PrintVoters weren’t buying it.
The election has been transformed into what can only be described as a referendum on the direction of the nation. And you don’t have to look deep into the polls to figure out why. Voter approval ratings for President Bush and Congress are scraping historic lows. Much of the growing anger seems to stem from a lack of accountability among congressional leaders and a willingness to rubber-stamp White House plans on everything—from the war in Iraq to the No Child Left Behind Act to calls for the privatization of Social Security and pensions.
The “leadership factor” was a major consideration when the AFT and its affiliates interviewed candidates to recommend to members in 2006. As always, the union looked for candidates whose agendas went beyond power for power’s sake. The candidates who made the cut have shown they are willing to ask the hard questions and make the tough choices to put Americans’ national and economic security back at the top of the agenda.
Here are some of the key races to watch as Election Day draws near. Names of AFT-recommended candidates appear in bold type.
Connecticut: Ned Lamont ran a spirited, successful grass-roots campaign that earned him the Democratic nomination. AFT members in Connecticut are backing Lamont, who has vowed to stand up to the Bush administration on issues ranging from the shameful underfunding of the federal No Child Left Behind Act to the disastrous execution of the war in Iraq. Facing only token GOP opposition, Lamont’s strongest challenge comes from Sen. Joe Lieberman who, having lost the Democratic primary, is running as an independent.
Maine: Republican incumbent Olympia Snowe is one of the strongest GOP contenders this year, and it’s easy to see why. Snowe, an AFL-CIO-endorsed candidate, compiled one of the strongest AFT voting records among Senate Republicans in the last Congress. She faces Democrat Jean Hay Bright, who is making her second Senate bid.
Maryland: Democratic Senate candidate Ben Cardin has compiled a stellar 97 percent AFT voting record over 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. He remains one of the strongest opponents of school vouchers in Congress and has fought to protect workers’ pensions and healthcare benefits. Cardin is holding a solid lead against Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, the GOP candidate, who is an outspoken supporter of the Bush agenda.
Michigan: Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow has rallied voters around her call for federal tax policies that protect American jobs. Stabenow is campaigning for fair trade laws and federal investments in both education and job training. Keeping privatizers off Social Security also is a priority for the senator, who is leading in recent polls against Republican challenger Mike Bouchard, the sheriff of Oakland County.
Minnesota: CAFTA (The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement) has put more than 30,000 Minnesota jobs at risk and has become a major issue in the state’s Senate race. Democratic candidate Amy Klobuchar has been a tough critic of CAFTA and other trade laws that have threatened good jobs and helped bleed the Midwest of work than can support families. Polls show her leading U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, the GOP contender who was the deciding vote for CAFTA in the House of Representatives.
Missouri: Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill has launched a tough, competitive campaign that puts stronger public education, better access to healthcare, lower prescription drug costs and a higher minimum wage at the top of the agenda. McCaskill, the state auditor, has criticized incumbent GOP Sen. Jim Talent for refusing to support a higher minimum wage and for votes in the Senate that left 40,000 Missouri children without health insurance.
Montana: Many Washington insiders are paying the price for their dealings with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff—and Conrad Burns is no exception. Burns, the incumbent Republican senator, was by many accounts the biggest Capitol Hill beneficiary of Abramoff’s influence peddling. He is trailing his Democratic challenger Jon Tester, the president of the state Senate. Tester has run an inspired grass-roots campaign to restore integrity to the U.S. Senate seat and to fight for strong healthcare and labor legislation.
New Jersey: Incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez has rallied broad support from AFT affiliates, thanks to his 100 percent AFT voting record spanning 14 years in the U.S. House and Senate. Menendez has emphasized the need to protect families against the skyrocketing cost of higher education, and he has become one of the Senate’s most vocal supporters of Pell Grant increases. He faces GOP state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. in a race where turnout will hold the key to victory.
Ohio: Fully funding and fixing the federal No Child Left Behind Act is central to Sherrod Brown’s bid to become the next senator from Ohio. Brown, the Democratic challenger who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1992, also is pressing for federal action on the school infrastructure crisis, along with affordable health insurance and pension protection for all workers. Facing him is GOP incumbent Mike DeWine, whose re-election bid has failed to energize many voters in a state that has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs in recent years.
Pennsylvania: Sen. Rick Santorum has become one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents this year, thanks in large part to his wall-to-wall approval of the Bush administration’s agenda. He is trailing Democratic challenger and state treasurer Bob Casey, who opposes Social Security privatization and has placed strong schools, access to quality healthcare and labor-friendly trade agreements at the heart of his campaign.
Rhode Island: Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse has emphasized that his first act as a U.S. senator would be to vote against the current GOP leadership and its ongoing efforts to privatize Social Security, gut overtime pay and outsource American jobs. The message is resonating in the state, with Whitehouse currently holding a lead in the polls against GOP incumbent Lincoln Chafee.
Tennessee: Democrat Harold Ford Jr. is vying to become the South’s first African-American senator since Reconstruction. Ford, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is centering his Senate bid around the need for strong pension laws and curbs on unfair trade policies. He faces Bob Corker, the GOP challenger and former mayor of Chattanooga, in this contest for an open Senate seat.
Virginia: A racial slur uttered by GOP Sen. George Allen on the stump, combined with charges that he had made similar comments in the past, has mired the incumbent’s campaign in controversy. The race is neck and neck, with momentum clearly favoring Democratic challenger Jim Webb, the former Navy secretary who has campaigned hard on core issues such as job creation, stronger healthcare and laws to preserve pension integrity.
Washington: Incumbent Democrat Maria Cantwell has focused her re-election bid on access to higher education, support for early childhood education, protection against attacks on Social Security and other mainstream issues. Cantwell, who has a 95 percent AFT voting record, has built a solid lead in the polls over GOP challenger and insurance company executive Mike McGavick.
Incumbent senators who are running strong into their November contests include Democrats Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Hillary Clinton of New York, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Herbert Kohl of Wisconsin and Bill Nelson of Florida.
