With 492 of 508 Precincts Reported, Congressman Lacy Clay is going to defeat Congressman Russ Carnahan in the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District in Missouri.
Congressman William Lacy Clay was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000. He succeeded his father, the Honorable Bill Clay, who represented Missouri’s 1st District for 32 years and was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Prior to his election, Congressman Lacy Clay served for 17 years in both chambers of the Missouri Legislature.
Missouri lost a House seat after the census and Republicans eliminated Russ Carnahan's district, taking pieces of it and adding it to three different districts. They turned the City of St. Louis, North St. Louis County, and some parts of Central and Southwest St. Louis County into a Democratic vote sink.
Carnahan could have run in the Second District, which has about a 55 to 45 R advantage, but he chose to run against Lacy Clay in the First District. That was a mistake. The First District has a bare AA majority, but Lacy Clay was not nominated only with AA votes. He put together a coalition of working people and progressives of all colors and ethnicities, and won easily. With only a few precincts left to report, Clay leads 54,938 to 30,656 for Carnahan.
Carnahan was a decent congressman, a member of the Progressive Caucus, but more "moderate" than Lacy Clay. This is a victory for better Democrats and for progressives. And I'm glad that we did not lose an African American congressman with an excellent voting record.
Full disclosure: I voted for Lacy Clay today. Redistricting moved me into his district and I'm glad!
Since the district is overwhelmingly Democrat, this means Lacy likely will be re-elected. A victory for the good guys!
Here's a little about Lacy from wikepedia:
Clay, Jr.'s voting record has been decidedly progressive, like that of his father. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which his father was a founding member.
During Clay's previous 17 years in the state legislature, he authored Missouri's Hate Crimes Law which included gender, sexual orientation and sexual identity in the criteria of what constitutes a hate crime.
Clay made it clear that he supports the Employment Nondiscrimination Act which would make it illegal to discriminate against employees of any sexual orientation, notably gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered workers. He also noted that he believes that the 33 states that are allowed to fire employees due to sexual orientation are in the wrong.
Clay has been a consistent critic of the War in Iraq and was among those who voted against the Iraq War Resolution in 2002.
Clay's NPAT also displays disagreement with elements of the War on Drugs. He believes that government reform is necessary to make sure every citizen's voice is heard.
Clay also continues to fight for programs that will improve that status of the poor, including initiatives to allow lower-class people to purchase homes.
Clay is also active in election reform and believes that any electronic voting system must include a paper trail to verify the results.
Clay added his name as cosponsor to a bill calling for the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, House Resolution 333.
He was one of the 31 members in the U.S. House of Representatives who voted not to count the electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Vote totals after the fold.
U.S. Representative - District 1
(492 of 508 Precincts Reported)
Candice Britton
DEM
2,518
Lacy Clay
DEM
54,938
Russ Carnahan
DEM
30,656
Robyn Hamlin
REP
9,686
Martin D. Baker
REP
7,044
Robb E. Cunningham
LIB
244
MO Secretary of State Election Returns