It was a bad night in Colorado last night:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Colorado Senate President John Morse (D) and state Sen. Angela Giron (D) were both thrown out of office in recall elections on Tuesday over their votes in support of stricter gun control measures.
In late developments in Colorado, Morse conceded the election and the Associated Press called Giron’s defeat.
After the results for Morse came in, the National Rifle Association, which supported the recalls and spent heavily in the recalls, quickly released a statement celebrating its victory.
“A historic grassroots effort by voters in Colorado’s Senate District 11 has resulted in the recall of Colorado Senate President John Morse (D),” the NRA statement read. “The people of Colorado Springs sent a clear message to the Senate leader that his primary job was to defend their rights and freedoms and that he is ultimately accountable to them - his constituents, and not to the dollars or social engineering agendas of anti-gun billionaires.”
Tuesday’s recall election will likely be interpreted as a major win for opponents of new gun laws and a signal that lawmakers at every level of government could face serious punitive measures for helping to pass them. - TPM, 9/10/13
State Senator Angela Giron (D. CO) graciously thanked her supporters for their help:
http://www.denverpost.com/...
"We couldn't have done any more," she told the crowd gathered at Pueblo Union Depot that had shrunk to about 50 from about 200 at the height of what began as a victory party.
"I'm a little perplexed. This is what I know: I know that I have not one iota of regret from what I voted on," she said.
Constituents angry about her support of gun control and renewable energy measures for rural electric co-ops that passed in the last legislative session mounted the effort to unseat her.
"This is only going to make us stronger and better," she said. "We will win in the end, because we are on the right side." - The Denver Post, 9/10/13
And state Senate President John Morse (D. CO) vowed to continue the fight for smart gin safety legislation:
http://www.denverpost.com/...
"We as the Democratic Party will continue to fight," Morse said.
He added: "The highest rank in a democracy is citizen, not Senate President, so soon, along with many of you, I will hold that rank and there's nothing citizens can't accomplish when they put their minds to accomplishing it."
Hugs and tears were plentiful in the ballroom at his election night party Tuesday.
Republican Bernie Herpin, who won Tuesday night's recall election addressed a crowd of about 75 supporters in a cramped room at the El Paso County GOP Headquarters. - Denver Post, 9/10/13
I'd like to thank both Senators Morse and Giron for sticking up for what's right. They may have paid the price last night but the war with the NRA is far from over. Now it's time to figure out what happened. Part of the problem was this:
http://gazette.com/...
A shockwave reverberated through both side in the recall elections of two southern Colorado Democratic senators after a judge's ruling likely eliminates mail-in ballots for the looming Sept. 10 elections.
Judge Robert McGahey considered a lawsuit brought by the Libertarian Party saying they were wrongfully denied the ability to get a candidate into recall elections for Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo.
McGahey—in a decision that stunned many on Monday evening—ruled that potential candidates should have had until 15 days prior to the election to turn in enough signatures to get their names on the ballot. It's a part of the constitution that applies only to recall elections and is seldom used.
That might explain the low voter turnout. Joan McCarter's diary explains why:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Mayor Mike Bloomberg's involvement in the recall may have been another factor as pointed out by brooklybadboy:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
But Bloomberg’s money wasn’t necessarily a positive for Morse and Giron, both of whom tried to change the subject to anything other than the gun legislation.
“It’s been a double-edged sword for the candidates,” Rick Ridder, a Democratic strategist in Denver, said of Bloomberg’s involvement. “On the one hand, it provided ready support and resources. On the other hand, it may have kept the [focus] on guns longer than they might have wanted.”
“There has been a backlash with the disclosure of Bloomberg money,” said Laura Carno, a conservative activist who led the recall campaign against Morse. “People wonder why his is playing in Colorado. I had one person ask if we were going to have to limit soda sizes soon.”
And of course the NRA's wave of fear:
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/...
The NRA, it's worth noting, originally sought five recall elections against Democrats, but in the other three cases, the right-wing group failed to gather sufficient petition signatures.
But what, ultimately, was the point? If control of the state Senate was not at stake, Morse was retiring next year anyway, and the gun reforms aren't going to be repealed anytime soon, why bother with multi-million-dollar recall elections with no precedent in state history?
The answer, of course, was that the NRA and far-right activists want to send a message to policymakers everywhere: efforts to prevent gun violence will end your career, too. - THe Maddow Blog, 9/11/13
Last night's results should serve as a prime example what happens when our base doesn't turn out in big numbers during an off Presidential election year. Hopefully the Democratic Party will learn from this, especially Colorado Democrats:
http://firstread.nbcnews.com/...
But the recall results are a warning sign for next year's key races in Colorado, where Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper and Democratic Sen. Mark Udall are both up for re-election.
In particular, Hickenlooper could be vulnerable, especially after signing his state's gun-control legislation into law.
"I don't believe that two state Senate races are predictive of an election that happens in 13 months from now," says Jennifer Duffy, who monitors Senate and gubernatorial races for the non-partisan Cook Political Report. "That said, it does show that guns are still a very potent issue in Colorado, and Hickenlooper is more exposed than I originally thought."
Of course, Republicans first have to find candidates capable of beating Hickenlooper and Udall. Former Congressman Tom Tancredo -- once again -- is running for governor. And Ken Buck, who lost the 2010 Senate race to Michael Bennet, is challenging Udall.
"Those were big recall victories last night which could spell trouble for Hickenlooper and Udall, but not if we nominate Tancredo and Buck," former Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams tells First Read.
Duffy agrees.
