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Updated,July, 2010
2010 Elections: Senate Outlook Scroll down for list of JAC-endorsed candidates
The current Senate lineup is: 56 Democrats, 41 Republicans, 2 Independents, 1 vacancy (due to the June 28th death of WV Senator Robert Byrd*). Thirty-seven seats are up for election: 19 Republican, 18 Democratic. JAC has supported 10 Senate incumbents who are running for reelection: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Russell Feingold (D-WI).
Senators Michael Bennet (CO) and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) were appointed to fill the unexpired terms of Sen. Ken Salazar, who became Secretary of Agriculture, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, now Secretary of State. To remain in those seats, the appointed senators must run in 2010. Since Salazar's term would have expired in 2010, Bennet is running for a full six-year term. Since Clinton's term would have expired in 2012, Gillibrand is running to fill the remainder - 2 years.
Appointed Senators Ted Kaufman (D-DE), George LeMieux (R-FL), Roland Burris (D-IL) and Paul Kirk (D-MA) are not running for the open seats in their states.
In Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown won the January special election for the seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. Brown serves out the remainder of Kennedy's term which ends in 2012.
The winner of the Delaware seat will serve until 2014, the unexpired term of Vice President Joe Biden.
The winners of the Florida and Illinois seats will each serve a full six-year term.
Republicans are defending 19 Senate seats, 7 of which are open because of retirements: Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio and Texas. Democrats are defending 19 seats, 5 of which are open: Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, North Dakota,and Connecticut.
*West Virginia law dictates that had Senator Byrd lived until July 3rd, his seat would have been filled for the remaining two years and six months by a gubernatorial appointee. But because he died the week before, the governor (a Democrat in this case) will make an interim appointment until the November election. However, the succession law says that if there isn't time to select candidates for the election, the appointment stands until the next full election cycle (2012).
House Outlook
The current House Lineup is: 255 Democrats, 178 Republicans, 2 Vacancies - IN-03 and NY-29. Both special elections will be held on election day, November 2. Republicans would have to win 40 additional seats to gain control of the House.
Candidates Endorsed by JAC
Senate
Open Seats:
Watch list
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Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) Donate:
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Jewish and an attorney by profession, Paul Hodes is running for the open Senate seat being vacated by Judd Gregg. Hodes just got a boost to his campaign from none other than Sarah Palin. Palin endorsed Hodes' likely opponent in the general election, Kelly Ayotte, former attorney general of NH. GOP Tea Partyer Ayotte has been anointed one of Palin's "Mama Grizzlies," a dubious distinction in NH where Republicans tend to be moderates. Since the endorsement, Hodes has pulled ahead in the polls. He currently serves on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Financial Services Committee. The contrast between Hodes and Ayotte could not be more stark. Ayotte is anti-choice, supports the Arizona immigration law, says she will fight to repeal the health care bill, and wants national recognition of concealed weapons. Hodes is 100% on JAC's issues. As a current office-holder, Hodes is vulnerable, but with friends like Palin, Ayotte may wish she had more enemies.
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Incumbents:
Endangered
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Michael Bennet (D-CO) Donate:
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Michael Bennet was appointed to fill the remainder of Senator Ken Salazar’s term after Salazar was named Secretary of the Interior in January 2009. Bennet’s mother’s family were Holocaust survivors from Poland (his mother was a hidden child). His father’s forbearers came to America on the Mayflower. After serving as editor-in-chief of the Yale law review, Bennet followed a number of career paths. Before coming to the Senate he was superintendent of schools in Denver. His “Denver Plan” was extremely successful in raising student achievement.
Many were surprised when Bennet was appointed to this seat and some underestimated him. He has proven to be a very able Senator, voting perfectly on all of JAC’s issues. He voted for the health care reform bill and for required coverage for preventive care and screening for women. He is a strong supporter of the US-Israel relationship and will work to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of the Iranian government. He faces a primary challenge from CO House Speaker Andrew Romanoff,who thought the Senate appointment should have been his.
