Kentucky Senate Race
Nov. 3rd, 2004 08:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sisabetPersonally I was shocked the race was this close, cause, well - I know where I live. But for a brief moment last night I experienced a shining moment of faith in my people. It was brief but it happened. Then more precincts reported.
And how sad is it that my chosen candidate for senate is also the person who sponsored the state constitutional ammendment banning gay marriage? And he was the liberal candidate? And - also - according to Bunning - gay.
I think, according to my country (I'm just reading the signals here) homosexual activity is only okay if it is something we force prisoners of war to do as a form of humiliation. Now, if it is engaged in consensually, by two people who want to pledge themselves to each other and give back to the community as a couple - why, hell no. That won't fly at all.
I remind myself today that the fact that there is such an overwhelming conservative backlash is just a sign of how much and how fast change - real change is happening. Twenty years ago this was not even an issue. Ten years ago this was swept under a rug. Change takes time, but before it can happen it has to first matter and be addressed. This is a start.
Remember when Republicans loved money and hated big government? Yeah. Good times. But change happens - eventually. I mean - my sex has not even had the right to vote in this country for a full century yet. I know people that are older than a woman's right to vote.
And that took time. As does everything.
Today sucks though.
Bunning hangs on to his U.S. Senate seat
RACE WAS CONTENTIOUS, PERSONAL
By Ryan Alessi, Delano Massey And Karla Ward
HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU
Republican Jim Bunning hung on to his U.S. Senate seat by nearly 22,000 votes last night, despite a series of missteps down the stretch that turned his expected cruise to re-election into what he called a "difficult struggle."
In a race that became increasingly contentious and personal during the final weeks, Bunning beat Democratic state Senator Daniel Mongiardo 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent, with 99.6 percent of precincts reporting.
Democrats repeatedly questioned Bunning's mental fitness and his behavior, while Republicans described Mongiardo as a liberal aligned with presidential candidate John Kerry and implied that the 44-year-old bachelor is gay.
"Obviously, it was a tough race -- the toughest race in my political career," Bunning told supporters at a Northern Kentucky GOP rally during his victory speech. "I will work every single day and give you everything I have."
Bunning is no stranger to bitterly fought campaigns. He first won the Senate seat in 1998 by squeaking past Demo-cratic Rep. Scotty Baesler by just 6,766 votes. As in that race, Bunning again largely relied on strong Republican support in northern and southern Kentucky.
Standing with his wife, Mary, and Kentucky's senior senator, Mitch McConnell, Bunning thanked voters for "showing the vote of confidence."
But two months ago, few expected such a close race. Since August, Bunning saw his 20-point lead in the polls virtually disappear, largely after a series of gaffes.
Mongiardo, a little-known state senator from Hazard, crisscrossed the state criticizing Bunning for being "out of touch." As an ear, nose and throat surgeon from Hazard, Mongiardo made health care his primary campaign platform.
"Only in America can a skinny kid with a funny last name from the mountains of Appalachia do anything close to what I've done in the last year," he said in his concession speech.
"We almost accomplished what everyone said was impossible," he added.
Mongiardo drew most of his support from the urban areas of Lexington and Louisville.
For most of the race, Bunning's campaign maintained an enormous cash advantage. Bunning broke the state's fund-raising record for a Senate race this fall with nearly $6.5 million.
But Democratic groups came to Mongiardo's aid during the last two weeks. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee poured in nearly $1.4 million and ran several commercials attacking Bunning on Mongiardo's behalf. Another group funded largely by Demo-crats in California, Citizens for a Strong Senate, also bought air time at the last minute.
The help came perhaps a week or two late, said Jennifer Duffy, national analyst for the Cook Political Report in Washington. But Duffy said that it was still a good gamble for national Democrats as they sought to take over the U.S. Senate. Republicans have controlled the chamber with 51 seats.
Bunning's victory gave Republicans some breathing room. The GOP appeared to pick up seats in Georgia and South Carolina but lose in Colorado and Illinois.
In the Kentucky race, Mongiardo jumped out to a 10-percentage-point lead as results began trickling in, but that margin shrank steadily and all eyes focused on Western Kentucky.
Both campaigns had targeted the region in recent days, but Bunning carried the most populous areas around Paducah and Hopkinsville.
When Bunning finally took the lead around 9 p.m., Demo-crats at the Lexington Hyatt groaned, and some gasped. At the same moment in Northern Kentucky, Republicans at the Airport Marriott diverted their attention from an acceptance speech by the winning 4th Congressional District candidate Geoff Davis and began to clap.
Democrats declared Mon-giardo's loss a moral victory because of the tight finish.
"This even a month ago was supposed to be a blowout race," said state Treasurer Jonathan Miller. Mongiardo's showing represents a resurgence for the Democratic Party after its loss of the governor's office last year, he said.
Mongiardo's support also could be attributed to his "moderate stances," which were close to Bunning's on several issues, including the war in Iraq, said D. Stephen Voss, associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky.
