Challenge and Choice, an Obama TL

[NewYorkExpress]

November 10, 2008

Barack Obama had just won the Presidency of the United States by a comfortable margin, but already he was facing problems. Several of his first choices for cabinet posts, like Tom Daschle and Bill Richardson had hit major red flags in their vetting. On top of that, Hillary Clinton had rejected being Secretary of State, stating to CNN that she would "decline any cabinet offer, should one be made", and telling Chris Wallace on Fox News that she "preferred being a Senator to Secretary of State" When both Wallace and CNN's Anderson Cooper pressed Clinton for a recommendation, she did not give one, stating that cabinet decisions were "the choice of the President-Elect".

November 14, 2008

Obama announces First Cabinet nominees.

Despite the high-profile rejection by Hillary Clinton of the position of Secretary of State, President Obama has begun announcing his cabinet, beginning with some of the "lower-tier positions". Obama has nominated Nobel Prize winning scientist Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy, and Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education in separate press releases. Both are expected to be confirmed easily, and have broad bipartisan support throughout the Senate.

November 19, 2008

Patti Solis Doyle to become White House Chief of Staff

Obama officially named his Chief of Staff today, five days after the first cabinet appointments, causing speculation about the delay across Washington. Despite early speculation focusing around Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Obama has instead named Hillary Clinton's former Campaign Manager, and Joe Biden's Chief of Staff during the fall campaign, Patti Solis Doyle, as the White House Chief of Staff, causing speculation that Emanuel declined the position. Many within the Clinton campaign, including Bill Clinton, who criticized the choice, blamed Solis Doyle for Hillary's early struggles. Hillary Clinton had no comment on the choice, only saying that "the 2008 race is over and done with, and I'm looking forward to continuing my career in the Senate".

November 20, 2008

John Lewis calls for Democrats to primary Hillary Clinton in 2012.

Telling the New York Times that Hillary Clinton may have fatally wounded President Obama's chances by declining to become Secretary of State, Representative John Lewis (D-GA) has called for New York Democrats to primary Hillary Clinton when she next faces voters in 2012, saying she has "put herself before the party and the country".

November 20, 2008

Rod Blagojevich arrested, charged with over two hundred counts of corruption, including attempting to sell President Obama's Senate seat.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) was arrested in Springfield, Illinois this morning and charged with two hundred and seven counts of assorted forms of corruption, including an attempt to sell President-Elect Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. The Illinois Legislature has already begun impeachment proceedings.

Obama announces two more nominees

President-Elect Obama announced two more cabinet-level nominees today, naming New Jersey Commissioner of Environmental Protection, Lisa Jackson as EPA Secretary, and Economist and longtime Obama Economic Advisor Austan Goolsbee, being named U.S Trade Representative. Jackson is expected to face modest opposition from Republicans, while Goolsbee has some bipartisan support, and is expected to clear confirmation easily.

November 22, 2008

In record time, Blago removed as Governor

In a single day, the Illinois House and Illinois Senate voted to remove Rod Blagojevich as Governor for corruption. The vote in the House was 115-1, with the only vote against being George Scully Jr (D). In addition, Naomi Jakobsson (D) abstained, and did not cast a vote.

In the Senate, the vote on removal was 58-1, with only Emil Jones, the State Senate President, voting no.

November 28, 2008

Pat Quinn appoints Lisa Madigan to Obama's Senate seat

Newly Sworn in Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has announced his intention to appoint Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) to the Senate seat being vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama. Madigan is expected to be a formidable opponent for any Democrat or Republican to face, and some have speculated that she could help Quinn win reelection as well.

Ruth Ann Minner appoints herself to Joe Biden's Senate seat, announces she won't run for a full term.

Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner, announced that she would appoint herself to Joe Biden's Senate seat when he resigns as Senator. She also stated that she would not run in the special election, due to be held in 2010, in an interview to The News Journal. Both Biden and Obama's resignations from the Senate are expected before the new Congress convenes at the beginning of January.

Three more Obama nominees named

President-Elect Obama announced three more nominees today. He named venture capitalist Karen Gordon Mills as head of the Small Business Administration, academic Christina Romer as the Head of the Office of Management and Budget, and retired General, and 2004 Presidential Candidate Wesley Clark as Secretary of Veteran's Affairs. Romer and Gordon Mills are expected to be confirmed easily, but Clark is considered a controversial choice largely because of his actions both in Serbia and in the Yugoslavian wars of the 1990's, as well as various comments he's made during the 2004 campaign. His confirmation is considered uncertain, and some Senators on both sides, like Bernie Sanders and John McCain have considered a fillibuster of Clark's nomination.

November 30, 2008

Norm Coleman drops legal challenge, Al Franken declared winner in Minnesota Senate race.

After almost a month, and a near court challenge, Norm Coleman (R) has abandoned his rumored legal challenge against the seating of Al Franken, thus making Franken Senator-Elect. His final margin, after a statewide recount will be two hundred and twenty five votes.

John McCain to retire?

Speaking on Meet the Press today, John McCain said he would "probably not run for reelection" in 2010, telling David Gregory that "it's time for me to ride into the sunset."

Another Obama nominee announced

President-Elect Obama announced his pick for Secretary of Transportation this evening, naming the Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Christopher Ward. Despite early speculation that a Representative would be nominated, with some in Obama's camp pushing Ray LaHood, it is believed that Obama preferred someone with a background in Transportation, who would be able to push through the "shovel-ready" jobs in the stimulus bill the administration plans to send to Congress.

[NewYorkExpress]

December 1, 2008

Obama, Biden officially resign, Minner, Madigan officially sworn in.

President Elect Obama and Vice-President-Elect Biden officially resigned today. Hours later, appointed Senators Ruth Ann Minner, who had resigned as Governor of Delaware earlier in the day, and Lisa Madigan, who had resigned as Illinois Attorney General the Previous day, were sworn in.

Obama names his HUD Secretary.

Hours after resigning from the Senate, President-Elect Obama announced the nomination of the New York City Commissioner of the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development, Shaun Donovan. Donovan is expected to draw broad bipartisan support in the Senate.

December 3, 2008

COMMEBOL,CONCACAF, reach deal about crosshosting international competitions.

COMMEBOL and CONCACAF have reached an agreement on crosshosting their international football (soccer) competitions, according to ESPN. In the agreement, the 2015 Copa America will be held in the United States, and the 2015 Gold Cup would be held in Brazil. Both tournaments would be televised on the ESPN family of networks in the United States.

Hilda Solis nominated as Secretary of Labor

President-Elect Obama nominated Representative Hilda Solis (D-CA) as Secretary of Labor this morning. Solis is expected to face a stiff confirmation fight in the Senate, as she is a staunch progressive on many issues, including labor.

De Blasio files for Mayor of New York City, says Bloomberg's third term attempt is a "outrageous power grab"

New York City Councilman Bill De Blasio (D) has become the first candidate to file for next year's election for Mayor of New York City. De Blasio, speaking in Park Slope, called Mayor Bloomberg's attempts to pass a third term a "dangerous power grab", and "almost like the beginnings of a putsch". Neither Bloomberg nor his office had any comment.

