August 2002

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GOP Won't Support Cooksey in Louisiana Race 8/27/2002 11:14 PM The National Republican Senatorial Committee said yesterday it is backing a Louisiana elections official in the effort to unseat Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a blow to Rep. John Cooksey's year-long campaign for the GOP Senate nomination. The committeeoversees the party's nationwide effort to elect senators. It said it supports state Elections Commissioner Suzanne Haik Terrell over Cooksey (R-La.) and a third Republican candidate, state Rep. Tony Perkins. "Suzie was one of President Bush's earliest and strongest supporters," said Sen. Bill Frist (R- Tenn.), the NRSC chairman, in an e-mail announcement. Read the article Largent Wins GOP Nod in Oklahoma 8/27/2002 11:12 PM NFL star-turned-congressman Steve Largent won the Republican primary Tuesday in the race to succeed Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, who is being forced from office by term limits. The Democratic race for a shot to take on Largent appeared headed to a runoff between a millionaire businessman and a state legislator. Read the article Harris Derides Critics in Book 8/27/2002 1:34 PM Al Gore might have had a statewide recount if he hadn't decided to "unleash the dogs of war" on Secretary of State Katherine Harris in Florida's postelection chaos. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights did a media-assisted hatchet job on Harris and Gov. Jeb Bush in its election post-mortem last year. And some of the male TV news anchors making snide references to her makeup wear more paint and powder than she ever uses. Those are some of the insights gleaned from "Center of the Storm," a book Harris wrote about her experiences - and lessons learned - in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. The 289-page book, subtitled "Practicing Principled Leadership in Times of Crisis," is scheduled for publication in October, just before the election that Harris hopes will take her to Washington as Southwest Florida's newest member of Congress. Read the article Stakes High in South Dakota House Race 8/26/2002 10:08 PM Although the race for this sparsely populated state's lone House seat has been overshadowed by South Dakota's high-profile Senate campaign, the stakes are nearly as high. With Republican Rep. John Thune giving up his seat to challenge freshman Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson, Democrats have at least a chance to win the open seat in this state of 754,000 residents -- fewer than the population of the District. Democrats need to pick up six seats nationally to regain control of the House. Republicans seemingly hold a big advantage with their House candidate, four-term Gov. William J. Janklow. He is a confidante of President Bush, who last week at Mount Rushmore said of Mr. Janklow, "He might have invented the word 'piece of work.'" "But he's a good piece of work," Mr. Bush added. Read the article GOP Hopes Fade in Louisiana Senate Race 8/26/2002 10:04 PM The hopes of President Bush and national Republicans to capture Sen. Mary L. Landrieu's Senate seat in Louisiana this fall have diminished, if not evaporated. The reason: Louisiana Republicans. Four hours before Friday's filing deadline, Republican Gov. Mike Foster, who had been courted by Mr. Bush to challenge Mrs. Landrieu, announced he wasn't interested and endorsed Rep. John Cooksey of Monroe, one of three Republicans who have filed to face Mrs. Landrieu in the Nov. 5 open primary. The other Republicans are state Elections Commissioner Suzanne Haik Terrell and state Rep. Tony Perkins of Pride. Five lesser-known candidates, including one Democrat, filed by Friday. Mr. Cooksey, a member of the House International Relations Committee, garnered national notoriety after the September 11 terrorist attacks by remarking that "anyone with a diaper on his head" should be considered a terrorism suspect. He later apologized. Read the article GOP May Feel Generation Gap in New Hampshire Primary 8/26/2002 9:55 PM It is the hottest soap opera of the 2002 political season: a family feud among Republicans that teems with generational tensions, talk of betrayal and a sense of impending peril. The beleaguered patriarch is Sen. Robert C. Smith (R-N.H.), a rough-hewn, blunt-spoken figure whose idiosyncratic behavior has inspired fierce loyalty among some and fury among others. His nemesis is Rep. John E. Sununu, the smooth-talking scion of another wing of the GOP family, who says new blood is needed for the struggles ahead, starting with the November elections. This melodrama, running for months, heads for its season finale in the state's Sept. 10 primary, when Republicans will choose Smith or Sununu to oppose Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen for the Senate seat that Smith has held for 12 years. Read the article Florida Democrats Will Have Hard Time Knocking Off Governor Bush 8/26/2002 3:30 PM The 2002 governor's race was supposed to be payback time for Florida Democrats. Since the end of the tumultuous 2000 presidential election, the party has cast its eyes on defeating Gov. Jeb Bush for his education program, his policy on affirmative