Here is some mixed good news:
Democrats picked up ground in a new generic balllot poll, but anti-incumbent sentiment remains intense.
Democrats lead Republicans 45%-40% in the most recent Associated Press poll, a reversal from Republicans’ 44%-41% lead last month.
But only 36% of respondents want to re-elect their own member of Congress, a 7% drop from last month.
The Dems need a much more substantial generic ballot lead than five points if they are going to avoid taking substantial losses in the midterms because we have lower turnout and lower voter intensity. But a five point lead is a good start. We just have to expand it to 8-10% to give ourselves a fair shot. I’ve never seen anti-incumbent sentiment this high, and I can’t predict what it will mean. We’ll probably see more upsets in primaries. Beyond that, I’m a little concerned because the Dems have so many more freshmen and sophomores who aren’t that entrenched in their seats. But, as the defeats of Bennett and Mollohan showed, long-time incumbents are not safe.
Do you plan to vote for your representative?
My representative where I’m registered is like the Blue Dog Ring Leader, Rick Boucher.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/20/boucher-public-plan/
OH NOES!
Yeah, I’ll vote for him, but I won’t be happy about it. If I was registered at my other residency, I would have Eric Cantor representing me. I’ve met Cantor on more than one occasion, and he’s one of the most arrogant SOB’s I’ve ever met in Congress. I remember when I was applying to the Naval Academy and got his pseudo-nomination (I was like an understudy for the Naval, but I got it for the Air Force Academy), and he had this breakfast brunch thing, he kept trying to sell us the Iraq War. He didn’t even talk about us and our future, just shilling. That was right around when I got into politics.
Uhhhhhhh……I don’t think so.
Congressman George Miller-California 7th. You Betcha!
MY representative is Donna Edwards, so of course! Y’all are welcome to move down here anytime.
Planning to vote for Senator Mikulski too. I don’t always agree with everything she does (supporting Lieberman — ugh!), but overall she’s been a resolute champion for the Democratic agenda for…well, it seems like forever.
Frankly the only Democrat in Maryland facing a real threat is Kratovil over on the Eastern Shore, and given how conservative the district is generally, he’s in a rough spot.
The Eastern shore is the side of the peninsula on the Atlantic? Somehow I had the impression that the peninsula was mostly poor and minority population. I suppose there’s too much shoreline for that to make any sense, upon further thought.
My congressman is Martin Heinrich, so yeah, I’m definitely voting for him
Linda T. Sanchez has my vote.
My district is such a yawn — I don’t even have to think about whether I’ll vote for the incumbent, and sending emails seems kinda pointless because she’s 99.9% likely to vote my way anyhow. Talkin about Jan Schakowsky. Sometimes I wish I lived someplace more combative.
You don’t want to live in IL-06. See my post below.
Blech, the alternative is too horrible to contemplate.
My Representative is Peter Roskam. You can be sure I’m not voting for him, now or ever. Unfortunately, his opponent is self-proclaimed “Christian Conservative” anti-abortion Ben Lowe.
I’d rather vote for the ghost of Henry Hyde than that son of a bitch. There is no third party candidate and Illinois does not allow write-ins unless they register with the Board of Elections.
So, for the first time in 22 Congressional elections, I will not be voting for anyone. For those who call me a purist, let me say that I would vote for Mellisa Bean (holding my nose) if I lived a few miles North, but this pseudo-Democrat? NEVER!
Ick. This is the Dem? So I take it the party conceded this seat without a fight?
He was unopposed in the primary. The word was that he was Rahm Emanuel’s latest idea of what kind of candidate this district (which adjoins his old district) needs. Rahm feels that the district is conservative, so we need a Blue Dog, despite the rising Asian and Latino demographics. My thought is that Rahm really doesn’t care if we elect a Democrat or not, so long as we don’t elect an independent Democrat, i.e. one not dependent on him or Chicago.
If I were not covered by the Hatch act, I would run myself under the Green Banner. I contacted the head of the Illinois Green Party and he said there was no candidate because no one had come forward and wanted to know if I knew anyone who was interested. I would have done it to provide some alternative. This is not like Nader opposing Gore. This is a choice between a Republican and a LieberDem.
This is what comes from Establishment meddling in Primarys. I hope Sestak wins, not just because I like him better, but because it would be a blow against the idea of anointed candidates.
I’ll be voting for Kucinich, because he changed mind and voted for HCR. Had he not, I would have never forgiven him.
John Yarmuth
Yep.
yes, I’m going to vote for my Congressman.
Since my representative, pending a (hopefully) more sensible redistricting of Ohio after this year, is John Boehner, let me just say Hell no I won’t!
On his opponent’s website you can see how funny the current 8th District looks.