Daniel Inyoue will not run for reelection

Daniel Inyoue announced that he would not run for reelection, citing a desire to allow the Hawaii Democratic Party to get younger, and citing a concern that he might die in office. All eyes will now turn to what could be a very crowded and expensive Senate primary.

December 4

Linda Lingle launches Senate bid

With Daniel Inyoue having announced her retirement the previous day, Governor Linda Lingle (R) announced she would run, becoming the first major candidate from either party to do so. Hawaii currently is the only true open seat in the United States Senate, though two seats have appointed incumbents, and Ted Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts is expected to join them soon.

[NewYorkExpress]

December 7, 2008

Obama nominates Robert Gates as U.N Ambassador, Anthony Zinni as Secretary of Defense

While at a ceremony at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, President-Elect Obama, announced the nominations of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as Ambassador to the United Nations and Retired General Anthony Zinni as Secretary of Defense. Both are expected to be confirmed easily.

Garry Kasparov shot in Moscow, is Putin responsible?

Chess Champion, and Russian anti-government activist Garry Kasparov was shot in the shoulder on the streets of Moscow this morning. Taken to a hospital, he stated that he personally held Prime Minister Vladimir Putin responsible, accusing him of ordering the assassination attempt. Putin has denied any culpability, and in an official press release, blamed separatists from Chechnya.

Arlen Specter announces he will not run for reelection, and will resign by January 1.

Citing a diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, and the need to begin treatment, Arlen Specter announced he not only not run for reelection, but will resign by January 1 so that he can begin treatment. Specter's resignation, and his imminent replacement by an appointed Democrat, will give the Democrats 61 seats in the Senate, at least until the November elections.

December 9, 2008

Rendell to appoint Joe Hoeffel to replace Specter

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has announced his intent to appoint Montgomery County Commissioner and former Representative Joe Hoeffel to the Senate to replace Arlen Specter. Hoeffel has not yet said whether he will run for a full term, but he is expected to draw a primary challenge and face stiff Republican opposition.

Obama to nominate Mitt Romney as Secretary of Health and Human Services

President Obama today nominated former Massachusetts Governor, and champion of that state's health care plan, Mitt Romney as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Romney, who ran for the Republican nomination for President in 2008, and was considered a frontrunner for the nomination in 2012, is not expected to have an easy ride to confirmation, with several high-profile Democrats expected to oppose him.

December 10, 2008

Mazie Hirono becomes first Democrat to file to replace Inyoue

In what promises to be one of the most expensive campaigns in Hawaii history, Representative Mazie Hirono became the first Democrat to file in the Senate race to replace Daniel Inyoue in the Senate, setting up a showdown with Governor Linda Lingle in November. Local Handicappers have said the Democratic nomination is Hirono's if she wants it, and it looks like she does want it.

Obama nominates former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as Secretary of Commerce

President-Elect Obama announced the nomination of former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as Secretary of Commerce today. Like Mitt Romney, she is not expected to have an easy confirmation, with multiple high-profile Democrats expected to be in opposition.

December 11, 2008

President Bush gives "exit interview" says if he had to do things again, he would have invaded Pakistan instead of Iraq.

On an interview with NBC's Brian Williams, President Bush said he'd made a mistake invading Iraq, and said that if he'd had to do things over again, he would have invaded Pakistan, as "the intelligence by late 2005, early 2006 us Osama Bin Laden was hiding somewhere in Pakistan."

He also, asked about Putin, accused him of orchestrating the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, and the attempted murder of Garry Kasparov.

[NewYorkExpress]

With the Senate deliberating on several Obama cabinet appointments (Christopher Ward, Steven Chu, Arne Duncan and Shaun Donovan had already advanced out of committee by New Year's Eve), President-Elect Obama began filling out the rest of his cabinet.

For Secretary of Agriculture, Obama, on December 13, nominated Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro, suprising many observers, who had expected him to pick someone more high-profile (such as Tom Daschle or Tom Vilsack.) Vilsack later confirmed he had declined the position of Secretary of Agriculture, stating that he wanted a different position (believed to be Secretary of the Interior).

For Secretary of the Interior, Obama chose, on December 13, to nominate Colorado Governor Bill Ritter. If confirmed, Ritter's appointment would make Lieutenant Governor Barbara O'Brien Governor of Colorado.

On December 19, Representative Hilda Solis was nominated as Secretary of Labor. Solis's impending confirmation would set off a special election in her Congressional District.

On December 29, Obama announced his three remaining high-profile cabinet appointments.

He chose to appoint the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, as Secretary of the Treasury, and nominated the President of San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, Janet Yellen to succeed him as chair of the Federal Reserve.

At Attorney General, Obama nominated San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, surprising many observers, who thought he would pick someone with a more national profile. Obama explained at a press conference in early January that he was a fan of Harris's work as District Attorney.

For Secretary of State, Obama, stung by the rejection of Hillary Clinton, and with his second choice already serving as Vice President, chose former Representative Leon Panetta, while naming Susan Rice as National Security Advisor.

In International Political News, following a hung parliament in New Zealand in Elections on November 8, a government was finally formed on December 19, with John Key's National Party and their 48 seats  forming a coalition with ACT (Party leader, Rodney Hide) and their 5 seats plus United Future (Party Leader, Peter Dunne) and their 3 seats and New Zealand First (Party leader, Winston Peters), and their five seats to form a minority Government. In addition to those sixty-one seats, they could also count on votes from the Maori Party on most issues, though the Maori Party wasn't officially part of the coalition (they didn't reach an agreement with Key or with Labour's leader, the incumbent Prime Minister, Helen Clark on joining the government.)

Meanwhile, elsewhere, scandal emerged in Australia, when it was revealed that the Australian Minister for Sport, Kate Ellis was betting on Australian Soccer matches on Betfair. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd commented that while not strictly illegal, the betting was "unethical, given the portfolio she was entrusted with", and announced that Ellis would be given a new portfolio. Ellis was named Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, replacing Peter Garrett, who moved to the back benches.

In the world of sports, in a sizable uspet, USC Quarterback Mark Sanchez narrowly defeated Oklahoma Quarterback Sam Bradford, Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow, Georgia Quarterback Matthew Stafford and Texas Quarterback Colt McCoy in the closest Heisman Trophy race in history.

At the end of the month, in the FIFA Club World Cup, CONCACAF Champions C.F Pachuca, stunned UEFA Champions League Champions Manchester United, 1-0 behind a stoppage time goal by Christian Gimenez. The Pachuca win was reported to have cost sports books $267.75 million dollars in lost wagers around the world.