action and the lingering bitterness over the state's role in sending President Bush, the governor's older brother, to the White House. But in the waning days before the Sept. 10 primary, the Democratic field offers uncertainty on how to challenge a well-heeled incumbent enjoying above-average approval ratings, who is trying to become the first Republican to earn re-election since Reconstruction. "I think it's going to be a very, very, very hard job for Democrats to beat Jeb Bush,'' said Charles Whitehead, a former state Democratic party chairman. Read the article New Hampshire Paper Backs Sununu for Senate 8/26/2002 3:28 PM The Union Leader, which has staunchly supported Republican Sen. Bob Smith in the past, is endorsing challenger John E. Sununu in the upcoming GOP primary. The state's largest newspaper ran a front-page editorial Sunday saying Smith, seeking his third term in the Senate, had become a Washington insider. "If incumbent Bob Smith were still anything like the spunky, fight-for-the-little-guy fellow this newspaper eagerly endorsed in the past, this might be a tougher call," publisher Joseph McQuaid wrote. "But Mr. Smith has gone from Mr. Outsider to Mr. Insider, proudly boasting that his 'seniority,' his fund-raising and his ability to spend taxpayer money are reason enough to keep him still longer." The editorial praised Sununu, a three-term U.S. representative and son of former White House chief of staff John Sununu, as "one of the brightest, most capable individuals ever to represent New Hampshire" in Congress. Read the article Losses Expected by GOP in Governors Races 8/25/2002 6:45 PM The biggest obstacle that Republicans face in this year's governors races is their past success. Their numbers tell the story: Of 36 governorships up in November, Republicans hold 23 of them. Many of the Republican-held seats are in heavily Democratic states in the Northeast and Midwest that have been under Republican control for a decade or more, but where labor unions remain strong. Democratic voters are plentiful, and some of the Republican Party's most popular governors are not running for re-election. Of the 20 open seats up for grabs, 12 are being vacated by Republicans. That's why the Democrats are expected to make net gains in governorships in November, a claim the Republicans no longer dispute. But the Republican Party also is poised to pick up from four to six Democrat-held statehouses, and thus hopes to keep the net loss to a minimum. Read the article Romney Changes Stance of Elderly Services 8/25/2002 6:25 PM Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney changed his mind about eliminating the cabinet-level status of the state's Elder Affairs Office after criticism from advocates for the elderly. Romney had proposed earlier this month restructuring health-related services by combining 15 agencies into three categories: Public Health, Social and Rehabilitation, and Financial Assistance. The responsibilities of the Elder Affairs Office would have been divided among the three. Advocates for the elderly argued that eliminating the office would threaten interests of Massachusetts' 860,000 senior citizens. "We heard from elder advocates about the importance of having a voice at the cabinet level and so we have acted in response," Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said. Read the article Missouri Senate Race is a Tossup, Poll Shows 8/25/2002 1:19 PM Republican nominee Jim Talent enters the final, 10-week stretch of the U.S. Senate campaign in a stronger position than the incumbent, Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., a new poll of Missouri voters shows. Of 801 likely voters polled statewide, 47.1 percent supported Talent, compared to 46 percent for Carnahan. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points, which makes the matchup "too close to call," said pollster John Zogby. But Zogby, whose firm conducted the poll last week for the Post-Dispatch and KMOV (Channel 4), said the results make clear that Talent "has some momentum." That's because Carnahan's standing among likely Missouri voters appears to have slipped slightly -- a precarious position for any incumbent. Read the article Bushes to Boost Alexander Next Month 8/22/2002 12:34 PM Former Gov. Lamar Alexander (R) is bringing President Bush and former President George H.W. Bush to the Volunteer State in mid-September to help raise money for his Senate race against Rep.Bob Clement (D). President Bush will appear at a Nashville luncheon fundraiser on Sept. 17; his father will raise money forAlexander the following day in Knoxville. Alexander saw his campaign coffers depleted after a contested primary challenge from Rep.Ed Bryant. Through July 12,Alexander had $450,000 left in the bank. Clement, who had no serious rivals for his party's nod, had $1.1 million on hand at that point. Read the article Cole Mining Support Inside Beltway 8/22/2002 12:33 PM A who's who of the Republican political consulting world have opened their checkbooks to help fund the House candidacy of former Oklahoma Secretary of State Tom Cole (R), according to new reports filed with the FederalElection Commission. Cole, a longtime Republican operative, received more than $30,000 from