New Mexico

Republicans picked up Secretary of State.

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by: Johnny Longtorso @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 14:51:38 PM UTC

Thanks

Corrected.  I thought I was missing something there, but didn't bother to double check.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11

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by: spiderdem @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 14:59:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Great rundown

Though Republicans ran the table in Arizona with 7 seats (AG, SOS, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mine Inspector and two Corporation Commissioner seats). Each of the Corporation Commissioners is elected statewide and not from regional districts like in some states, so I don't know if that was the root of the oversight.

It's a shame; really looked like we were going to hold onto the Attorney General's office and perhaps even pick up Treasurer or SPI.

22, Democrat, AZ-01
Peace. Love. Gabby.

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by: Nico @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 15:10:37 PM UTC

The two corporate commission seats

did not make the Green Papers cut.

What do you think of the AG candidate for the Dems as a Senate or Gub candidate in the future?  She performed really well and seems like an energetic candidate.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11

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by: spiderdem @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 16:14:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Green Papers need to get with the program

As for Rotellini, she would be an outstanding Senate or Gubernatorial candidate, but I think that she's only really interested in serving as Attorney General or something similar (Maricopa County Attorney? Democrats didn't even contest that this cycle, because Maricopa County Democratic Party is beyond incompetent). I'd love to see her run for just about anything, and she's actually maintaining her website, which suggests that she intends to run for something, sometime.

22, Democrat, AZ-01
Peace. Love. Gabby.

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by: Nico @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 16:33:15 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

In Florida and others

It's really puzzling that voters in many races consider party labels way more than the competence of individual official/candidate.  In Florida, for instance, the Republican tide mean the GOP sweep in all 3 cabinet races (Admittedly, I would have voted for CFO Jeff Attwater and Ag Commissioner Adam Putnam for their extensive banking and agricultural experiences respectively).  

My main question is, what made voters to believe Pam Bondi, an assistant Hillsborough County Attorney, would be a more competent AG than Dan Gelber, a one-time federal prosecutor? (AG is one of the few statewide cabinet offices that I will vote mostly for Dems due to the more ideological nature of the office.  Another example would be the Secretary of State where it is an elected position, as I care strongly about fair administration of elections.  The SoS in Florida is a gubernatorial appointee, tough)  

Allow one off topic comment for me: It is high time to make all statewide cabinet positions non-partisan to increase the likelihood for voters to vote on the merits of individual candidates over party lines.

31, Asian-American Male, FL-19 (former), FL-08 (short-time) and MS-02 (current)

31, Independent, MS-02 (Hometown FL-19)

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by: ECPolitico @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 17:14:08 PM UTC

Bondi

In fairness, she was a prosecutor, not a County Attorney
(which deals primarily in civil matters), and her experience was not at all trivial.  She was a riser in the State Attorney's office in the Tampa area, and has some serious substantive experience in criminal law including major trial work.  She looks young, but is in her mid-40's.

That said, Gelber was a whiz kid federal prosecutor at 25 and has A LOT of very unique and sophisticated legal experience.  So while I agree that there is a disparity in expertise, it is more because of Gelber's unique talents than Bondi being an unqualified chump.

Bondi was elected because she had an "R" next to her name and did not have any meaningful, serious baggage weighing her down in a state that broke hard right in terms of voter turnout.  Does not hurt that she is telegenic either.

I don't mind the partisan election of statewide officials.  So much of the substantive work is done by rank and file lifers who generally are very qualified.  The AG's office did a lot of good things for consumers under Charlie Crist, and I assure you it was not because he was a mental giant personally.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11

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by: spiderdem @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 17:29:49 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What's really worrying about

the FL downticket races is that Republicans dominated there almost as much as Democrats did in New York. And this has been the case pretty consistently for years.

I don't get the FL electorate.  