[NewYorkExpress]

January 2009 was largely quiet, as inauguration day approached. The Cabinet was taking shape, and by inauguration day, all nominations, with the exceptions of Wesley Clark (had been rejected in committee) and Mitt Romney (had made it through committee, but was being fillibustered by Bernie Sanders) had been confirmed by the Senate. Carly Fiorina, the third "controversial" nominee had survived a fillibuster attempt, and had been confirmed on January 11.

Obama's speech was soaring, and provided a conveyor belt of help. Chief Justice John Roberts nearly embarrassed himself by botching the Oath of Office to Obama, only for David Souter to botch the same Oath of Office given to Biden.

On January 27, Romney withdrew his name from contention as Secretary of Health and Human Services, and instead announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for the soon to be vacant Senate seat in Massachusetts. Ted Kennedy had made it clear he would occupy the seat until he passed away, but Romney's potential nomination was expected to make the special election competitve.

Obama quickly nominated former Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget Sylvia Matthews Burwell to the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. This nomination garnered more support from Democrats in Congress than Romney had, and she sailed through her committee, before being confirmed by the full Senate on March 1, 71-28.

Obama next turned his attention to a stimulus package. The package, designed by Secretary Greenspan, was $3.7 trillion worth of shovel ready projects, spread out across the country. After passing the House 251-149 on February 20, it was held up in the Senate by Sam Brownback and Jim DeMint, who objected to a provision that all jobs receiving stimulus money be unionized. However, their fillibuster was defeated, and the package, now totaling $4.9 trillion passed the Senate on March 8. The House, rather than going to a conference committee  chose to pass the Senate bill, which they did on March 13.

While this was ongoing, the special election to fill Hilda Solis's seat was taking place. The election, which featured all candidates on one ballot, and top candidate from each party advancing to a runoff in the event of no candidate reaching 50%, was not expected to be competitive, except for which Democrat would be elected. No Independent or Third Party candidate filed, meaning the race was just a straight Democrat vs Republican affair.

On the Republican side, only three candidates filed. Monterrey Park City Councilman Betty Chu had the most name recognition, and easily outran businesswoman Teresa Hernandez and businessman and former Mayor of Covina David Traux to earn her spot.

On the Democratic side, numerous candidates considered the race publicly. Over ten actually filed. They were, State Board of Equalization member Judy Chu, State Senator Gil Cedillo,
former Monterrey Park Mayor Francisco Alonso, former Hilda Solis aide Benita Duran, Economist Emanuel Pletiez, Independent Filmaker Stefan Lysenko, former El Monte Mayor Patricia Wallach, Attorney Nick Mostert, Baldwin Park City Councilwoman Monica Garcia, Businessman Rafael Nadal and Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes.

For the Democrats, the battle seemed to be between Chu and Reyes, with Cedillo serving as a third wheel. Solis, for her part endorsed Reyes in the race, much to the displeasure of Duran. Other prominent California politicians divided relatively evenly between Chu and Reyes, with the exception of Jerry Brown, who chose to endorse Cedillo. Chu ultimately finished on top of the field with 19% of the vote, followed by Reyes with 18.1% and Cedillo with 17.2% The top Republican, Betty Chu, by comparison, only earned 4%.

In the general election, which was held in April, Betty Chu ran a strong energetic campaign, but she was unable to escape the partisan lean of her district, as Judy Chu won 59-41.

Internationally, the first bit of news that would impact Americans was the Parlimentary Elections in Israel on February 10. Most analysts predicted that either Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud, or Tzipi Lvini's Kadima would be able to form a government, with a few predicting that Ehud Barak's Labor Party would form the government.

Most were surprised, when Likud, Kadima and Labor all finished with the same number of seats in the Knesset, 18 each. After tense negotiations, a coalition government was formed on March 2, between Labor, Kadima, Shas (which won 13 seats) and Yisrael Beitineu (which won 12 seats). Labor leader Ehud Barak would become Prime Minister, Kadima Leader Tzipi Lvini would  become Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yisrael Beitineu Leader Avigdor Lieberman would become Minister of Justice, and Shas leader Eli Yishai got the position of Education Minister.

The coalition had little room for error, being at exactly the number of seats required to form a government, and most predicted it would break up within the year.

Elsewhere in international politics, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced, with approval by Ayatollah Khameni, a willingness to negotiate over the future of it's nuclear program, in a speech in Tehran on February 19. While neither Obama or Secretary of State Leon Panetta expressed an interest in negotiating with the Iranians, other countries did. Negotiations began in Zurich between Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki, German Foreign Minster Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, and would continue through most of the year, culminating in a deal, agreed to on December 2, in which Iran would be prohibited from enriching uranium beyond 3/5ths of the level needed to produce nuclear powered electricity. In exchange the countries making the agreement would lift all sanctions on Iran and Iranian officials as of January 1, 2012. In addition, though not part of the agreed upon deal, Russia also agreed to cut off relations with Israel (though none of the other European signatories agreed to do so, and Iran didn't push the issue).

Prime Minister Barak, ordered Mossad to assassinate Mottaki and Ahmadinejad in an attempt to derail the agreement, but neither attempt was successful.  

[NewYorkExpress]

On March 10, President Obama announced his new pick for Secretary of Veteran's Affairs, following Wesley Clark's rejection in committee, and an additional rejection (43-56) by the full Senate. His new choice was the Head of the American Red Cross, Gail McGovern. McGovern easily won confirmation, getting confirmed 83-9 on April 9.

On March 3, Ted Kennedy announced he would be resigning to spend his final days at home with his family. Governor Deval Patrick had the ability to appoint a new Senator until a special election, which would be held in the late summer, following legislation that had been passed by the Massachusetts legislature in February, before Kennedy's resignation. Despite speculation that former DNC Chair and Kennedy staffer Paul Kirk would be the pick, Patrick expressed an interest in someone who was willing to run for the seat in the special election. On March 10, he  revealed he was choosing between Stephen Lynch, Charles Yancey and Marty Meehan. Lynch, however, withdrew from consideration, saying he didn't want to take on Mitt Romney (who had announced for the special at the end of January), and on March 14, Patrick chose Meehan as the appointed Senator. Meehan hesitated on running in the special election, but ultimately declared his candidacy on April 1. However, Meehan would not be the only Democrat running, as Attorney General Martha Coakley jumped in hours before the primary filing deadline. The Primary, which was held on June 2, ended in a victory for Meehan 51-39, with 10% going to Bain Capital co-chairman Stephen Paglicua. Coakley's loss in the primary was explained by pundits as a combination of political errors unique to Massachusetts (notably, she showed up in Yankees hat to a Red Sox game in early May, got into a Twitter war with Tom Brady, and called Boston Bruins legend Ray Borque "overrated"), and and Meehan running a more disciplined campaign. Pagulica meanwhile spent $30 million (more than three times what Meehan spent, and just under twice what Coakley spent) of his own money and only got 49,000 votes.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney also faced a primary challenge. While State Senator Scott Brown originally expressed interest in running in a special, he backed off once Romney's nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services was rejected and his entry became imminent, in favor of a bid for Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2010. Instead, Romney faced a challenge from former U.S Attorney Michael Sullivan, who had resigned when the Obama Administration took office, and entered the special election in late March. Sullivan drew headlines by announcing that if he lost, he planned to run for Attorney General of Massachusetts in 2010 (possibly against Coakley), and calling Romney, who had run for President on a conservative platform in 2008, after being a moderate as Governor "Mr. Etch-a-Sketch". However, it wasn't enough to win the primary, as Romney won 53-47, which admittedly was a poor margin.