a bevy of media consultants, pollsters and direct-mail firms in the past five weeks. The infusion of cash is critical for Cole in his battle against attorney Marc Nuttle in the Aug. 27 GOP primary. Both candidates are hoping to replace retiring Rep J.C. Watts (R) in the 4th district. Read the article Since September 11, Exerciser Bush Finds Himself on War Footing 8/22/2002 12:30 PM Between war councils during his working vacation at his ranch, President Bush has been holding auditions for his "100 Degree Club," made up of staff members and Secret Service agents who can keep up with him on a hilly, three-mile run when it is 100 degrees. He even has T-shirts and certificates. Aides say that the war on terrorism has increased his devotion to a rigorous workout regimen that has put the president's cardiovascular system in the top 1 percent of men his age, 56. In an interview with Runner's World, to be released Thursday, Bush said he has been "running with a little more intensity" since Sept. 11. Read the article GOP Sees Best Shot in Years To Break Democratic Stranglehold 8/18/2002 10:56 AM In Hawaii, four of the state's five governors -- and all of them since 1962 -- have been Democrats, and the state has consistently elected Democrats to the Senate and for its two House seats. This year, however, Republicans see their best chance in years to elect a GOP governor. Linda Lingle, a former state GOP chairman and former Maui mayor, will offer a competitive challenge to the eventual Democratic nominee. This is Lingle's second bid. She lost in 1998 by a scant 5,254 votes to Democratic Gov. Benjamin J. Cayetano, who is term-limited. Lingle has only token opposition in the Sept. 21 primary in former state GOP Chairman John Carroll. Recent polls showed her with as much as a 32-point advantage over the Democratic candidates. Last month, she also picked up an endorsement from the state police officers' union, unprecedented for a Republican. Read the article GOP Incumbents Battle in 'Nasty' Georgia Primary 8/18/2002 10:55 AM Two conservative Republican House veterans square off Tuesday in a bitter Georgia primary duel, while Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney battles for her political life in a race embroiled in Middle East politics. The match-up of Rep. Bob Barr, a four-term congressman who helped lead the charge to impeach former President Clinton, and five-term veteran Rep. John Linder in Georgia's newly drawn 7th District, has become one of the most heated and closely watched political duels of the year. With polls showing the two hard-line conservatives in a dead heat ahead of Tuesday's primary, the race has turned into a feud marked by personal attacks and whispered innuendo. Read the article Taff Wins Kansas Primary Over Endorsed Opponent 8/18/2002 10:30 AM Former Navy pilot Adam Taff won the Republican nomination Tuesday to challenge Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore in Kansas' 3rd District, overcoming the endorsement of his opponent by a top national Republican figure. Primary voters in the politically competitive 3rd, centered in suburban Kansas City, picked Taff over plastic surgeon Jeff Colyer by 52 percent to 48 percent. Colyer had the endorsement of Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee but said his backing of Colyer was personal and not on behalf of the committee. Read the article Race to Succeed Watts Big Draw in Oklahoma Primary 8/18/2002 10:29 AM At the heart of Oklahoma's sleepy August primary season is a race that national Democrats hope will raise their chances of recapturing the House. The 4th District, located in the south-central part of the state, has been served by Republican Rep. J.C. Watts Jr. -- the only African-American Republican in Congress -- for eight years. When Watts, Republican Conference chairman, announced his retirement July 1, Democrats immediately said they would work hard to recapture the seat, which was held by Democrat Dave McCurdy (1981-95) for seven terms before Watts was elected in 1994. The district is historically Democratic but trending Republican, like the majority of rural districts in the South. While conservative Democrats dominate downballot races, Republican George W. Bush captured 61 percent of the district's vote in the 2000 presidential race. Read the article Bush Walks a Fine Line in California Race 8/18/2002 10:25 AM When President Bush appears this week at a trio of fundraising events to inject life-giving cash into Bill Simon Jr.'s wounded campaign for California governor, supporters hope the money and attention will revive their flagging cause. But some White House strategists fear catching a bug from a candidate who may be too far gone to fully resuscitate -- and could associate the Bush administration with another corporate scandal. In the last few weeks, Simon bungled the release of his income taxes, was accused of employing an offshore tax shelter now under IRS investigation, and, most disastrously, was blindsided by a jury verdict ordering his family's investment firm to pay $78 million for defrauding a business partner who also turned out to be a convicted drug dealer. Read the article New Jersey Representative Roukema Mum on Successor 8/18/2002 