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* Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Donate:
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Senator Barbara Boxer's re-election is a JAC priority. One of the most liberal members of the Senate and a fighter for women’s rights, Boxer today chairs the important Environment and Public Works Committee, addressing issues concerning environmental health, global warming, air and water quality, transportation and nuclear safety. She will face Republican Carly Fiorina,the former CEO of Hewlett Packard. Fiorina was a senior advisor to Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008. Her immense personal fortune could make this the most expensive race in the country. Fiorina has a tart tongue that sometimes makes her unpopular. Boxer is tenacious and will do everything to turn away her challenger. JAC has supported Senator Boxer since her first election to the House in 1982 right up to the present.
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Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Donate:
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Senator Blanche Lincoln defeated Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter in the June 8 Democratic runoff. Lincoln was the underdog going into the May 18th primary and the June 8 runoff -- attacked from the right for supporting health care reform and from the left for opposing the public option. JAC supported Senator Lincoln when she was a House member and in her two previous Senate races and will continue to do so. She faces GOP Rep. John Boozman in November in a race that will be down to the wire. Boozman is the younger brother of Fay Boozman, Lincoln’s opponent in her first Senate race.
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Harry Reid (D-NV) Donate:
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Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will be challenged by former state representative and congressional candidate Sharron Angle. Angle won a crowded primary with 40 per cent, defeating the party favorite. Reid’s poll numbers have been driven down by Nevada’s economic woes. His campaign is working to make the race about Angle. She received over $400,000 in independent funding from the Tea Party Express and $475,000 from the conservative Club for Growth. She has said she would do away with Social Security and close the Department of Education. Not much has been heard from Angle since her primary win; in her few appearances before the press, she demonstrated a lack of command of the issues. Her radical views that may have been effective in bringing out primary voters may be too extreme for the general election. Reid is a master of the legislative and political processes, bringing about passage of some of the most contentious and important legislation. This is a priority race for JAC.
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Watch list
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Russ Feingold (D-WI) Donate:
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Jewish, an independent voice in the Senate, and supported by JAC in his last 3 elections, Feingold has been fortunate to once again draw a political neophyte as his opponent.Ron Johnson emerged from the state Republican convention in
May with the party’s endorsement. He jumped into the race six days before the convention, pledging to spend millions on the campaign. Poll numbers
still show Feingold leading Johnson, but not by as comfortable a margin as Feingold would like.
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Patty Murray (D-WA) Donate:
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The National Journal says Patty Murray has made a career of being underestimated, ever since her first Senate bid when she defeated a 10-year House member. She serves as secretary of the party conference, putting her on the first rung of the elected Senate leadership ladder. Murray couples a liberal voting record with a dedication to the well-being of veterans, especially inceased funding for their health care. Her other top interests are women’s issues and education. Her votes on JAC’s issues are perfect. She’s been called “a workhorse, not a show horse” by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for her intense, behind-the-scenes efforts to get the job done. Republicans pushed to recruit a top-tier candidate to challenge Murray in November. She will face former gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi who came within inches of winning his 2004 race for governor and lost by a larger margin in 2008.
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Challengers:
Toss-up
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* Joseph Sestak (D-PA-07) Donate:
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Poll numbers show Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak tied
with former three-term GOP Rep. Pat Toomey for the seat held by Senator Arlen Specter. Specter switched parties to avoid a primary rematch with Pat Toomey, who ran to the right of Specter and almost defeated him in the GOP primary 6 years ago. Specter was defeated this year in the Democratic primary by Congressman Joe Sestak. New on the scene is a far right GOP pro-Israel group, the Emergency Committee, that has attacked Sestak’s Israel record, in an effort to woo Jewish support to Toomey. Sestak's Israel record is fine, but Toomey twice voted against foreign aid when he was a congressman.
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House
Open Seats:
Toss-up
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* Dan Seals (D-IL-10) Donate:
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Illinois’ tenth district has been represented for the past nine years by GOP Rep. Mark Kirk, but it voted for Barack Obama in 2008 by 61% and for John Kerry in 2004 by 53%. Democrats see this as an opportunity to turn a red district to blue, but it won’t be easy, given its split voting history. Seals ran twice before against Kirk and in 2008 garnered 47% of the vote. He will face first-time GOP candidate Robert Dold in November.