"It just shows you that, when the Democratic Party offers a moderate candidate, they get some play," Voss said.
But, with all the other GOP victories in the state -- President Bush's win, Davis's upset of favored Democrat Nick Clooney, and a resounding victory for Rep. Anne Northup in Louisville -- the close U.S. Senate race actually reflects Bunning's poor campaign performance, said Joe Gersh-tenson, director of the Center for History and Politics at Eastern Kentucky University.
"It says that Bunning needs to be a little bit more careful if he's going to run for a third term," Gershtenson said. "He probably said a couple things that he shouldn't have."
Earlier in the year, Bunning told an audience of Republicans that Mongiardo resembled one of Saddam Hussein's sons. He offered an apology months later.
Bunning failed to appear with Mongiardo at a Lexington television station in the only debate between the candidates, instead participating via satellite from Washington. And two weeks ago in Louisville, Bunning told reporters that he "does not watch the national news. And I don't read the papers."
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee built a commercial around that one quote, asking whether that's why Bunning hasn't done anything about 79,000 uninsured children and 49,000 lost jobs in the state.
The gaffes also fueled rumors about Bunning's health. The whispers became a roar last month after some media outlets questioned whether Bunning was mentally competent.
Bunning denied the rumors and said Democrats were running a smear campaign.
He dug in over the last week of the race, linking Mongiardo to presidential candidate John Kerry and calling them both too liberal for Kentucky. Starting Friday, his campaign flooded the television airwaves with a commercial urging voters to reject the "Kerry-Mongiardo agenda."
It cited Mongiardo's position against a U.S. constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Both Mongiardo and Kerry have said it is a state issue.
The ad didn't mention, however, that Mongiardo was a co-sponsor in the state Senate of a bill that put the state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the ballot. Voters overwhelmingly approved that amendment last night.
Several Republicans escalated the attack during Bunning's five-day, 25-stop bus tour last week.
State Senate President Dav-id Williams, R-Burkesville, and Republican whip Elizabeth Tori of Radcliff, raised questions of Mongiardo's sexual orientation. Williams called him "limp-wristed" and a "switch hitter," but claimed he was trying to illustrate his weakness as legislator.
And how sad is it that my chosen candidate for senate is also the person who sponsored the state constitutional ammendment banning gay marriage? And he was the liberal candidate? And - also - according to Bunning - gay.
I think, according to my country (I'm just reading the signals here) homosexual activity is only okay if it is something we force prisoners of war to do as a form of humiliation. Now, if it is engaged in consensually, by two people who want to pledge themselves to each other and give back to the community as a couple - why, hell no. That won't fly at all.
I remind myself today that the fact that there is such an overwhelming conservative backlash is just a sign of how much and how fast change - real change is happening. Twenty years ago this was not even an issue. Ten years ago this was swept under a rug. Change takes time, but before it can happen it has to first matter and be addressed. This is a start.
Remember when Republicans loved money and hated big government? Yeah. Good times. But change happens - eventually. I mean - my sex has not even had the right to vote in this country for a full century yet. I know people that are older than a woman's right to vote.
And that took time. As does everything.
Today sucks though.
Bunning hangs on to his U.S. Senate seat
RACE WAS CONTENTIOUS, PERSONAL
By Ryan Alessi, Delano Massey And Karla Ward
HERALD-LEADER FRANKFORT BUREAU
Republican Jim Bunning hung on to his U.S. Senate seat by nearly 22,000 votes last night, despite a series of missteps down the stretch that turned his expected cruise to re-election into what he called a "difficult struggle."
In a race that became increasingly contentious and personal during the final weeks, Bunning beat Democratic state Senator Daniel Mongiardo 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent, with 99.6 percent of precincts reporting.
Democrats repeatedly questioned Bunning's mental fitness and his behavior, while Republicans described Mongiardo as a liberal aligned with presidential candidate John Kerry and implied that the 44-year-old bachelor is gay.
"Obviously, it was a tough race -- the toughest race in my political career," Bunning told supporters at a Northern Kentucky GOP rally during his victory speech. "I will work every single day and give you everything I have."
Bunning is no stranger to bitterly fought campaigns. He first won the Senate seat in 1998 by squeaking past Demo-cratic Rep. Scotty Baesler by just 6,766 votes. As in that race, Bunning again largely relied on strong Republican support in northern and southern Kentucky.
Standing with his wife, Mary, and Kentucky's senior senator, Mitch McConnell, Bunning thanked voters for "showing the vote of confidence."
But two months ago, few expected such a close race. Since August, Bunning saw his 20-point lead in the polls virtually disappear, largely after a series of gaffes.
Mongiardo, a little-known state senator from Hazard, crisscrossed the state criticizing Bunning for being "out of touch." As an ear, nose and throat surgeon from Hazard, Mongiardo made health care his primary campaign platform.
"Only in America can a skinny kid with a funny last name from the mountains of Appalachia do anything close to what I've done in the last year," he said in his concession speech.
