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If it’s Friday, it’s time for another Top 10 list -- this time we look at what we consider our 10 favorite House races (because they’re competitive or they tell a story, or they’re just interesting).
1. WA-3: This open seat might the purest of toss-up seats. It’s only one of nine districts in the country with a Cook PVI of +0, meaning it doesn’t traditionally favor either party. Obama won it, and so did Bush. As the quintessential swing district -- in a Dem-leaning state -- it could be a good measure of where the country is.
2. VA-5: Freshman Rep. Tom Perriello has done something most endangered Democrats haven't done -- stood up for the Obama agenda. The problem for him: It’s a relatively conservative district.
3. FL-8: Alan Grayson -- he's loud, he's controversial, he's got a lot of cash. And it’s all taking place in swing seat right in the heart of the Florida I-4 corridor.
4. WI-7: Running for David Obey's seat is a former “Real World” cast member, Sean Duffy, who also happens to be a world-record pole climber (seriously). Since his “Real World” days, he went to law school and is now a district attorney and serious candidate. But Democrats still like their chances.
5. NY-23: Elected House Republicans are nearly extinct in Upstate New York. Because of intra-party fighting, Democrats flipped NY-23 in '09. Does incumbent Bill Owens (D) hang on?
6. MO-4: The quintessential majority-maker district. If we see Rep. Ike Skelton (D) fall on election night, Republicans are probably taking back the House.
7. OH-1: The rematch. In ’08, Steve Driehaus (D) defeated incumbent Steve Chabot (R), in large part due to African-American turnout. Now Chabot wants his old seat back, in a cycle when Obama won’t be on the ballot. Oh, and it’s taking place in battleground Ohio.
8. TX-17: Does any district better tell the story of a resilient Democrat in a conservative district? Year after year, Republicans target Chet Edwards. And year after year, he wins. What about this time, in this climate?
9. KS-3: Dennis Moore (D) may have retired, but there will be another Moore on the ballot to replace him -- his wife.
10. FL-25: Will Lincoln Diaz-Balart going to run for his brother's more solid Miami-area seat backfire on Republicans?
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Hey Mark/Domenico:
Is the FR Crew following the latest development in the Senate Race here in IL?
From our local affiliate NBC5/Chicago:
Illinois residents should vote on two senators this November, one of them an interim senator who will serve just weeks in office, a federal appeals court ruled today.
The court rejected an appeal from state officials that protested the idea, ruling instead in favor of the Constitution, which states that no senator can serve more than two years without being elected.
The current senator, Roland Burris, was not elected. Ex-governor Rod Blagojevich appointed him in December 2008. According to the Constitution, a different senator must finish the last eight weeks of Burris’ term.
Meanwhile, Burris has said he might run to replace himself.
"All of these issues are under discussion in the District Court," said a spokesperson for Attorney general Lisa Madigan. "We are working with the other parties as part of the process in the District Court, which will decide the appropriate next steps."
The election for an interim senator would take place at the same time Illinois residents voted on their next senator -- November 2, 2010.
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/politics/illinois-senate-special-election-99052694.html#ixzz0uWAE2qB8
I had not heard that. This is what is so nice about FR--we get a picture of what's happening on the ground in various states.
Feisty: You are on top of all the news! Great job.
Thanks Ron!
Whenever I think about how screwed up my state can be when it comes to politics... all I have to do is think of South Carolina! lol
Works like a charm every time! ;0)
Feisty, I appreciate you not mentioning MA. lol
Not a chance Pat!
There's not a state out there that can compete with South Carolina! lol
Tom Perriello (D-VA-5th District) voted for both Obamacare AND the now-dead-in-the-Senate cap-and-trade legislation.
As a result he's 23 points down according to SurveyUSA.
Perriello's future looks as bright as the current prospects of a cap-and-trade bill.
He should have listened to what his constituents were telling him.
He'll hear them loud and clear in November.
OT:
It was an awesome finish, Clara. It really was. I'm so excited by the new Fall line-up on MSNBC that I can barely see straight. I was having some fun this morning, trying to come up with my own promo -
Two Men & A Lady
Keith, Rachel and Lawrence
Tenacious, Smart and Persistent
_________
Happy Friday everybody. Stay cool.
You got it! Loved the quotes.
"I hold that man is in the right who is mostly closely in league with the future." Henrik Ibsen.
Where is MN-06???? I cant believe that those people will possibly send that moron Bacchmann back to Congress
My favorite is Alan Grayson and I love seeing all the company also liking his House race. Yep he's loud, he's proud and he pounds on the repugnant ones like the rest of the wimpy Democrats should do. Ofcourse my real favorite House race is CA-17 where Liberal Sam Farr is going to crush his wimpy opponent Timid Taylor again after crushing him two years ago 74%-26%. It's nice to see that in texas there are some pockets of sanity, Go Chet Edwards!
