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Is
this the year Gejdenson goes down? In the three elections from
1992 and 1996 he won by a total of less than 10% in all three
elections combined - including a 21-vote margin in 1994.
We’re talking about Democrat Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut’s
2nd CD. Connecticut’s 2nd
CD comprises the eastern part of the state and is made up of 54 small
towns and cities. Clinton
topped Dole by 21% in 1996. Perot
captured 27% of the vote in 1992 – one of his best districts in the
nation. In those three elections
Gejdenson was faced by former Republican State Senator Ed Munster.
In each race, the hardworking Munster was outspent by at least 3-1 and as much
as 10-1. In the 1994
cliffhanger a third party candidate captured 15% of the vote, mainly
in strong Republican areas of the district, swinging the final vote to
Gejdenson. Gejdenson has racked up one of
the most liberal voting records in Congress.
In the last few years he moved out of the district to his
wife’s mansion down the shoreline. After an easy re-election in
1998, many expected the tough challenges to Gejdenson to be over.
Then came Rob Simmons. Simmons is a State
Representative from Stonington and has a distinguished military record
in Vietnam including earning two Bronze Stars.
He served with the CIA and went on to work for Senators John
Chafee and Barry Goldwater. Simmons has proven to be an adept
fundraiser, already raising over $850,000.
Not as much as Gejdenson but almost twice as much as any
previous challenger. The addition of Connecticut
Senator Joe Lieberman on the national Democratic ticket was supposed
to add 10 percentage points to Democrats around the state as energized Democrats
turned out to support their favorite son.
But the Lieberman coattails have grown shorter and shorter as
the election cycle dragged on. And Gejdenson has made some
serious errors. Earlier
in the campaign he was forced to fire two staffers after it was
revealed they were responsible for spreading rumors that Simmons had
been responsible for torturing prisoners when he was in the CIA.
This also earned an uncharacteristic apology from the normally
bombastic Gejdenson. Based on the extreme
liberal voting record and the closely match fundraising contest, we
are predicting Rob Simmons will upset Congressman Sam Gejdenson. http://www.simmonsforcongress.com
High Tech Seat
Seen Pivotal in Control of Congress When Tom Campbell won
California’s 15th Congressional District in a special
election in 1995, he beat the best the Democratic Party could muster.
It was the first race the Democrats utilized their Anti-Newt
strategy. Unfortunately for
them, moderate (okay, I’ll admit it, he’s liberal) Campbell can be
called many things, but Newt clone is not one of them.
He had a record from a previous stint in Congress that he could
point to. That, and an
opponent with enough dirt in his background allowed Campbell to win
the Democratic leaning district by 20 percentage points. Now Campbell has
decided to make a run at U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and the race
for his seat is shaping up to be one of the pivotal seats for the
control of Congress. The Democrats have
fielded Assemblyman Mike Honda, a former teacher, while the
Republicans have his colleague, Assemblyman Jim Cunneen, a legislative
staffer before winning a seat in the Assembly.
Both are very close on most issues – But that hasn’t
stopped Cunneen from labeling Honda as a liberal.
Each support abortion rights and some form of gun control.
Both were named legislators of the year by the American
Electronics Association – not insignificant in this high tech
district. In the end, this is a
district that supports Democrats. Campbell
was an anomaly in 1995. Clinton won by 16 points in 1992 and 18 points in 1996.
Honda received almost 10,000 more votes than Cunneen in the
March blanket primary. We predict Mike Honda, bolstered by a strong showing for Al Gore in the 15th CD will emerge the victor on November 7th.
Low Key Senator in
tough re-election battle Only one sitting
Michigan Republican senator has been re-elected since the end of World
War II: Sen. Robert Griffin in 1972.
Could this trend hold or will Spencer Abraham break the
Republican curse. The
latest polling data and the latest trends are no help.
They show the race a dead heat. In 1994 Spencer
Abraham was elected with 52% of the vote.
He is, by nature, a quiet, low key Senator which hurt him in
the beginning of the campaign and also made him seem vulnerable to the
Democrats. Abraham’s
personality is in stark contrast to his opponent, Rep. Debbie Stabenow.
She is outgoing, and personable and an able campaigner. Abraham began the
campaign with an early media blitz.
This helped him open up an early lead that has now been eroded
by Stabenow. Another
factor in this race, like all races these days, has been the influx of
outside groups. Independent
television and radio advertising are being run all over the state by
such groups as the Americans for Tax Reform, the Sierra Club, FAIR (an
anti-immigration group that attacked Abraham), and the Michigan
Democratic Party. All of
this will make a difference, but will not turn the tide in any
particular direction in a decisive manner. Abraham has some very
distinct advantages that Rep. Debbie Stabanow cannot control. The
GOP controls the governorship and both houses of the state
legislature. This is good
news for Abraham and so is George Bush’s new surge among voters in
Michigan. Bush has closed the gap between himself and the Vice
President. Also,
The NRA and former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iaccoca are on the attack
against Al Gore. The NRA
is targeting gun carrying union members and Lee Iaccoca is featured in
a new GOP ad warning auto workers that Al Gore wants to take away
their jobs. Although
Bill Clinton carried Michigan twice by margins above the national
average, PoliticalUSA.com is predicting that Al Gore will lose
Michigan and Senator Spencer Abraham will be re-elected and will break
the GOP curse in Michigan.