"We almost accomplished what everyone said was impossible," he added.
Mongiardo drew most of his support from the urban areas of Lexington and Louisville.
For most of the race, Bunning's campaign maintained an enormous cash advantage. Bunning broke the state's fund-raising record for a Senate race this fall with nearly $6.5 million.
But Democratic groups came to Mongiardo's aid during the last two weeks. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee poured in nearly $1.4 million and ran several commercials attacking Bunning on Mongiardo's behalf. Another group funded largely by Demo-crats in California, Citizens for a Strong Senate, also bought air time at the last minute.
The help came perhaps a week or two late, said Jennifer Duffy, national analyst for the Cook Political Report in Washington. But Duffy said that it was still a good gamble for national Democrats as they sought to take over the U.S. Senate. Republicans have controlled the chamber with 51 seats.
Bunning's victory gave Republicans some breathing room. The GOP appeared to pick up seats in Georgia and South Carolina but lose in Colorado and Illinois.
In the Kentucky race, Mongiardo jumped out to a 10-percentage-point lead as results began trickling in, but that margin shrank steadily and all eyes focused on Western Kentucky.
Both campaigns had targeted the region in recent days, but Bunning carried the most populous areas around Paducah and Hopkinsville.
When Bunning finally took the lead around 9 p.m., Demo-crats at the Lexington Hyatt groaned, and some gasped. At the same moment in Northern Kentucky, Republicans at the Airport Marriott diverted their attention from an acceptance speech by the winning 4th Congressional District candidate Geoff Davis and began to clap.
Democrats declared Mon-giardo's loss a moral victory because of the tight finish.
"This even a month ago was supposed to be a blowout race," said state Treasurer Jonathan Miller. Mongiardo's showing represents a resurgence for the Democratic Party after its loss of the governor's office last year, he said.
Mongiardo's support also could be attributed to his "moderate stances," which were close to Bunning's on several issues, including the war in Iraq, said D. Stephen Voss, associate professor of political science at the University of Kentucky.
"It just shows you that, when the Democratic Party offers a moderate candidate, they get some play," Voss said.
But, with all the other GOP victories in the state -- President Bush's win, Davis's upset of favored Democrat Nick Clooney, and a resounding victory for Rep. Anne Northup in Louisville -- the close U.S. Senate race actually reflects Bunning's poor campaign performance, said Joe Gersh-tenson, director of the Center for History and Politics at Eastern Kentucky University.
"It says that Bunning needs to be a little bit more careful if he's going to run for a third term," Gershtenson said. "He probably said a couple things that he shouldn't have."
Earlier in the year, Bunning told an audience of Republicans that Mongiardo resembled one of Saddam Hussein's sons. He offered an apology months later.
Bunning failed to appear with Mongiardo at a Lexington television station in the only debate between the candidates, instead participating via satellite from Washington. And two weeks ago in Louisville, Bunning told reporters that he "does not watch the national news. And I don't read the papers."
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee built a commercial around that one quote, asking whether that's why Bunning hasn't done anything about 79,000 uninsured children and 49,000 lost jobs in the state.
The gaffes also fueled rumors about Bunning's health. The whispers became a roar last month after some media outlets questioned whether Bunning was mentally competent.
Bunning denied the rumors and said Democrats were running a smear campaign.
He dug in over the last week of the race, linking Mongiardo to presidential candidate John Kerry and calling them both too liberal for Kentucky. Starting Friday, his campaign flooded the television airwaves with a commercial urging voters to reject the "Kerry-Mongiardo agenda."
It cited Mongiardo's position against a U.S. constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Both Mongiardo and Kerry have said it is a state issue.
The ad didn't mention, however, that Mongiardo was a co-sponsor in the state Senate of a bill that put the state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the ballot. Voters overwhelmingly approved that amendment last night.
Several Republicans escalated the attack during Bunning's five-day, 25-stop bus tour last week.
State Senate President Dav-id Williams, R-Burkesville, and Republican whip Elizabeth Tori of Radcliff, raised questions of Mongiardo's sexual orientation. Williams called him "limp-wristed" and a "switch hitter," but claimed he was trying to illustrate his weakness as legislator.
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no subject
Date: 2004-11-03 06:57 am (UTC)*hugs you*
no subject
Date: 2004-11-03 07:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-03 09:04 am (UTC)Sounds like here in Oklahoma -- although Carson actively fought off the "liberal" epithet, which Coburn used as an insult. Anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage, and yet what passes for a Democrat here in Oklahoma. I still can't believe they voted in the guy who said that lesbianism was such a problem in some Oklahoma schools that they wouldn't let girls go to the bathroom by themselves... And the guy who supposedly sterilized poor white underage girls without permission. At least it got us a mention on the Daily Show. One more moment of national spotlight for Oklahoma. Eeeee.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-03 10:09 am (UTC)You are wise. Thanks for posting.
ps. Sorry about Bunning. Jesus.
no subject
Date: 2004-11-03 10:26 am (UTC)