"Hickenlooper has some weakness, but there is a big question about whether Republicans can take advantage of it," she says. - NBC News, 9/11/13
Governor John Hickenlooper (D. CO) has had mixed polling results and could be in for a big fight next year, even if the GOP nominee is Tom Tancredo (R. CO). Senator Mark Udall (D. CO) I think will be in better shape due to his high name recognition and approval ratings and it doesn't hurt to have your colleague, Senator Michael Bennet (D. CO) as the new DSCC Chairman. Plus Udall doesn't really have some a serious opponent. Tea Party Republican Ken Buck (R. CO) is going to give the Senate run another try, this time against Udall. Yes, Buck narrowly lost to Bennet in 2010 but you have to remember that Bennet was appointed by Obama in a bad year for Democrats and he had tough primary challenger in Andrew Romanoff. I think Udall, who has a big campaign war chest, will do much better against Buck (if he wins the nominee) but I wouldn't take him for granted. The NRA will back next year to finish the job.
Seeing us lose both races last night reminded me of how I felt when Elizabeth Colbert-Busch (D. SC-01) lost to disgraced former Governor Mark Sanford (R. SC-01) in the special election earlier this year. It angered me so much that it motivated me to pay extra attention to the Massachusetts special election. As you may or may not recall, I wrote quite extensively on that race and Ed Markey (D. MA) came out the victor. Gabriel Gomez (R. MA) looked like a strong candidate at first and with voter turnout being low due to the summer vacation, the Bruins in the playoffs and election fatigue, I knew this race could not be taken for granted. Of course Markey came out the victor and easily won but it was thanks to our grassroots work and smart campaigning that we were able to get voters to the polls. Next year is going to be a rough year. I think we can hold onto the Senate and knock out some Republican Governors like Tom Corbett (R. PA), Paul LePage (R. ME), John Kasich (R. OH), Rick Scott (R. FL), Rick Snyder (R. MI) and Nikki Haley (R. SC) just to name a few. And hopefully Wendy Davis (D. TX) will decide to run for Governor helping Texas transition from red to purple. I also hope we can pick up more seats in the House. In terms of the Senate, right now it's looking like we're going to lose South Dakota, West Virginia and Montana however we don't know who the Democratic and GOP candidates will be in Montana and we'll need to see if far right-wing groups like the Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund are successful in defeating Mike Rounds (R. SD) and Shelley Moore Capito (R. WV) in their primaries. We'll have to wait and see. I'm also looking forward to seeing the ugly divisive primaries in South Carolina and Georgia and if John Cornyn (R. TX) and Mitch McConnell (R. KY) can survive Tea Party anger. I am confident we can win the open seat in Georgia with Michelle Nunn (D. GA) as our candidate and I am determined to help Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D. KY) defeat McConnell next year. I am also going to be fighting hard to make sure Senator Brian Schatz (D. HI) wins his primary and to help vulnerable Democrats like Mark Pryor (D. AR), Mary Landrieu (D. LA), Mark Begich (D. AK) and Kay Hagan (D. NC) hold onto their seats. So we have our work cut out for us.
But last night wasn't all bad news. It looks like Bill de Blasio (D) is going to advance in the New York City Mayor's race but we won't know about a runoff election until later this week. We also have two big Governor races this year in Virginia and New Jersey and a Senate race in the Garden State as well. As much as I love State Senator Barbara Buono (D. NJ), I'm not sure if she can beat Governor Chris Christie (R. NJ). Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D. NJ) should be alright in his bid against Steve Lonegan (R. NJ). But if there's one race where it looks like Democrats are ready to come out in large numbers, it's the Virginia Governors race between Terry McAuliffe (D. VA) and right-wing psychopath Ken Cuccinelli (R. VA):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Voters in Virginia don’t like either of their choices for governor this fall, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. Yet, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAulliffe leads state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli by six points among likely voters.
Why? Mostly because Democrats appear poised to maintain their turnout advantage from 2012, when the exit poll showed 39 percent of voters identified as Democrats but just 32 percent as Republicans. Democrats outnumber Republicans by an identical seven-points among likely voters in the Quinnipiac survey, and both candidates win at least 90 percent of their fellow partisans. With independents splitting 42 percent for McAuliffe and 44 percent for Cuccinelli, the party identification difference is entirely responsible for McAuliffe’s current lead.
The partisan makeup of the electorate – particularly determining likely voters in an off-year election – is a moving target, and it’s unclear whether Democrats’ current wide advantage will hold on Election Day.
Democrats have consistently outnumbered Republicans among all Virginia adults in recent years, but Republicans have neutralized that advantage by turning out at higher rates in off-year elections. In the 2009 governor’s race, which was won by Republican Bob McDonnell, exit polling showed GOPers held a four percentage-point edge over Democrats only one year after Democrats’ six-point party identification edge in the 2008 presidential election. - Washington Post, 8/21/13
Of course voter turnout is what's needed in order to win in New York City and Virginia. So lets not let last night's loses discourage us. We have plenty more races ahead of us and we can still keep Colorado in the "Leans Democrat" category. Lets help fuel these candidates campaigns and get ready for the upcoming fights:
Governor John Hickenlooper (D. CO):
https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/...
Senator Mark Udall (D. CO):
https://secure.actblue.com/...
New York City Mayor Candidate Bill de Blasio (D. NY):
https://secure.billdeblasio.com/...
State Senator and Gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono (D. NJ):
https://buono.zissousecure.com/...
Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (D. VA):
https://donate.terrymcauliffe.com/...
P.S. Please take a moment of silence to remember the victims of 9/11 today.