Wednesday’s political round-up

November 15, 2006

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Three years after having been ousted from his leadership post for praising a segregationist’s presidential campaign, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) made a comeback today, getting elected Senate Minority Whip. He defeated Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on a 25 to 24 vote.

* The incredibly close House contest in Connecticut’s 2nd district resulted in another Dem pick-up last night, with Joe Courtney (D) defeating Rep. Rob Simmons (R) by just 91 votes. The outcome leaves Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) as the only House Republican from the six states that comprise New England.

* The only chances Republicans had of beating a Dem incumbent this cycle will fade away today when Georgia certifies Reps. John Barrow (D) and Jim Marshall (D) as winners in their close House races. As recently as yesterday, Republican challengers Max Burns and Mac Collins have refused to concede.

* In Hill leadership news, the race for House Majority Whip seems to be settled. First, it looked like Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) would face James Clyburn (D-S.C.), but Emanuel stepped aside to claim the party caucus job. Yesterday, Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), who had also planned to run for Whip, also stepped aside.

* And in 2008 news, John Edwards didn’t exactly announce another presidential campaign during his appearance on The Daily Show last night, but he came close. Edwards told Jon Stewart, “I actually do have an announcement, just between us. If people go to my website, johnedwards.com, in the next few weeks, they may see something new and exciting.”

Mississippi is 37% black, and yet Trent Lott received 64% of the vote in 2006. I don’t see why he was even re-elected to the Senate, especially by such a huge margin. Sympathy for losing his house in Katrina?

  • Trent Lott? What a political cockroach! So the future of the GOP lays in the past of the GOP. Does this mean Newt announces his comeback later this month?

  • “He defeated Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) on a 25 to 24 vote.”

    And a fine thank you to Tennessee for being the only swing state to vote for the Republican’t for Senate. I bet Bob Corker will love taking that home: “Thanks for voting for me but it turns out the ungrateful Republican Party chose a disgraced ex Majority Leader over our senior Senator to be Minority Whip.”

  • Addison,

    What percentage of registered voters is black (as opposed to total population)?

  • Clyburn was always going to be the whip. Rham was never going to challenge him, the leadership didn’t want a rift with the CBC.

  • “Clyburn was always going to be the whip. Rham was never going to challenge him, the leadership didn’t want a rift with the CBC.” – johnny d

    Well, not another rift. After all Pelosi kicked William Jefferson (D-LA) out of his chairmanship when the FBI gave him $100,000 and Pelosi seems to be skipping over both Jane Harmon and AC Hastings to pick the chair of the Intelligence Committee. That’s two strikes already.

    Rham can take a lower position.

  • #4 Closest thing I have found is at the census bureau website, and they only have information thru 2004. Also, they list a “margin of error” with their tabulations, so I think this must be a sample, and not a true count. However, being a good mathematician, I believe in sampling (if done correctly) unlike the US Government, so I’m ok with that.

    At any rate, the numbers they for black registered voters/actual voters (with whites/totals for comparison)

    % Registered/Actual voters (2004):
    Black: 76/67
    White: 72/59
    Total: 72/60

    I find something strange about these numbers…with whites outnumbering blacks roughly 2:1 (very few other minorities), the total registered should be at least 73%…

    In case you’re curious, the same numbers for 2002 (the last midterm election) are:

    % Registered/Actual voters (2002):
    Black: 69/41
    White: 72/45
    Total: 69.5/42.5

    But who the hell wants to live there, anyway? 😉

  • “I actually do have an announcement, just between us. If people go to my website, johnedwards.com, in the next few weeks, they may see something new and exciting.”

    Well jeez man, hyperlink it for us! (Sorry if this comes off as lazy and rude.)

  • The only chances Republicans had of beating a Dem incumbent this cycle will fade away today when Georgia certifies Reps. John Barrow (D) and Jim Marshall (D) as winners in their close House races.

    this is the first time ever that a party hasn’t unseated at least one incumbant from the other party. Right? That’s huge!

    • Comments are closed.