46 percent said Jones deserves reelection. The poll surveyed 500 likely voters using an automated method licensed by Rasmussen Reports.

State Sen. Tom McClintock, one of California’s most high-profile conservative Republicans, isn’t ruling out a run for the 4th Congressional District GOP nomination and a chance to replace U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville. McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, was asked by the Journal whether he was considering a run for the Northern California seat, which includes Auburn. He was also asked through an e-mail sent to his office whether he supported any Fourth District candidate for the Republican nomination. Jennifer Cressy, press secretary for the senator, replied that McClintock has “received calls from supporters urging him to run for a variety of...

The GOP contest for Rep. Chip Pickering’s (R-Miss.) seat looks to be a two-candidate race, according to a poll conducted for businessman David Landrum’s campaign in late January. Former state Sen. Charlie Ross leads Landrum 30 to 24 percent ahead of the March 11 primary, with no other candidate in the double digits. If no candidate reaches 50 percent in the primary, a runoff will be held April 1. A previous poll suggested that Ross, who ran for lieutenant governor last year and is the only well-known political figure in the race, held a large early lead. But Landrum has...

Ron Paul is fighting for his political life down in Texas-14. Having failed to gain any traction in his Presidential bid except among a lose cadre of fringe anti-war allegedly libertarian voters, he has had to suspend his campaign two days after appearing at CPAC. Ron Paul is racing back to his district to battle back against Chris Peden, the Mayor Pro Temp of Friendswood, Texas. You know, having spent the past year bashing Jews, Republicans, the military, and the United States, it's great to see Ron Paul forced to flee the field. I think Chris Peden might could use...

You could almost hear the chanting outside the building. “O! Ber! Weis! O! Ber! Weis!” the crowd cheered, as they stood bathed in an intensely bright flood light in the ballroom of the Hampton Inn and Suites in Aurora, waiting for the victory speech. And when Aurora businessman Jim Oberweis took the stage at around 10:15 Tuesday night, he delivered. RELATED STORIES • Illinois Congressional Races Opening with a quip about his three prior failed campaigns – “Boy, winning’s a lot more fun than coming in second, I can tell you that” – Oberweis claimed victory in both the regular...

Rumors are flying around Washington D.C. on whether or not Congressman Randy Kuhl is ready to call it quits. Kuhl's name was brought up in a blog posted on Yahoo News Thursday. The Real Clear Politics blog appeared on numerous websites. It says, in just the last few days' five Republican members of the House told House leaders they will not seek reelection this fall. Insiders are saying more are to come. But, is Randy Kuhl one of those members? That question was put to Kuhl during a taping of Coleman and Company. Kuhl would not confirm or deny the...

Shortly after U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-11th) announced that he will not seek re-election Wednesday, an Oakton accountant announced his intention to run for the seat. In a statement, Keith Fimian, 51, praised Davis for his hard work for the citizens of Virginia. “Congressman Davis has served our state and our nation well and he will be missed,” Fimian said. Fimian has already raised over $711,000 and has $662,000 in his campaign account, according to the candidate's release. “I told Tom if he ran I would be first in line to campaign for his re-election, but if he chose not...

The general election race for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat could be another nail-biter, a new Casper Star-Tribune poll shows. Democrat Gary Trauner, the Teton County businessman who narrowly lost to Rep. Barbara Cubin in 2006, is in a statistical tie with former state treasurer Cynthia Lummis, a Republican, the results show. The poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research of Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18-21, surveyed 625 registered voters from across the state who said they regularly vote in Wyoming state elections. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. If the election were held...

Pennsylvania Republican Melissa A. Hart, who in 2006 lost the House seat she had held for three terms, now has a clear path to a rematch with freshman Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire in the Pittsburgh-area 4th Congressional District. Ron Francis, a former councilman in Allegheny County, is withdrawing from competition with Hart in the April 22 Republican primary, according to a statement from Francis that was circulated on Thursday by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). The committee is the political arm of the Republican minority in the U.S. House, and will provide support to Hart in her effort to...

Within hours of the announcement, Democrat Nancy Higgs, a former Brevard County commissioner, said she would run. Two Republican state senators, Mike Haridopolos of Melbourne and Bill Posey of Rockledge, also said they are considering bids.

A day after Assemblyman Ted Gaines said he would throw his support behind Rico Oller for the Fourth Congressional District seat, Assemblyman Rick Keene announced he would also endorse the former state senator. Cliff Wagner, Keene's chief of staff said by phone late Thursday evening that the Third District Assemblyman is happy to support Oller. "Rico has been a strong voice for the district and has served its communities well," Wagner said. "Someone with his credentials and experience makes him the easy choice." In endorsing Oller, Keene, R-Chico, joins Gaines and State Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, who were also...

Central City News editor and longtime state Rep. Woody Jenkins will seek to succeed Richard Baker in Louisiana's Sixth Congressional District THE DEAD PELICAN has learned. Jenkins is announcing his candidacy today in the Baton Rouge media. Jenkins' 28 years of experience as a legislator from Baton Rouge will likely be a focal point of his campaign, given Louisiana's loss of several key members in the Congressional delegation. According to two polls run in the past week, Jenkins is the most widely known of the potential candidates for the seat. In trial heats against several possible candidates, Jenkins led by...

Could former congresswoman Anne Northup have one more run in her? WHAS11’s Mark Hebert has learned that Northup is considering a run for her old congressional seat. Once again taking on John Yarmuth. There was plenty of speculation that Anne Northup might be done with statewide politics after losing her second race in a row, her defeat in the governor’s race last year. But Northup’s still got plenty of support in Louisville and it sounds like she might try to ride that support back to Washington: Anne Northup looks well rested and sounds like she’s excited about the possibility of...

Rep. John Doolittle's decision to retire promises a Republican primary fight between political veterans and novices eager to take one of the few wide-open congressional races in California this year. While Doolittle narrowly fended off a Democratic challenge in 2006, analysts expect an easier time for whichever Republican emerges victorious in the June primary election. Doolittle, who is under investigation in a congressional lobbying scandal, announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of his current term, his ninth in the House of Representatives. He has retained solid voter support for most of his 17 years in Congress. In...

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided in late September he would not run for president this year, Bob Walker went looking for another Republican he could support. He found Fred Thompson. "I'm interested in somebody who is seriously considering the issues not just as a political gimmick, but has real, long-term ideas in mind for fixing some very large problems we face immediately and down the road," Walker says. "I came to the conclusion that Fred Thompson was the guy in the race who had that kind of serious attitude," says Walker, a Lititz resident...

Alaska state Representative Mike Kelly of Fairbanks is suggesting in a letter to the editor of the Fairbanks News Miner that Don Young and Ted Stevens retire for the good of the Republican party since they have undermined the public's trust. Young and Stevens are both under under multiple criminal investigations for corruption. Kelly also suggests state Senator John Cowdery, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, and Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich resign for repeated ethical lapses by both. Kelly wrote - The Alaska Republican Party, legitimate home of the conservative agenda built upon individual responsibility, limited government, development...

Longtime Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson announced Wednesday that he is seeking the Republican nomination for the 23rd Congressional District in Texas. Flanked by supporters and family members, Larson made the announcement on the steps on the Bexar County Courthouse. Larson, who has served as county commissioner and city councilman for 15 years, said he made the decision after speaking with residents in the district the past six months. So far, Larson's only opponent in the March Primary is Quico Canseco, a banker and attorney from San Antonio. The office is currently held by Democrat Ciro Rodriguez.