The general election, held on July 21, saw the first signs of cracks in the Obama armor, as Romney defeated Meehan 47-45, with Joseph Kennedy (no relation to the Kennedy family), earning an impressive 7.35% as the nominee of the Libertarian Party. Romney's victory spelled potential trouble for a Health Care reform bill taking shape in the house, and on August 16, Joe Lieberman and Mark Pryor declared any health care reform bill dead on arrival in the Senate with Romney's victory, with Lieberman even stating that he intended to join any Republican fillibusters of health care reform.

Obama had other priorities anyways. On March 24, he demanded Pakistan turn over all suspected terrorists in the country, after receiving information that Osama Bin Laden was hiding in plain sight in a compound in Abbottabad. On April 16, a joint U.S-Pakistani operation led to the capture of seven Al-Qaeda operatives, and the death of Bin Laden. Many on the right criticized Obama for relying on Pakistan's help, and on Fox News, Newt Gingrich said Obama should ask for a declaration of war against Pakistan.

Elsewhere, the UEFA Champions League final, held on May 27 at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, saw Barcelona defeat Arsenal 2-1.

In College Basketball, the Oklahoma Sooners won their second high-profile title of the year (following their 30-24 victory in the BCS National Championship game back in January) 63-59 over Michigan State, behind 37 points from Blake Griffin.

[NewYorkExpress]

For the most part, 2009 became quiet both domestically and internationally until June, when Presidential elections in Iran were held. The Islamic Republic, currently negotiating a deal involving it's nuclear program, was expected to have a close election.

In the first round, taking place on June 12, incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad failed to reach the majority needed to win another term without a runoff, getting 31% of the vote. In second and advancing to the runoff was the last Prime Minister of Iran, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, with 29%. Finishing was the former Speaker of the Majis, Mehdi Karroubi with 20%. Finishing fourth, was the former commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohsen Rezaee, with 19%. In fifth, was the former President of Iran, Mohammed Khatami with 18% (Khatami's candidacy had been rejected by the Gaurdian Council, but Ayatollah Khameni overturned it, citing divisions on the Guardian Council over whether to reject Khatami's candidacy). Finishing last, was a last minute entry to the race (the Guardian Council approved his candidacy with just minutes to go before the deadline for approval, in fact), former Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, with 12%.

The runoff, held June 19, saw Ahmadinejad defeat Mousavi 52-48, despite Mousavi receiving endorsements from all of the defeated candidates except for Rezaee. Mousavi accused the government of electoral fraud, leading to a major protest movement, called the Green Movement after Mousavi's campaign color. They called for the overturning of Ahmadinejad's victory, and constitutional reforms to eliminate the political power of Ayatollah Khameni, and the abolishment of the Guardian Council. After a month of protests, in which 976 Iranian citizens died, mostly in Tehran, the Iranian government arrested Mousavi on July 20, and charged him with Treason. He would be sentenced to death in early October.

While most European countries condemned the episode, they were unwilling to abandon the talks over Iran's nuclear program, which would reach a deal in December.

In September, the CIA, without authorization from President Obama, attempted to assassinate Ayatollah Khameni. The operatives were arrested in Baku before entering Iran, and extradited back to the United States. When President Obama found out, he demanded the resignation of the Director of the CIA Michael Hayden (who had been reappointed from the Bush Administration), and asked the Justice Department to find criminal charges that would stick to Hayden for the incident (they failed, as apparently high-level career CIA agents had kept the plan from Hayden, and pretty much every other political appointee in the Administration). Obama nominated the former Director of the NSA (much like Hayden had been), Kenneth Minihan as his replacement, and Minihan cleared the Senate after a five-day fillibuster by Russ Feingold (who was seeking to have the CIA and NSA defunded.)

[OSR STANDS WITH PALESTINE]

Obama was president IRL, why do we need a timeline about him

[NewYorkExpress]

Obama was president IRL, why do we need a timeline about him

I haven't exactly said he's going to win in 2012 (or in fact, get through the Democratic Primary).

Besides, I'm planning at least some changes to the TL from 2016 on (possibly including Michelle Obama actually running for political office in her own right)

[NewYorkExpress]

The New Jersey Gubernatorial election held it's primaries in June of 2009. While the incumbent, Jon Corzine sailed to renomination against a variety of minor candidates, the Republican Primary was crowded, as politicians sought to run against an increasingly unpopular Corzine. Even so, President Obama remained popular in the Garden State, and many Republicans, both locally and nationally did not believe they had a serious chance of picking up the Governor's mansion.

New Jersey Gubernatorial Election-Republican Primary

Former U.S Attorney Chris Christie 26%
State Assemblyman Rick Merkt 20%
State Assemblywoman Denise Coyle 18%
Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan 15%
Franklin Township Mayor Brian Levine 14%
Former State Assemblyman John Gibson 7%

Meanwhile, Virginia had it's statewide primaries on June 9.

While President Obama was relatively popular here, Republicans convinced Attorney General Bob McDonnell to run for Governor, and he won the nomination unopposed. Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling also won his primary unopposed, and State Senator Ken Cuccinelli easily won his primary for Attorney General against weak opposition. Democrats, meanwhile had to deal with contested primaries for all three positions.


Virginia Governor-Democratic Primary

Former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe 39%
State Senator Creigh Deeds 34%
Former State Delegate Brian Moran 27%

Virginia Lieutenant Governor-Democratic Primary

State Senator Phillip Puckett 40%
Former Secretary of Finance/Treasurer of Virginia Jody Wagner 36%
Former Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Robert Bloxom 24%

Virginia Attorney General-Democratic Primary

State Senator Mark Herring 57%
Former Governor Gerald Baliles 43%

[OSR STANDS WITH PALESTINE]

Christie 2012

[NewYorkExpress]

Christie 2012

I'll think about it.

[NewYorkExpress]

The late spring and early summer was filled with drama on Capitol Hill. Ignoring proclamations that health care reform was dead on arrival in the Senate, the House passed a health care reform bill, that essentially was single-payer-health care 207-197 on May 19. Over June and July, despite cajoling from leadership in the House, and Secretary Matthews Burwell, the bill died in committee.

Obama didn't take a public side on the bill. Instead, he focused on the Supreme Court, where both Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter, both of whom had retired in April 2009. Ginsburg's retirement had surprised Souter, who apparently was retiring on the belief that no other justices would retire.