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by: andgarden @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 17:55:29 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

FL electorate

always leans red that's the problem. Democrats can only rely on Southeast Florida and sometimes North Florida (though that's probably a goner now) to win statewide. And SE. Florida only really delivers for Democrats in presidential years where young people and minorities (African Americans to be exact) only come out in great numbers and for a person named Barack Obama. Even then Republicans can blunt the Dem's margins in SE. Florida by bringing out the Cuban American vote in force. Just like in 2000 when the Clinton Administration pissed off the Cubans during the Elian Gonzales debacle.

Its like how Democrats have been able to hold the governor's office in Washington state since the 1980's. The full force of King County comes into play during presidential years.

19, Male, Independent, CA-12

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by: ehstronghold @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 21:04:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

On average

it's about 2-3 points more GOP than the country as a whole. Therefore, in a bad political climate for the Democrats, the GOP will do VERY well in Florida.

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by: thematt523 @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 23:02:44 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Is There Ever an Actual "Non-partisan" Election?

I realize there are races run that way, like Superintendent of Education in California and some judicial races here and there, but in such races the candidates still typically have a fairly clear party affiliation.

And I'd say that's a good thing. Most voters know very little about who they are voting on, or specific public policy issues, and of course famously they can't name Supreme Court justices or find Afghanistan on a map. Maybe it'd be nice if the electorate was more informed - but that's not what we've got. So actually having party ID identified is very useful to these low information voters, as it's an easy cue about whose values and issue priorities they are more likely to agree with.

If you want people to vote on the individual candidates' resumes and backgrounds, probably a more useful reform would be to reform campaigning - force more debates, or have candidates spend money on different types of advertising.

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by: armand @ Sun Jan 16, 2011 at 22:17:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Voting for a cohesive party is better than trying to vote on all individual candidates

I got my bachelor's in Political Science; I can name every US senator and probably half of the House without double checking, and I couldn't remember every person I voted for in November outside of that I voted a straight Democratic ticket.

When you have to vote for at least 5 different candidates (not including any local bond issues or state constitutional amendments) the best thing you can have are cohesive political parties that you can vote for or against in any given area (which also means that some races which we do vote on should simply stop being elected offices, I mean really, why should a sheriff be elected to a post that requires very specific qualifications to be effective at?)

Politics and Other Random Topics

24, Male, Democrat, NM-01, Chairman of the Atheist Caucus, and Majority Leader of the "Going to Hell" caucus!

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by: DGM @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 00:56:51 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I think non-partisan elections have some value to them

Particularly in big cities that are 80-90% Democratic and where the Democratic primary effectively decides the winner of the election. Unless the Democrats have open primaries (don't know about other cities, but in DC they don't), then the 10-20% of the city that is registered Republican or Green or whatever can't participate in choosing who governs them unless they re-register as Democrats. Non-partisan elections solve this problem.

Male, VA-08

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by: drobertson @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 04:23:12 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

NY-AG

For the same reason that Eric Schneiderman beat Dan Donovan by double-digits, although the credentials of Donovan far outweigjed those of Schneiderman, people vote partisan line.

22, Male, Conservative Republican, anti-teabag, NY-8

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by: MosheM @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 01:04:25 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

True

but also even though Eric Schneiderman was a member of the NY State senate but at least to my knowledge he wasn't part of the crooked and corrupt faction of the Democratic caucus. Tom DiNapoli on the other hand....he can thank the stars that there were enough straight D voters to give him a 3.4% margin of victory.  

19, Male, Independent, CA-12

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by: ehstronghold @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 02:29:59 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Non-partisan elections

They work pretty well for school boards, and even municipal elections, though for the biggest cities they don't seem to help.  (They still don't hurt; they just don't seem to help.)

At a state level, the result can be even worse.  The problem is that the way to get on the ballot (or to get funding to get your name out) is to rely on party activists, which selects for the most extreme elements of each party.

Michigan's Supreme Court has been horribly partisan for much of the last 20 years.  That said, they were apparently better in the deeper past, so the problems may not be inevitable -- I just don't see any way to dig back out under our current system.