10:23 AM Anne Sumers has nothing but praise for the woman she hopes to succeed in Congress, Rep. Marge Roukema of New Jersey. Sumers' deputy campaign manager interned in Roukema's office. Her honorary campaign chairman spent 24 years helping Roukema raise money. "Had Marge Roukema chosen to keep her seat, I'd be out there putting up signs for her," Sumers said. Roukema might normally endorse such a candidate, but this is no normal race. Roukema is a Republican, Sumers a Democrat. The Republican candidate, Scott Garrett, has been one of Roukema's leading critics for years. The contest leaves Roukema three options, none of them pain-free: endorse a Democrat, support her political nemesis, or stay silent on the question of who should succeed her. Read the article GOP Leaders Play 'Team Ball' in Senate 8/18/2002 10:19 AM Responding to a call from leadership to provide more help with fundraising, GOP Senators have dished out about $3.4 million from their various political accounts to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. With a goal of raising $6 million from within the Conference before Election Day, the NRSC's "Team Ball" campaign hopes to raise $3 million from the six elected Republican leaders in the chamber and another $3 million from rank-and-file Members. By June 30, the Republican leaders were far ahead of the rest of the Conference in terms of meeting their fundraising goals, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission and Internal Revenue Service, as well as interviews with GOP aides and activists. Read the article GOP Campaign Panels Bar 9/11 Ads 8/14/2002 12:41 PM The Republican campaign committees overseeing contests for the Senate and the House announced Wednesday they won't be doing any political ads on Sept. 11, joining their Democratic counterparts who announced a similar decision earlier in the week. "Sept. 11 is a sacred day," said Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. "We will not be engaging in any political activity." The National Republican Senatorial Committee also plans no political advertising that day. Read the article Cheney 'Just Doing His Job' 8/13/2002 2:16 PM When someone wants to know who is in power, popular advice thrown around Washington is to just "follow the money." These days that means following around Vice President Dick Cheney. The second-in-command has been pounding the campaign pavement and raking in millions in contributions for GOP candidates around the country. Since Jan. 1, Cheney has come out of his post-Sept. 11 "undisclosed locations" to help his party bring in more than $12 million at 44 stops around the country. "He's doing a phenomenal job helping our candidates," said Ed Patru, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. "He remains a very popular, well-liked leader in the Republican Party. We're happy for all the help he's given us." Read the article Memo From GOP Whip-in-Waiting Ranks Candidates 8/12/2002 12:30 PM Already in line to become the No. 3 Republican in the House next year, Rep. Roy Blunt (Mo.) is lending a helping hand to dozens of GOP candidates in an effort to make sure that his new title will be Majority, not Minority, Whip. A memo sent from Blunt's Rely On Your Beliefs Fund - commonly referred to as the ROYB Fund - outlines "A" and "B" lists of incumbents, challengers and open seat races that Blunt is urging supporters to help fund and offers a glimpse into House Republicans' internal handicapping of the 2002 elections. The memo was sent Aug. 1 to Blunt's "most active supporters and folks looking to direct resources to the most competitive campaigns," according to Keri Ann Hayes, director of finance for the Fund. Fifty-nine races made it onto the list, including those of 20 Republican incumbents, 30 open seat candidates and nine challengers. It was compiled based on information from campaigns and press accounts, Hayes said. Read the article GOP Poll Gives Cornyn Double-Digit Lead 8/12/2002 12:26 PM Texas Attorney General John Cornyn (R) has broken out to a double-digit lead over former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk (D) in the race to replace Sen. Phil Gramm(R), a new Republican poll showed. In the poll, conducted by the GOP firm American Viewpoint from July 29 to Aug. 1, Cornyn led Kirk 46 percent to 35 percent. The poll tested 600 registered voters with a 4 percent margin of error. Following his April 9 runoff victory over schoolteacher and 1996 Senate nominee Victor Morales, Kirk seized the momentum in the race from Cornyn, who was unopposed for his party's nomination. Several polls - conducted by independent and Democratic firms - have shown Kirk either tied with or ahead of Cornyn in recent months. Read the article Cantor Helps GOP Reach Out to Jewish Voters 8/12/2002 12:22 PM With just a hint of a southern drawl in his voice, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) readily admits that few would expect a national spokesman for Jewish Republicans to hail from central Virginia. Synagogues are hard to spot in the urban, suburban and rural 7th district of Virginia, an area dotted with Baptist and Episcopal churches. The only other Jewish Republican in Congress, Rep. Ben Gilman, who spent the past 30 years