Hey guys - could I suggest the PA-7 race? That would be the one for Joe Sestak's old seat. Bryan Lentz, the Democratic candidate, has been alleging for months now that there was some serious fraud involved with many of the signatures on the petitions for Pat Meehan, his Republican opponent and former DA - enough to have disqualified him from the race. The last I heard, the current DA (another Republican) had passed the buck to the state Attorney General's office to investigate. That was at least 3 months ago and there's been no response, despite the Philadlphia Daily News having run a report corroborating Lentz's claim and sworn statements being obtained from a number of people whose names were forged on the petitions. Could it be because the Pennsylvania Attorney General - Tom Corbett - is too busy being the Republican nominee for Governor to investigate allegations against a fellow Republican?
Look, I have no reason to suspect that Meehan deliberately instructed his people to forge signatures, mostly because he didn't have to - he's reasonably popular and as a former DA, is going into the race with a lot of name recognition and has a very good shot at winning anyway. But the longer this drags on, the more it at least gives the appearance of obstruction of justice or at the very least stalling while they attempt to manufacture something equally as damaging against Lentz. As a concerned 7th District voter, I'd like a resolution to this - preferably before November.
Anyone up for investigating?
Always good to hear from those in the states. Interesting. You would at least think the AG would get off the dime.
How's Sestak doing in PA? I like him, soft spoken, smart.
PA-7 is a good one also. It barely missed the cut. It's the House, so there are DOZENS of good races.
Thanks, Domenico! Hope we can crack the Top 10 soon.
Jody - The last poll I saw had Sestak and Toomey tied at 43% - but, when asked the "Favorable / Unfavorable" question, about half the people responded that they didn't know enough about either candidate to have an opinion. So in other words, it's still early. Toomey's been spending a fair amount of money already in tv ads - Sestak hasn't, at least not around here, but he's already got pretty good name recognition in Philly and the suburbs. Pennsylvania is really three states - Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and everyone else - we don't really have the same kind of "state" identity that many other states have.
By the way, if you like Sestak, you'll like Bryan Lentz too - soft-spoken, smart, and another military vet with an impressive record. I met him once during the Obama campaign, then ran into him a few days later at the campaign office - since I'm really bad with names and faces, I was about to walk right past him, but he actually remembered MY name and stopped to shake my hand. I was - and still am - very impressed!
MN-06???? Where is this on the list. We need rid of that moron Bachmann
Feisty
Great job, let them know who the real corrupt, crooks and liars are in here in Chi- Town. That'd be repubs.
Well , Feisty,
I was told --They had the little side bar that Adams jr, the one who defended R Kelly, wanted Blago to take the stand but; Senior Adams said since the prosecution failed to prove their case Blago shouldn't. Since Adams jr has a tendency to be as color and verbose as nut job Blago, my better half and I were disappointed we couldn't see the show O boy talking about "don't be cruel" The three things we concluded is Blago is guitly and would really damage himself, Senior Adams v Jr was a headline;and Fox NOISE will still link blago to Obama!
Feisty, I agreed wuth you about Ed's rant. Ed is angry because he hates the righties ludrious obstuctionism. Check out this Gadfly, Mort Zuckerman amongst other coporatist and right wing nut job drivels' stupid, senseless talk about President Obama. Mort Zuckerman said-... "If Obama Isn't Nicer to Us Rich People, We Will Destroy America".
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/scocca/archive/2010/07/22/mort-zuckerman-if-obama-isn-t-nicer-to-us-rich-people-we-will-destroy-america.aspx
Trust a billionare to destroy USA. Hello, tell US someting we don't already know But, it's nice to see it in black and white.
Thanks for the tasty tidbits Bev!
Zuckerman is a d' bag! The sound of his voice alone is enough to make me cringe!
Have a great weekend!
More good stuff!
I only watched a bit of Morning Joe. I did see Carl Bernstein--a voice of reason. Did notice Zuckerman on the set. What amazes me is that in their frenzied anti-Obama hatred, they daily let the truth out. For years, GOPers have disguised their objectives. Every day, another republican makes an outrageous remark. The gift that keeps giving.
Don't really have anything against Ike Skelton, but if him losing means republicans gain control of the house..........................I'll do my best
Anything is possible. If Ike loses that seat, there is NO way Robin wins the Senate. I think that district includes MIZZOU,...I haven't even heard it was close,...but admittedly - I've been far too busy laughing my butt off at Jacob Turk. This is this guy's 3rd run at trying to upset the beloved Emmanuel Cleaver. ain't gonna' happen, no way - no how.