Obama quickly nominated an appeals court justice for Ginsburg's seat, nominating Federal Appeals Court Justice from the Second Circuit, Sonia Sotomayor on May 7. Sotomayor quickly advanced out of committee, and was confirmed by the full Senate on July 9, 59-39 (Blanche Lincoln and Mitt Romney both abstained).

On June 9, Obama announced his replacement for Souter, Former U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Loretta Lynch. Lynch had slightly more trouble than Sotomayor, as while she advanced out of committee, several significant Senators, such as Bernie Sanders and Ben Nelson, voiced opposition. On September 4, Lynch was confirmed, 50-48, with ten Democrats voting against her, and Mel Martinez plus Lamar Alexander abstaining.

In late June of 2009, a scandal gripped the attention of Cable TV (especially MSNBC) when Senator John Ensign was accused of illegally paying a an aide on PAC supporting him, Cynthia Hampton under the table, to cover up his affair with her. After weeks of criticism, and expulsion threats from multiple Senators (most prominently, Mitt Romney and Kay Hagan), Ensign resigned on September 10, 2009, effective immediately. Governor Jim Gibbons, already unpopular and not running for reelection, had the important decision of appointing a replacement, who would serve until 2010 (Ensign's seat wasn't up until 2012). His choice was State Senator Mark Amodei, a decision which offended several other prominent Nevada Republicans (most notably Dean Heller, whose complaints about Gibbons's decision, became legendary in Nevada politics).

Meanwhile, in International News, the big stories of the summer, were three elections.

The first was in Afghanistan, where the incumbent, Hamid Karzai was running for reelection, and was struggling. While there were no polls taken of the race, the general mood, both in Afghanistan and among United States government officials, was that Karzai would lose the August 20, election.

Afghanistan-President

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Abdullah 46%
Incumbent Hamid Karzai 31%
Former Chancellor of Kabul University Ashraf Ghani 14%
Former Planning Minister Ramazan Bashardost 9%

While the race was supposed to go to a runoff between Abdullah and Karzai, Karzai asked that the runoff be cancelled, after Ghani and Bashardost endorsed Abudullah in a joint rally in Kabul.


The second election was in Japan, where the incumbent Prime Minister, Taro Aso was at best, unpopular. His LDP had held the majority for years, but had grown more and more unpopular, largely because of the economy. The main opposition party, the Democratic Party, won enough seats in the August 30 election to allow their leader, Yukio Hatoyama to govern alone winning 321 seats (out of the 326 they had candidates for). The main opposition party, the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Aso, only garnered 89 seats, with Aso being among many incumbents who lost their seat. Next was the New Komeito Party led by Akhiro Ota, which earned 29 seats.  Fourth was the Social Democratic Party, led by Mizuho Fukushima which earned 11 seats. In fifth was the Communist Party, led by Kazou Shii, which earned 10 seats. In sixth was Your Party, led by Yoshimi Watanabe, which earned 8 seats. In seventh was the People's New Party, led by Tamisuke Watanuki, which earned 5 seats. In eighth was the New Party Nippon, led by Yasou Tanaka, which also earned 5 seats. In ninth, and earning the last two seats was the New Party Daichi, led by Muneo Suzuki.

The Third Election, was in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel had become the most popular politician in Europe, largely due to her decisive response as the economy collapsed. Her CDU, and it's Bavarian Sister Party, the CSU, earned 289 seats in the September 27 elections. The Chief Opposition Party, the SPD, led by Frank-Walter Steinmeier, earned 151 seats, followed by Guido Westerwalle's FDP which earned 90 seats, Die Linke (the Left), which earned 55 seats and the Green Party, which earned 37 seats. Merkel was able to quickly and easily form a coalition with the FDP.

Meanwhile, in other news, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games to win the NBA Finals, and the city's first professional championship since 1948.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in six games to win the Stanley Cup Finals.

[NewYorkExpress]

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, like most Citywide officeholders and City Council members, was eligible for a third term thanks to a controversial legislative bill passed by the City Council, however, he entered 2021 trailing several of his Democratic opponents, and faced opposition in the Republican Primary. As such, he chose to abandon both party primaries and run as an Independent instead.

On the Republican side, with Bloomberg now running as a straight-up Independent, the frontrunner was City Councilman James Oddo. He did face primary opposition, but the road to the nomination was clear, especially after Oddo got the endorsement of the Conservative Party, perhaps the most important minor Party line in New York City.

New York City: Mayor, Republican Primary

City Councilman James Oddo 57%
Port Authority Commissioner Bruce Blakeman 25%
State Senator Marty Golden 18%

The Democratic Primary, by contrast was significantly more crowded. While Public Advocate Bill de Blasio was the nominal frontrunner, and his chances were boosted by the endorsement of the Working Families Party, de Blasio faced several primary opponents. Most believed the primary would head to a runoff, however this did not happen.

New York City: Mayor, Democratic Primary

New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio 42%
Former New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson 29%
City Councilman Tony Avella 9%
Former Bronx Borough President, 2005 nominee for Mayor Fernando Ferrer 8%
Former Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields 8%
New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein 4%

The Mayoral race wasn't the only high-profile election in the late Summer and early fall of 2009. In fact, it wasn't even the only one in New York. The 23rd Congressional District held a special election in late August after the incumbent John McHugh was appointed Secretary of the Army (he had been confirmed in April by the Senate 97-3, with only Russ Feingold, Pat Leahy and Bernie Sanders voting against the nomination).

In New York, the nominees were chosen by local party leaders. This almost led to a bitter fight between Moderate and Conservative Republicans, after their choice for nominee was perceived as too moderate.

New York, 23rd Congressional District, Special Election

State Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R) 41%
Attorney Bill Owens (D) 38%
Accountant Doug Hoffman (Conservative) 21%

Meanwhile, over the course of the Summer, California's 10th Congressional District held a special election following the March nomination of Ellen Tauscher as Ambassador to Poland (she was confirmed 76-23 in April). In the primary, which took place in late July, all of the candidates competed on one ballot, and a runoff would be required if no one reached 50% of the vote, with the top finisher in each party advancing

California 10th Congressional District Special Election, jungle primary

Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi (D) 21%
State Senator Mark DeSaulnier (D) 20%
Businessman Chris Bunch (R) 10%
State Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan (D) 10%
Economic Policy Analyst Anthony Woods (D) 8%
Retired Police Officer Gary Clift (R) 6%
Blogger Adriel Hampton (D) 5%
Businessman Mark Loos (R) 5%
Businessman David Harmer (R) 5%
Community College Professor Jeremy Cloward (G) 3%
Insurance Agent Jerome Denham (American Independent) 3%
Physician John Toth (R) 2%
Former State Assemblywoman Dion Aroner (D) 2%

Garamendi advanced to the general election, held in September to face Bunch, Cloward and Denham.

California 10th Congressional District Special Election

John Garamendi (D) 55%
Chris Bunch (R) 39%
Jerome Denham (American Independent) 3%
Jeremy Cloward (G) 3%

[NewYorkExpress]

The fall of 2009, leading up to election day, was headlined by another sea change in the composition of the Senate.