representing upstate New York, will retire at the end of this session. For Cantor, who was elected in 2000, the reasons for his Republican loyalty are simple. To him, joining the GOP is a natural response to his conservative surroundings and the progression of his immigrant ancestry, the result of the upward shift in the social and economic status Jews of his generation have enjoyed. Read the article Democrat Praises California GOP Governor Hopeful 8/12/2002 12:19 PM Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon won praise for his business leadership from California's second-highest ranking official -- a Democrat. Aides to Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, second-in-command to Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, promptly noted the commendation was part of a mass mailing and not a political endorsement. "I admire your dedication to strengthening the economic vitality of the region and welcome your continued efforts to enrich the lives of others," Bustamante wrote. Bustamante aides said the letter went out after Simon's investment firm, William E. Simon & Sons, was named one of the top 20 venture capital firms in Southern California by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Read the article Minnesota Mayor Seeks U.S. Senate Seat 8/12/2002 12:18 PM Less than two years ago, Mayor Norm Coleman of St. Paul, Minn., said he was more cut out for an executive job than a legislative one. At the time, the Republican had his sights set on a run for governor. "I have no interest in serving in the United States Senate," he said, then announced he would not seek a third term as mayor. "I have believed that my best qualities are the qualities of bringing people together to get things done. I think the natural place for that is an executive office." Then President Bush asked him to run for the Senate, taking on Democratic incumbent Paul Wellstone. Read the article Texas Gubernatorial Race Heats Up 8/7/2002 4:56 PM They're getting down and dirty early in the Texas governor's race with candidates talking more about each other than the issues. And the campaign is expected to only get uglier. Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who served for 17 years as a state lawmaker and lieutenant governor, was appointed to the job when George W. Bush resigned to become president. Since then, Perry has governed in the shadow of Bush with the unflattering nickname "Bush light." His critics suggest Perry hasn't done anything to fill his predecessor's boots. Read the article Cheney Looks Ahead to 2004 Election 8/7/2002 4:52 PM Vice President Dick Cheney would like a second term as President Bush's No. 2 -- if the president will have him. "He'll have to make a decision by this time about two years from now when the convention rolls around in terms of deciding who he wants to have serve as his vice president in a second term," Cheney said Wednesday, answering questions from members of the Commonwealth Club of California. He added: "If the president is willing and if my wife approves, and if the doctor say it's OK, then I'd be happy to serve a second term. But I emphasize again, that's the president's call, not mine." Read the article Georgia Republicans Face Off in Tight Primary 8/5/2002 10:30 AM For nearly two decades, Georgia Republican Reps. Bob Barr and John Linder have cultivated a place for themselves in national politics -- the former as a passionate defender of the Constitution, the latter as a torch for a new Republican Party. Today, both are back in Georgia, fighting each other for their political lives. "It's going to come down to two guys with long records in conservative Republican politics who essentially share the same views on issues, who are going to have to put themselves before voters who will have to make a personal choice on which one they prefer," said Dick Williams, local TV host of The Georgia Gang and writer for the Atlanta Business Journal. Read the article Alexander Wins Tennessee GOP Nomination 8/2/2002 10:59 AM Former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander has a chance to add another entry to his long political resume in a race that could prove pivotal to the Republican bid to take control of the Senate. The two-time presidential hopeful trounced conservative Rep. Ed Bryant to win the GOP Senate nomination Thursday as Tennessee voters also chose candidates for governor and three open House seats. Alexander will take on eight-term Rep. Bob Clement, who coasted to the Democratic nomination in the closely watched race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Fred Thompson. Democrats hold a one-seat advantage in the Senate. Read the article Harris Quits As Florida Secretary of State 8/2/2002 10:58 AM Katherine Harris, thrust into the spotlight during the 2000 presidential recount, has resigned as Florida's secretary of state to focus on her run for Congress. The state's top elections official admitted Thursday she misunderstood a state law that required her to file a letter of resignation by July 15 or resign immediately if the July 15 deadline is missed. Gov. Jeb Bush said he'd keep her as acting secretary until he appoints a successor. No date was given. Read the article