Congressmen and Presidential politics
Kari's post on Dem governors and Presidential politics got me thinking about how congressmen might also effect things.
In the last election Bush was able to steal 41 Democrat congressional districts away from Kerry, who only converted 10 GOP districts. While most of the George Bush Dem districts were in the south, there were a few notable Western districts that flipped.
Colorado 3 -- John Salazar, Mr. Send a farmer to Washington.
Utah 2 -- Jim Matheson, one of the four members of the congressional Mormon caucus.
California 18 -- Dennis Cardoza, central valley, kind of.
California 47 -- A dramatically more Hispanic distric than when Bob Dornan there, but still one that votes for Bush.
Oregon 5 -- Darlene Hooley, suburban Oregon. Maybe Kari can shed more light on this fellow fine lady.
Washington 3 -- Probably the district that I know the best, since its my district. Brian Baird has easily been reelected four times now due to support in rural areas of the Washington coast, in suburban Portland and the liberal bastion of Olympia.
In another post on this topic, I said simply that these Democrats have one thing in common, suburbs. I'm thinking now that the coyote factor may be in play though, that these Democrats have to be smart enough to work with a diverse group of constituents. That skill would be lost on a more national based, East coast origin, Presidential campaign.
Emmett O'Connell | July 15, 2005 | Comment on This Post (3 so far) |
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Comments
UT-2 fits your thesis. Jim Matheson’s far-flung district comprises the eastern half of Salt Lake County, the northern tip of Utah County, and 14 eastern and southern Utah counties. Much of it, by population though not by area, would feel like suburbia. Also Jim is a moderate, generally, but not inflexibly voting pro-life, pro-civil rights, pro-business, pro-gun, pro-education, pro-fiscal responsibility. Education and nuclear waste transportation and dumping have been good local issues for him.
Posted by: Leo Brown | Jul 15, 2005 5:23:03 PM
Darlene is a woman's name, and Darlene Hooley is a woman.
Posted by: JMG | Jul 15, 2005 6:15:46 PM
Oregon 5 is a tough district for Democrats - stretching from the wealth bedroom suburbs of Lake Oswego and West Linn, rural countryside, the inexplicably conservative state capitol (Salem), over to the rural coast counties of Lincoln and Tillamook, and just touching into the Corvallis area.
The district used to flip back and forth, until Darlene won it in 1996. (Previously held by: Bunn/R, Kopetski/D, Smith/R) Hooley has been a smart member of congress with lots of attention to constituent service, the right moderate views for her district, and the right just-folks attitude.
[Disclaimer: I worked on Darlene's 1996 campaign, in which we ejected Jim Bunn - a prototypical '94 Gingrich revolutionary. I haven't worked for her since.]
Posted by: Kari Chisholm | Jul 17, 2005 7:22:28 AM
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(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