The reason was eight women accusing Al Franken, who had just been elected the previous year, of sexual assault over the course of September and October. Franken, not wishing to take a fight to the floor of the Senate, resigned on October 24. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty would be appointing a replacement, and it was presumed he'd appoint a Republican to flip the seat, ahead of a 2010 special election. Pawlenty announced on election day, that he would appoint Franken's predecessor, Norm Coleman to the seat.

Internationally, several things happened that were important to American interests.

The first was the death of North Korean dictator Kim-Jong-il on October 9 at 68, of a stroke. His son, Kim-Jong-un, would replace him as the dictator of North Korea by the end of the month. In his first speech in Pyongyang, he told a crowd that the U.S should "accept that we have nuclear weapons, or see it's allies crumble to dust". South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and Chung Un-chan (who had just taken office), expressed support for a bombing campaign against North Korea. While both Myung-bak and the South Korean Air Force preferred having the support of the United States for such a campaign, they were willing to go it alone, Ambassador to South Korea John Tilelli Jr.(who had previously served as the commanding officer for U.S Troops in South Korea) stated that the U.S would not support any offensive military action against North Korea. On November 2, the South Korean air force began bombing civillian and military targets in North Korea, knocking out almost all Seoul-facing artillery, as well as several nuclear power plants, and the general headquarters of the North Korean Army. 2,098 people died in the raids. North Korean troops briefly crossed the demilitarized zone, but they were met by a large South Korean army in northern Yanggu County. 9,000 North Korean soliders, and 1,097 South Korean died, before North Korea retreated back over the border. On November 19, the UN Security Council voted 13-0 in favor of sanctions on South Korea (The United States and France abstained), and President Obama Korea authorized targeted sanctions on President Myung-bak, who he saw as the reason the conflict had happened, because he'd overreacted to North Korean statements.

Elsewhere, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Libyan dictator Mummar Gaddafi announced that Libya and Israel had reached a peace agreement in a summit in Misrata. The agreement, which saw Gaddafi recognize Israel's right to exist, and send an Ambassador, in exchange for 125 million shekels in foreign aid annually for the next twenty years.

In Sports, the New York Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves in four games to win the World Series.

Meanwhile, over the late summer and early fall in Football (Soccer) the CONCACAF Gold Cup was taking place. In the final, the United States defeated Mexico 1-0, behind a goal from Freddy Adu, and a clean sheet from Luis Robles.

[NewYorkExpress]

Election Night 2009 was a relatively quiet affair, unless you lived in New Jersey, Virginia or New York City.

Most other mayoral races were low-key (and in the case of Atlanta and Boston, not even close).

In Virginia, the three statewide races were expected to be close.

In the Governor's race, Terry McAuliffe came out the primaries with a narrow lead over Bob McDonnell. However, McDonnell, took the lead in September, after the Washington Post came out with a story alleging illegal campaign contributions from China and Ireland had been donated to the McAuliffe campaign (most of that money came from Smurfit Kappa CEO Gary McGann, and Alibaba founder Jack Ma. The total of the illegal donations was $56,000.) Despite both Bill and Hillary Clinton campaigning for McAuliffe, he entered election night behind in the polls, and was indicted for accepting illegal campaign contributions by U.S Attorney Neil MacBride on November 9.

Virginia-Governor
Bob McDonnell (R) 49%
Terry McAuliffe (D) 43%
Bill Redpath (L) 8%

Bill Bolling was expected to win another term as Lieutenant Governor, even if McAulliffe won atop the ballot. However, Phillip Puckett ran an energetic campaign, and closed the deficit, which had been as high as ten points coming out of the primary, to withing two points. However, Bolling was broadly popular as Lieutenant Governor, and would go on to win.

Virginia-Lieutenant Governor

Bill Bolling (R) 50.75%
Phillip Puckett (D) 49.25%

The Attorney General's race, meanwhile was beset by controversy from both candidates. First,just three days after the primary, a friend of Mark Herring revealed that he had worn blackface at a party in 1980. That caused Ken Cuccinelli to take the lead in the polls. However, that lead would be short-lived as Cuccinelli was endorsed by noted White Supremacist David Duke on September 28 (which coincided with Yom Kippur) at an event in Roanoke. Making matters worse for Cuccinelli, he not only refused to repudiate Duke's endorsement, but, in an interview with CNN Anchor Candy Crowley said he "welcomed" Duke's endorsement, and that Duke's views were "misunderstood". That was the end of the Cuccinelli campaign, as state and national Republicans pulled their support, and Herring retook the lead in the polls in the final weeks.

Virginia-Attorney General

Mark Herring (D) 56.5%
Ken Cuccinelli (R) 39.5%
Robert Sarvis (Republican, running on the Libertarian Line) 4%

In New Jersey, Chris Christie steadily built out his lead over Jon Corzine. For the first time New Jersey voters would be selecting a Lieutenant Governor, who would run as the running mate of the Gubernatorial candidate and was chosen by them. Corzine chose State Senator Loretta Weinberg.

Christie, meanwhile originally wanted Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadgono, however, she turned him down instead electing to run for the General Assembly. Christie instead chose State Senator Joe Kyrillos as his running mate.

There was also an Independent candidate running, former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Chris Daggett. He chose Kean University Professor Frank Esposito as his running mate.

New Jersey-Governor

Chris Christie/Joe Kyrillos (R) 49%
Jon Corzine/Loretta Weinberg (D) 40%
Chris Daggett/Frank Esposito (I) 10.1%

The Mayoral Election in New York City was largely notable because the incumbent, Michael Bloomberg was likely to finish in Third Place. James Oddo carved him up from the right, and Bill De Blasio punished him from the left. Bloomberg resorted to trying to spend his way to victory, self funding to the tune of $50 million, but he simply couldn't get out of third place. On election night, De Blasio carried every borough except Staten Island, which went to Oddo. It was the worst defeat for an incumbent Mayor, since John Lindsay lost the Republican Primary in 1969.

New York City-Mayor

Bill De Blasio (D, Working Families) 50%
James Oddo (R, Conservative) 31%
Michael Bloomberg (I, Independence) 19%

[NewYorkExpress]

November and December 2009 were busy months for Congress.

President Obama would get to fill a third Supreme Court seat, as on November 9, John Paul Stevens announced his retirement at the end of the Court's term. Obama, who had nominated two relatively liberal judges in Sonia Sotomayor and Loretta Lynch to fill the two previous vacancies, chose to nominate a relative centrist, D.C Circuit Appeals Court Justice, Merrick Garland. Garland breezed through his committee hearings, but was hit with a brief fillibuster from Jim Inhofe, which lasted from December 2 until December 4, when the Senate voted 70-30 for cloture.

On December 20, as Congress prepared to go on Christmas recess, the Senate voted confirm Garland 61-39 (Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe both voted with the Democrats).

