Campaigns & Elections articles from May 2001

Campaigns & Elections archives from May 2001

Gubernatorial races: The war is on.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... BETWEEN NOW and November 5, 2002, 38 states will elect governors. These contests will be crucial to the future of American politics. Some of them will be the most interesting campaigns we've seen in years. Currently, 29 of the 50 governors...

Women Candidates: Shattering the Glass Ceiling?(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... In 1951, only 10 women held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, one served in the U.S. Senate, 242 were in the state legislatures and there were no female governors. Fifty years later these numbers have increased to 59 in the House, 13...

New Jersey Guv's Race Heats Up.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... New Jersey and Virginia are the only states holding off-year gubernatorial contests this year, with New Jersey's primary slated for June 5. The contest to succeed former Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman - who was barred by state law from...

Name Games.(name changes and confusion)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Last November, a lawsuit resulted in keeping the polls open past the legal poll-closing time in St. Louis, Mo. Democratic Party lawyers filed the suit on behalf of a voter named Robert Otom, who was alleged to have been obstructed from voting...

Congressmen Hiring Lobbyists?(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Three New York congressmen - U.S. Reps. Maurice Hinchey, Gary Ackerman and Nydia Velazquez - have hired lobbyists to try to persuade state lawmakers to retain their three congressional districts when new lines are mapped based on the 2000...

Yost Leaves Politics.(Democratic fundraiser Shari Yost)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee's Finance Director, Shari Yost, 31, one of the nation's most successful fundraisers during the last election cycle, is leaving her job this month to join Cablevision as a New York-based vice president...

Cantwell's Loan Lament.(Sen Maria Cantwell)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Democrat Maria Cantwell, a former executive with RealNetworks, was elected to the U.S. Senate from the state of Washington last year after ponying up nearly $13 million of her own money on the campaign that defeated incumbent GOP Sen. Slade...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... A $254 Million Senate Race? Editor: Your article in the April issue, written by David Beiler, on Jon Corzine's $63 million New Jersey Senate campaign was great. I was so awed by Corzine's capacity to spend money that I put a pencil to...

PEOPLE & ORGANIZATIONS.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... NEW FIRMS: Margie Omero, former vice president of the Democratic polling firm The Mellman Group, has opened her own polling firm, Momentum Analysis. Based in Washington, D.C., the firm will work with political campaigns, corporations and non...

CAREER PATHS: HOW THEY GOT WHERE THEY ARE.(Robert C. Smith)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Robert C. Smith U.S. Senator, New Hampshire Republican A Vietnam veteran, small- town real estate agent and onetime teacher, Smith has cultivated the image of a real-life "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." He served on a local school...

Deadlock: The Inside Story of America's Closest Election.(Review)
May 1, 2001... Deadlock: The Inside Story of America's Closest Election, by the political staff of The Washington Post, Public Affairs, 271 pages. Looks at what happened after election day, Nov. 7, 2000. Follows the fascinating political, legal and public...

Vote Yes for Libraries: A Guide to Winning Ballot Measure Campaigns for Library Funding.(Review)
May 1, 2001... Vote Yes for Libraries: A Guide to Winning Ballot Measure Campaigns for Library Funding, by Anne M. Turner, McFarland & Company, 142 pages. Explains the steps that must be taken to pass ballot propositions dealing with public library...

Campaign Dynamics: The Race for Governor.(Brief Article)(Review)
May 1, 2001... Campaign Dynamics: The Race for Governor, by Thomas M. Casey, University of Michigan Press, 217 pages. Examines more than 100 gubernatorial campaigns between 1982 and 1994 to determine how campaign issues are defined and how they shape the...

Local Government Election Practices.(Review)
May 1, 2001... Local Government Election Practices, edited by Roger L. Kemp, McFarland Company, 495 pages. Sorts through election practices and methods used to elect local and municipal officials in city and county units. [**] (**.) HIGHLY...

MOVERS & SHAKERS.(Terry McAuliffe, Democratic National Committee chair)(Anne Wagner, Republican director, Missouri redistricting commission)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Terry McAuliffe Chairman, Democratic National Committee Career Background Worked on Carter/Mondale re-election campaign; finance director of the DNC and DCCC in the early 1980s. J.D., Georgetown Univ., 1984. National finance...