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by: JimJ @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 01:26:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It is interesting

For me the less expected defeat at statewide level was in the race for WI-ST (state treasurer), and it was not a big, big surprise. D Sass was not the strongest incumbent. In this race the information was very low, I see not a poll of this race in all the cycle.

Before the elections I was thinking too the democratic candidates for IA-SS (secretary of state) and for VT-SA (state auditor) would win.

In the other side the democratic candidates for CO-ST (state treasurer) and DE-SA (state auditor) surprise me a little having a little better results than I expect (but still losing).

Maybe we can have here some come back. Maybe M Mauro for IA-SS or C Kennedy for CO-ST as example.

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by: abgin @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 00:52:37 AM UTC

MI has 4 state officers

The governor and Lt. Governor are elected as a ticket, but the Secretary of State and Attorney General are elected separately.  The GOP took all 3 elections/4 offices, rather than just 2/2.

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by: JimJ @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 01:17:56 AM UTC

Diary is only about

downticket races.  No governors, and lieutenant governors only if elected separately from the governor.  Your comment confirms that there are two elected officers downticket in MI.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11

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by: spiderdem @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 01:37:03 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It would be interesting

to know how well Arkansas Republicans would have done if their state party was actually well run.  You know, if they had actually contested more state legislative districts.

Libertarian secular Republican, MO-7

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by: AC1 @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 01:56:36 AM UTC

My guess is really, really well.

I bet they would have taken all of the statewide seats except Governor and maybe AG, and would have pushed both houses of the legislature to within striking distance, although they had a long, long way to climb to get to a majority in either house.  Might have also been able to take out Ross if they had run a top tier candidate (to the extent that one even existed in that part of AR).

I had long been in denial that things are moving quickly towards the Republicans in states like AR, but now I'm a believer, as the Monkees would say.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11

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by: spiderdem @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 02:17:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

they got within striking distance

running the weak campaign they did.  The Senate is 20-15 and the House is 55-45.  They left many other seats uncontested because they did not think they could win them.  If they would have contested 90 or so House seats they would have won the House.  There is a story across the border in OK about a Republican beating an incumbent Dem in Little Dixie who almost never left his house and spent like $100.

Libertarian secular Republican, MO-7

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by: AC1 @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 02:24:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Wow

did not realize they got that close.  Yeah they could have taken both houses easily if they had ran more candidates.

34, WM, Democrat, FL-11

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by: spiderdem @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 02:35:03 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ironically

Mike Beebe romped to victory over his opponent who wasn't a sacrificial lamb either.

19, Male, Independent, CA-12

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by: ehstronghold @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 02:36:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I have a little more doubth here

I think the republicans win the winnable statewide races, and run not for the not winnable races. The reasons for tell this:

- The republicans win the race for Commissioner of State Lands only by 5.10% when it was an open seat.

- The republicans win the race for LG only by 2.04% when it was an open seat.

- The republicans win the race for SoS only by 2.58% when it was other open seat.

- The republicans run not for SA. The former democratic secretary of state (2 terms) and former commissioner of state lands (5 terms), C Daniels, wins his 8th statewide race.

- The republicans run not for ST. The democratic incumbent win the reelection.

- The republicans run not for AT. The democratic incumbent win the reelection.

I think the republicans run not for these three races because the democratic candidates are not defeatable even in 2010 wave.

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by: abgin @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 03:26:02 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I was wrong

he spent $70.

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-ele...

Libertarian secular Republican, MO-7

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by: AC1 @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 02:25:28 AM UTC

Dear

god that's horrible. Though seeing in 2008 Oklahoma actually moved to the right with the Republicans taking the state senate, it was enviable Democrats were in for a wipeout in a bad year. I don't think even Drew Edmondson would of won if he decided to stay at the AG position. Kim Holland was the closest though, she only lost by 9 points to someone who in one of his ads used bobble heads to attack her for being an Obama delegate to the 2008 DNC Convention.  

19, Male, Independent, CA-12

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by: ehstronghold @ Mon Jan 17, 2011 at 02:35:26 AM UTC

[ Parent ]