Meanwhile, a significant development from outside the administration came when Scooter Libby, in an interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien revealed that former Vice President Dick Cheney had ordered him and Richard Armitage to leak Valerie Plame's identity as an undercover CIA operative. On January 4, 2010, the same day as being sworn in, the U.S Attorney for Wyoming, Christopher Crofts, announced an indictment against former Vice President Cheney. Cheney quickly plea bargained the case out, and would be convicted of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, and would be sentenced Federal Judge Clarence Brimmer Jr. to ten months in prison, on October 9, 2010.

Meanwhile, the first serious contenders for President (that weren't Obama) were starting to emerge. On November 25, former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) used his Fox News show to announce his departure from the network, and the launching of a candidacy for President. Santorum was the first serious Republican to run, but he wouldn't be the last in the run up to the end of 2009. On December 5, former Attorney General in the Bush Administration, and Senator John Ashcroft (R-MO) formed an exploratory committee, followed by officially announcing his campaign in Joplin, on December 18. Finally, on December 27, Former Governor Frank Keating (R-OK) launched a surprise bid in an announcement held in Oklahoma City.

The first polls for the early states, showing all three candidates were released in early January.

Iowa-Rasmussen

John Ashcroft 17%
Rick Santorum 15%'
Frank Keating 10%
Undecided/Other 58%

New Hampshire- WMUR/St. Anselm College

John Ashcroft 16%
Frank Keating 11%
Rick Santorum 11%
Undecided/Other 62%

Nevada-Rasmussen

John Ashcroft 19%
Frank Keating 12%
Rick Santorum 8%
Undecided/Other 61%

South Carolina-PPP

Rick Santorum 15%
John Ashcroft 15%
Frank Keating 9%
Undecided/Other 61%

Six other states were polled during the final days of December and the First week of January as well, again, including all three candidates

Maine-Rasmussen

John Ashcroft 12%
Frank Keating 10%
Rick Santorum 6%
Undecided/Other 72%

Florida-PPP

John Ashcroft 15%
Rick Santorum 10%
Frank Keating 7%
Undecided/Other 68%

Colorado-PPP

John Ashcroft 18%
Frank Keating 9%
Rick Santorum 9%
Undecided/Other 64%

Minnesota-PPP
John Ashcroft 16%
Rick Santorum 13%
Frank Keating 6%
Undecided/Other 65%

Arizona-PPP

John Ashcroft 20%
Frank Keating 10%
Rick Santorum 9%
Undecided/Other 61%

Michigan-Detroit Free Press/Gallup

Rick Santorum 12%
John Ashcroft 9%
Frank Keating 7%
Undecided/Other 72%

In addition to all of this, a National Poll, testing the three candidates against President Obama (and each other) also came out in the first week of January.

Rasmussen National-Primary

John Ashcroft 14%
Rick Santorum 9%
Frank Keating 4%
Undecided/Other 27%

Rasmussen National/General Election head to heads

Barack Obama 49%
Frank Keating 40%
Undecided/Other 11%

Barack Obama 53%
Rick Santorum 37%
Undecided/Other 10%

Barack Obama 46%
John Ashcroft 44%
Undecided/Other 10%

[NewYorkExpress]

Most of 2010 was relatively silent from an American Legislative proposal, as President Obama was too busy campaigning for Democrats across the country to do much work on proposing legislation.

In September, news broke that Secretary of Commerce Carly Fiorina would not stay past the midterms, regardless of result. D.C insiders expected Secretary of State Leon Panetta, U.N Ambassador Robert Gates, and Secretary of Defense Anthony Zinni to exit after the midterms as well.

The troop surge in Iraq came to an end in March of 2010, and in Afghanistan in July. In September, after U.S troops left, Abdullah Abdullah announced that the Afghani Government had reached a power-sharing deal with the Taliban.

Throughout the year, several elections were held internationally that impacted American interests.

The first was in Ukraine, which was widely considered a test a test of America's relationship with Russia.

The Russians were supporting former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, while the Americans supported Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the Director of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, threatened to seize Crimea and the Donbass by force if Yanukovich was not elected.

Ukraine-President,First Round

Former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych 31%
President Viktor Yushchenko 17%
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko 13.7%
Former Chairman of Vekhovna Rada Arseniy Yatsenyuk 6.4%
Deputy of the Verkohva Rada Yuri Kostenko 3.9%
Former Chairman of the Verkohva Rada Oleksandr Moroz 3%
Former Chairman of the Verkovha Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn 2.2%
Deputy of the Verkohva Rada Inna Bohoslovska 2%
Former Minister of Defense Anatoliy Hrytsenko 2%
Mayor of Uzhhorad Serhiy Ratushinak 2%
Former CEO of the National Bank of Ukraine Serhiy Tihipko 1%

Ukraine-President-Runoff

Viktor Yanukovych 59%
Viktor Yuschenko 41%

The next significant election was in the United Kingdom, where Prime Minister Gordon Brown accepted the inevitable and asked for an election,to take place on May 6. The Conservatives led in polling throughout, and by mid-April, the Liberal Democrats also passed Labour in polling, leading to speculation that a massive seat loss was to occur for the incumbents.  This was largely in response to the parliamentary expenses scandal, which had unfolded over the previous few years.

United Kingdom-Parliament

Conservatives: 336 seats
Labour: 199 seats
Liberal Democrats: 75 seats
Scottish National Party: 14 seats
DUP: 6 seats
Plaid Cymru 4 seats
Sinn Fein 4 seats
UKIP 10 seats

With this, David Cameron was tasked with forming a Government.

[NewYorkExpress]

President Obama's approval rating wasn't particularly bad heading into the midterms, but it was not particularly good either (exit polls had it at 45-45). What was interesting was, depending on where one was, Obama was either wildly popular, or wildly unpopular, and it was going to cause some interesting results.

Indiana

Senate

Evan Bayh (D) 49%
John Hostettler (R) 47%
Rebecca Sink-Burris (L) 4%

First Congressional District

Pete Visclosky (D) 59%
Mark Levya (R) 39%
Jon Morris (L) 2%

Second Congressional District

Jackie Walorski (R) 48.87%
Joe Donnelly (D) 48.02%
Mark Vogel (L) 3.11%

Third Congressional District (Mark Souder defeated in primary)

Marlin Stutzman (R) 53%
Graham Richard (D) 42%
Scott Wise (L) 5%

Fourth Congressional District (Steve Buyer retiring)

Todd Rokita (R) 59%
David Sanders (D) 38%
John Duncan 3%

Fifth Congressional District

Dan Burton (R) 64%
Tim Crawford (D) 30%
Richard Reid (L) 4%
Jesse Trueblood (I) 2%

Sixth Congressional District

Mike Pence (R) 70%
Barry Welsh (D) 28%
Talmage Johnson Jr. (L) 2%

Seventh Congressional District

Andre Carson (D) 55%
Greg Ballard (R) 44%
Dav Wilson (L) 1%

Eighth Congressional District

Larry Buschon (R) 50%
Brad Ellsworth (D) 47%
John Cunningham (L) 3%

R+1

Ninth Congressional District

Mike Sodrel (R) 49%
Baron Hill (D) 48%
Greg Knott (L) 3%

R+2

[NewYorkExpress]

