Portal:Congresspedia

(For all candidate profiles, see the Wyoming and Washington portals.)

It is anything but business-as-usual for voters in both states holding their congressional primaries on Tuesday. In Wyoming, every seat in the congressional delegation is up for election this year and in Washington state, voters will try out a controversial new primary election system that has already garnered protests from the state's political parties and a Supreme Court ruling.

Washington’s new “top-two” system, designed by Secretary of State Sam Reed, removes the party apparatus from primary elections. Under the new rules, the two candidates who receive the most votes in a given race will move on to the November election, regardless of party affiliation.

Leaders of the state Democratic, Libertarian and Republican parties all objected to the change, arguing it dilutes voters’ choices. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled there was no proof the system confuses voters, since there is no precedent for that type of election.

For more on the Washington and Wyoming races, and our Wiki the Vote project, click through.

Read the rest of this entry or post a comment

(For a full list of candidates, see the Nevada, Colorado and Connecticut portals.)

The incumbent members of Congress running in the Connecticut, Nevada and Colorado primaries all survived their same-party challenges Tuesday.

In one of the two open House seats (both in Colorado), retiring Rep. Tom Tancredo's heavily Republican 6th congressional district, Colorado secretary of state Mike Coffman won the GOP nomination. In the other, Colorado's 2nd congressional district, Jared Polis (and the millions spent out of his own pocket) beat out the crowded field to represent the Democratic Party. Polis’s victory almost guarantees his victory in November – the district is very Democratic, so Republican challenger Scott Starin definitely has his work cut out for him.

Colorado is also home to the only open Senate seat, currently held by retiring Sen. Wayne Allard (R). Democratic Rep. Mark Udall and former Bob Schaffer (R), were uncontested in that primary.

Probably the most vulnerable incumbent in these states come fall is Rep. Chris Shays, the last remaining Republican in the House from New England. The Democrats in that district overwhelmingly nominated Jim Himes to challenge him in the general election.

See the full list of candidates and winners after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry or post a comment

(For a full list of candidates, see the Nevada, Colorado and Connecticut portals.)

A trio of states will hold nominating contests tomorrow, and some of those primary elections will be more important than others. For instance, two Colorado districts have open seats, and the primary winners will probably carry those districts come November. Meanwhile, in Connecticut, two Democrats are vying for the chance to take on Rep. Chris Shays, the lone Republican from New England in the U.S. House. Nevadans are also heading to the polls, and a cadre of Ron Paul’s supporters has helped drive support for a challenger to Rep. Dean Heller (R) in the 2nd congressional district.

The battle for Connecticut’s 4th CD may be one of the most closely-watched races in the country come November. Democrats in 2006 were able to flip two House seats in Connecticut, leaving Shays as the only Republican member of the state’s delegation. Shays won a hard-fought election in 2006, and 2008 will be no walk in the park. Democrats endorsed Jim Himes at a convention in May, but Lee Whitnum has forced a primary tomorrow. Himes has a large fundraising advantage over Whitnum and the support of national organizations that have targeted Shays’ seat.

The other candidates for office in Connecticut are all unopposed in their respective primary elections.

For more on Nevada's and Colorado's faces, click through.

Read the rest of this entry or post a comment

Meet the Candidates: Winners of the Congressional Primaries in Tennessee
Posted Aug. 8, 2008.
By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas

Tennessee Republican Rep. David Davis became the fourth member of the U.S. House of Representatives to be booted by primary voters this election cycle when he was defeated by Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe on Thursday. Across the state, Rep. Steve Cohen (D) easily defeated his main rival, Nikki Tinker, who had used racially charged images in campaign ads attacking Cohen.

Davis was elected in 2006 after besting 12 other Republican candidates in the primary. Roe was among those who lost 2 years ago, but with a smaller field he was able to mount a successful challenge to the freshman representative. Roe is favored to win the November election, since the 1st congressional district leans Republican.

Davis is the latest incumbent to fall to partisan challengers this year: Reps. Chris Cannon (R-Utah), Wayne Gilchrist (R-Md.) and Albert Wynn (D-Md.) were also voted out in primaries.

Read the rest of this entry or post a comment

New on Congresspedia: The Members of Congress Who Twitter
Posted Aug. 7, 2008.

Over at Congresspedia, we’re starting to track the members of Congress who are using Twitter, a micro-blogging site consisting of posts of 140 characters or less (it makes more sense once you spend some time there, really). We’ve compiled a list of 30 members thus far, and if you go to their Congresspedia profile page you can read their latest posts – we’ve built them right into the contact section.

Members who “tweet” aren’t exactly something new – some have been doing it for months. However, there’s been a flurry of recent activity, including several recent adopters, thanks to the House Republicans’ revolt this week. If you haven’t heard, members of the GOP caucus have taken to the House floor to protest the August recess. They’ve argued that Democrats decided to adjourn without holding a vote on energy legislation. While the protest itself has been garnering news coverage, the use of Twitter and other online tech has also prompted headlines. Some members are twittering from the location, while others have used Qik to broadcast streaming video with their cell-phone cameras. John Wonderlich has the backstory in a post at the OpenHouseProject and the conservative activists behind the campaign have created the #dontGo website to track their activities. You can also find more government officials at the US Government page on the Twitter fan wiki.

At any rate, please check out our list of members using Twitter, and let us know if you find any others. You can email us at amaestas@sunlightfoundation.com or ckenny@congresspedia.org or send a message via Twitter at @ConorKenny or @Avelino. Also, we’re on the lookout for congressional candidates that are using Twitter, so please let us know if you run across any.

Read the rest of this entry or post a comment

By Avelino Maestas

If nothing else, this year's election cycle has shown that Americans are prepared to try something new. That hasn’t always translated into a win for primary challengers this year, but as Donna Edwards and Andy Harris showed in Maryland, sometimes party voters are more than willing to oust an incumbent.

In Michigan yesterday, it looked for a time as though voters might toss out another incumbent. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick barely survived a spirited race against Martha Scott and Mary Waters, edging out Waters by a 39.5 percent to 37.5 percent. Early returns had Waters in the lead, but in the end Kilpatrick was able to scrape by.

In Kansas, former Rep. Jim Ryun lost his bid for the Republican nomination to regain his seat from Democratic incumbent Rep. Nancy Boyda. Another former Congressman, Democrat Jim Slattery, is challenging Sen. Pat Roberts (R) come November.

Read the rest of this entry or post a comment

New additions archive