Shelley Moore Capito's Uphill Climb.
May 1, 2001... How an underdog candidate for Congress overcame a 30-point poll deficit, a 6-to-i direct spending imbalance and a 23-point party registration disadvantage THERE HAVE BEEN only two Republican governors since 1932 in Democratic-dominated...

How to "Primary" an Incumbent.
May 1, 2001... The stories of three challengers who defeated sitting members of Congress for their parties' nominations HOW INSURMOUNTABLE is incumbency? In recent years, only a tiny percentage of sitting members of Congress have been defeated in...

Connecticut Upset.
May 1, 2001... How a longshot challenger bucked tough attacks and top-of-the-ticket trends to defeat a 20-year incumbent "HE HAD THE MONEY, he had the coattails. He certainly had the Democratic Party working for him and with him," said Connecticut...

ETHNIC POLITICAL SITES.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... POLITICALCIRCUS.COM www.politicalcircus.com HISPANICTRENDS.COM www.hispanictrends.com Though attracting a wider audience may be challenging, both politicalcircus.com and hispanictrends.com treat their chosen subject well --...

Online advertising: Ugly duckling?(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... SENDORS AND BROKERS of online advertising space must be fiddling with their Power-Point charts these days, trying to superimpose a happy face on the plunging trend lines of the dot-com economy. Their situation reminds me of that old joke about...

Money and Politics: Researching the Numbers on the Web.
May 1, 2001... THE INTERNET HAS revolutionized campaign finance reporting, whether reformers and their detractors realize it or not. Until a few years ago, the only people who had access to federal candidate finance records were those with the time to...

Free and Easy Computer Tools.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... As YOU ASSESS your next campaign's computer needs, chances are you can do it more productively, whether you're a computer guru or newbie. And you can do it without spending a dime with free software programs and Web services. Today you can...

STATE RESEARCH.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... 50STATES.COM www.50states.com WHAT IS THE HIGHEST point in South Dakota? What is the state flower of Arizona? For those not familiar with Harney Peak or the Saguaro cactus blossom, 50states.com is an invaluable resource for...

STATE ELECTION SITE.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... WISPOLITICS.COM www.wispolitics.com WHILE MANY election sites are still taking a break in this odd-year, Wispolitics.com has its URL planted firmly in 2001. The site features redistricting news, legislative updates and thoughtful...

Streaming Video Hits the Big Time... And the Small Time.
May 1, 2001... MOST CAMPAIGNERS have discovered by now that the World Wide Web is a critical tool in modern elections. A Web page of rich graphics and photos with text outlining positions and platforms is a valuable resource for creating awareness,...

Advice to Fundraisers: Write a Contract.
May 1, 2001... THE BALLOON DROP was wonderful, the table decorations were captivating, the donors were complimentary and the "rubber chicken" dinner was remarkably tasty. Even the tough-to-please campaign manager and candidate were thrilled. You kept costs...

Getting Press Coverage in Campaigns.
May 1, 2001... Competing for earned media in major markets WE INTERRUPT our coverage of the gubernatorial debates to bring you breaking news. The California Highway Patrol is engaged in a high-speed pursuit..." Campaign schools spend an entire day...

Initiatives and the technology age.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... ALMOST EVERY CONSULTANT who has been involved with an initiative campaign will tell you that it is not easy to place an initiative on the ballot. They know this difficulty arises solely from the tremendous regulations and hurdles a state places...

POLLIE WINNERS.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The following political TV spots from the 2000 election cycle were awarded first place Pollies by the American Association of Political Consultants. The first spot was used in a San Francisco taxi ballot proposition campaign. Its reference to...

Hiring fundraisers, Using billboards.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... ALSO: Are likely voter screens skewing poll results? I'm running for the state Senate in 2002. I expect my campaign to spend about $400,000. Is that enough to hire a professional fundraiser? Yes, with three conditions: One, you...

MEDIA.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... HEADLINESPOT.COM www.headlinespot.com WHO SAID portals are dead? Headlinespot.com is a news portal that covers almost all of its bases in providing links to news sources around the country. The site is well organized, with publications...