The Real Subway Series “Lazio
is Pulling Ahead” was the headline in Tuesday’s New york Post.
A new Zogby poll actually has Lazio with a solid 5 point lead.
Also, this week the New York Newsday surprisingly endorsed Rick
Lazio and had some harsh words for Mrs. Clinton.
This is all good news for Rick Lazio, but in the end it’s not
going to matter. The
reality is Al Gore leads George Bush by too large of a margin for
Lazio to have a chance. Plus
the Clinton’s will do whatever it takes to win this race. The
Clinton campaign will, no doubt, go nuclear the last few days of the
campaign destroying Rick Lazio in the eyes of those all important
undecided voters and will make sure that New York city turns out for
her tilting the race in Mrs. Clinton’s favor. In
fact, the race will be so close that the winner will not be declared
until a week later after the mail-in ballots and absentee ballots are
counted. According to the Albany Times
Democratic and Republican state leaders have
secured a court ruling impounding absentee ballots until after
election night. This means that voters in New York and the rest of the nation may have to wait as long as Nov. 13th to learn that the first lady is going to make history by becoming the junior Senator from New York. The election will be close, extremely close, but we are predicting Mrs. Clinton the winner by the slimmest of margins on Nov. 7. http://www.Hillary2000.org
A House Manager faces the music This is the third time Jim Rogan and Adam Schiff have faced each other in an election. The first time was in a special State Assembly election in 1993 and then again in the regular general election. In both races Jim Rogan came out on top. The 27th CD encompasses Pasadena, Glendale and parts of Los Angeles. Long a Republican bastion, anchored by conservative Glendale, the 27th has been trending Democratic for the last decade. It also has the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia. Rogan brings a varied background to the race. The son of a welfare mother, Rogan put himself through law school and had a successful career as a prosecutor before being appointed as the youngest Municipal Court judge in California. He served in the Assembly for less than four years, where he quickly became Republican Floor Leader, before running for Congress in 1996. Adam Schiff was also a prosecutor for the County of Los Angeles. He ran for State Senate in 1996, swept into power in the Democratic landslide that year. Earlier this year, many observers had written Rogan off. The districts drift to the left, a strong opponent, and the wrath of the Hollywood crowd spelled doom for the conservative Republican. Adam Schiff was the new darling of the Democratic Party attracting millions of dollars in contributions from those seeking revenge for Rogan's role in the impeachment hearings. But there are several factors working in Rogan's favor. The presidential race has taken a turn for the worse for Al Gore in California. There will be an unprecedented Republican get-out-the-vote effort in the region. Republicans will more than likely turn out in much higher numbers than Democrats. Also, there is a more competitive than expected State Senate race for Schiff's seat. The Republican is of Asian decent and has worked hard in the Asian community. They will turn out to vote for the Republican and Rogan should benefit. The only Armenian-American anywhere on the ballot is a Republican, albeit a weak one, running for State Assembly. In the primary election for the seat Democrats had a choice between an Armenian and an Hispanic. They chose the Hispanic and there is still some hard feelings about that in the Armenian Community who consider this their seat. Expect Rogan to reap some benefits from this important swing constituency in the district. Based on his compelling story and positive external factors, PoliticalUSA.com predicts Congressman James Rogan will be re-elected to a third term. http://www.jimrogan.org
Monday, October 30 Prediction:
Virginia U.S. Senate - Chuck Robb vs.
George Allen
The
latest poll in Virginia has the race at a virtual dead heat.
Former Governor George Allen leads U.S. Senator Chuck Robb 48%
to 46% among likely voters. This is good news for Democrats and the campaign of Chuck
Robb who have been barraging Virginia television sets with $10 million
worth of campaign commercials. The
majority of these commercials blast Allen’s record on education, gun
control and abortion. This
television effort has helped close the once 8 point gap George Allen
used to enjoy over Robb. But
in the end, Chuck Robb, “the invisible Senator,” as George Allen
and most Republicans in Virginia like to call him, will be fired.
Allen
holds a huge advantage with George Bush at the head of the ticket in
Virginia. Bush is
currently leading Al Gore statewide by nine points.
Also, the Republican resurgence in Virginia, ironically started
by George Allen, which last year took over both houses of the
legislature is now going to make its other Senator a Republican. PoliticalUSA.com
predicts former Governor George Allen will defeat incumbent U.S. Senator Chuck Robb.
See our latest columns: View expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Political USA.
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