Dan Seals is a strong candidate who has excellent position papers on all of JAC’s issues. He shows an in-depth understanding of Israel, the Iranian nuclear threat, foreign aid and the peace process. Seals is 100% pro-choice and has been endorsed by NARAL. The son of a Chicago Bears football player and a social worker, Seals will stand up for the values of the 10th district. “The ties between the African-American and Jewish American communities are still very much alive today. I grew up in Hyde Park, went to camp at the JCC, and attended Boston University. I know and embrace the concept of Tikkun Olam. My visit to Israel in April 2006 deepened my commitment to Israel even further,” said Seals.
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Watch list
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* Ted Deutch (D-FL-19) Donate:
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Ted Deutch is JAC's pick to succeed Congressman Robert Wexler who retired earlier this month to become president of the Washington-based Center for Middle East Peace and Cooperation. Deutch is perfect on our issues. He has received the endorsement of Wexler and the rest of the Jewish JAC-supported Florida Congressional delegation. Deutch has a long and expensive political journey ahead of him. February 2nd was the first stop: the special primary election; Deutch won the primary, which allowed him to compete in the general special election April 13th. Deutch won that election to serve out the remainder of Wexler's term. Assuming he would like to serve a full two-year term, he has to run again in November, unless he faces a primary challenge, in which case he will run again first in August. To run in 3 or 4 elections in less than a year's time is grueling and expensive. Deutch is up to the task, but he will need financial support so he can mount multiple campaigns and votes so he can win multiple elections.
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Incumbents:
Endangered
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* Bill Foster (D-IL-14) Donate:
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It was described as a political earthquake when physicist Bill Foster, a Democrat, won the solidly Republican House seat held for 21 years by former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. When Hastert resigned for health reasons, a special election was held in February, 2008 to fill the remainder of Hastert's term. Foster won and won again when he ran in November for the full 2-year term. A Congressman with a unique resume, Foster has a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard and won endorsements from 28 Nobel Prize winners. He is also a successful businessman, owner of the largest theater lighting company in the country. His legislative focus these days is on financial services reform. Republicans are taking aim at Foster, trying to put the seat back in their column.
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Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ-8) Donate:
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Gabrielle Giffords was elected to the House in 2006 after being the youngest woman elected to the Arizona Senate four years earlier. She is a third generation Arizonan, won a Fulbright scholarship to study in Mexico between college and graduate school, worked briefly in New York and then returned home to take over her family’s tire business. She will face the winner of the GOP primary between Iraq veteran Jesse Kelly and state Senator Jonathan Paton. Both candidates are anti-choice, pro-gun and against the recently passed health care bill. Giffords’ positive vote for the bill was risky in a district which trends Republican. But she said that it “was the right thing to do.” Giffords was elected to this open seat in 2006 with 54% and re-elected in 2008 with 55%. Her strong pro-Israel voting record is consistent with her belief that Israel is “both a national security and moral imperative for the United States. As the first Jewish woman elected to Congress from Arizona, and one of only five congressional members of the US Holocaust Memorial Council, I am working to build an awareness of and commitment to the unbreakable bond between our nations.” Giffords votes right on all JAC’s issues. In this fractious and unpredictable political environment, Giffords will need your help to win.
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Dina Titus (D-NV-3) Donate:
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In 2008 Titus ousted three-term Republican Rep. Jon Porter from the seat in Nevada’s 3rd District, newly drawn in 2010. Dems and Republicans both think this seat belongs to them and it will be difficult for Titus to hold onto. A former college professor and Nevada Senate minority leader, Titus has worked hard to establish herself in Washington and has become a spokeswoman for Democrats on educational issues. But she has had to fend off Republican attacks that she is too closely allied with Obama and House Democratic leaders and she has had little control over the economic and political dynamics now working against her. Her opponent is emergency room physician Joe Heck – a former state senator. This race is a toss-up.
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Watch list
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Jane Harman (D-CA-36) Donate:
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JAC member and Congresswoman since 1992, Jane Harman has a perfect record on JAC's issues. She won a June 8th primary rematch with Marcy Winograd, Jewish and a self-described non-Zionist who accused Israel of institutionalized racism and extermination. Harman, a lawyer and former Congressional and White House aide, is a staunch advocate for Israel. This is a swing district and Harman will always have to be on her toes to win.
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