Vermont

Governor(Jim Douglas retiring)

Brian Dubie (R) 50.2%
Peter Shumlin (D) 46.5%
Cris Ericson (United States Marijuana) 3.3%

Senate

Patrick Leahy (D) 66%
Len Britton (R) 29%
Pete Diamondstone (Socialist) 3%
Stephen Cain 2%

At-Large Congressional District

Peter Welch (D) 71%
Paul Beaudry (R) 26%
Gus Jaccaci (I) 1.7%
Jane Newton (Socialist) 1.3%

Kentucky

Senate (Jim Bunning retiring)

Trey Greyson (R) 49%
Daniel Mongiardo (D) 46%
Craig Astor (L) 5%

First Congressional District

Ed Whitfield (R) 65%
Charles Kendall Hatchett (D) 35%

Second Congressional District

Brett Guthrie (R) 66%
Ed Markserry (D) 34%

Third Congressional District

John Yarmuth (D) 50%
Todd Lally (R) 44%
Edward Martin (L) 4%
Michael Hansen (I) 2%

Fourth Congressional District

Geoff Davis (R) 59%
John Waltz (D) 41%

Fifth Congressional District

Hal Rogers (R) 78%
Jim Holbert (D) 22%

Sixth Congressional District

Andy Barr (R) 53%
Ben Chandler (D) 47%

R+3


South Carolina

Governor

Henry McMaster (R) 54%
Robert Ford (D) 42%
Morgan Reeves (Green/United Citizens) 4%

Senate

Jim DeMint (R) 55%
Jim Rex (D) 43%
Tom Clements (G) 2%

First Congressional District (Henry Brown retiring)

Tim Scott (R) 55%
Vincent Sheheen (D) 37%
Rob Groce (Working Families) 3%
Keith Blandford (L) 2%
Milton McCullough Jr. (United Citizens) 1.8%
Robert Dobbs (G) 1.2%

Second Congressional District

Joe Wilson (R) 56%
Rob Miller (D) 39%
Eddie McCain (L) 3%
Mark Beaman (Constitution) 2%

Third Congressional District

Gresham Barrett (R) 58%
Jane Ballard Dyer 40%
John Dalen (Constitution) 2%

Fourth Congressional District

Bob Inglis (R) 55%
Paul Corden (D) 32%
Dave Edwards (Constitution) 9%
Rick Mahler (L) 3%
Faye Walters (G) 1%

Fifth Congressional District

Mick Mulvaney (R) 52%
John Spratt (D) 48%

R+4
Sixth Congressional District

Jim Clyburn (D) 72%
Jim Pratt (R) 25%
Nammu Muhammad (G) 3%

[NewYorkExpress]

New Hampshire

Governor

John Lynch (D) 49%
Chuck Morse (R) 47%
John Babiraz (L) 4%

Senate

Judd Gregg (R) 51%
Paul Hodes (D) 44%
Ken Blevins (L) 4%
Chris Booth (I) 1%

First Congressional District

Carol-Shea-Porter (D) 50%
Frank Giunta (R) 47%
Phillip Hodson (L) 3%


Second Congressional District (Hodes running for Senate)

Kelly Ayotte (R) 49%
Ann McLane Kuster (D) 48%
Howard Wilson (L) 1.9%
Tim vanBlommesteyn (I) 1.1%

R+5

[NewYorkExpress]

Maine

Governor(Baldacci Term-Limited)

Eliot Cutler (I) 30%
Elizabeth Mitchell (D) 24%
Peter Mills (R) 23%
Shawn Moody (I) 14%
Kevin Scott (I) 7%
John Jenkins (I-running as a write-in candidate) 2%

I+1

First Congressional District

Chellie Pingree (D) 59%
Dean Scontras (R) 41%

Second Congressional District

Paul LePage (R) 50.3%
Mike Michaud (D) 49.7%

R+6

West Virginia

Senate (Special) (Robert Byrd died on June 28. Appointed Senator Carte Goodwin did not run for reelection)

Shelly Moore Capito (R) 49%
Joe Manchin (D) 45%
Jesse Johnson (Mountain) 4.75%
Jeff Becker (Constitution) 1.25%

R+1

First Congressional District (Allan Mollohan defeated in Primary)

David McKinley (R) 55%
Mike Oliverio (D) 45%

R+7

Second Congressional District (Shelly Moore Capito running for the Senate)

Ruth Rowan (R) 57%
David Walker (D) 41%
Phil Hudock (Constitution) 2%

Third Congressional District

Daryl Cowles (R) 52%
Nick Rahall (D) 48%

R+8

[NewYorkExpress]

Alabama

Governor (Bob Riley Term-Limited)

Bradley Byrne (R) 61%
Artur Davis (D) 39%

Senate

Richard Shelby (R) 64%
Simone De Moore (D) 36%

First Congressional District

Jo Bonner (R) 71%
Jessie Tompkins (D) 22%
David Walter (Constitution) 7%

Second Congressional District

Martha Roby (R) 55%
Bobby Bright (D) 45%

R+9

Third Congressional District

Mike Rogers (R) 64%
Steve Segrest (D) 36%

Fourth Congressional District

Robert Aderholt (R) 77%
Daniel Boman (D) 23%

Fifth Congressional District (Parker Griffith running for Lieutenant Governor)

Mo Brooks (R) 54%
Steve Raby (D) 46%

R+10

Sixth Congressional District

Spencer Bachus (R) 63%
Phil Poole (D) 37%

Seventh Congressional District (Artur Davis running for Governor)

Terri Sewell (D) 71%
Don Chamberlain (R) 29%

Hawaii

Governor (Linda Lingle term-limited, running for Senate)

Neil Abercrombie (D) 61%
Duke Aiona (R) 39%

D/R+0

Senate (Daniel Inyoue retiring)

Mazie Hirono (D) 53%
Linda Lingle (R) 47%

First Congressional District

Colleen Hanabusa (D) 55%
Charles Djou (R) 45%


Second Congressional District (Mazie Hirono running for Senate)

Tulsi Gabbard (D) 61%
Lynn Finnegan (R) 39%

[NewYorkExpress]

Montana

At-Large Congressional District

Denny Rehberg (R) 61%
Dennis McDonald (D) 32%
Mike Fellows (L) 7%

Delaware

Senate(Appointed incumbent Ruth Ann Minner retiring)

Chris Coons (D) 51%
Mike Castle (R) 47.9%
Glenn Miller (Delaware Independent) 0.9%
James Rash (L) 0.2%

At-Large Congressional District (Mike Castle running for Senate)

Jack Markell (D) 59.5%
Glenn Urquhart (R) 29.5%
Earl Lofland (Delaware Independent) 5%
Jeffrey Brown (Blue Enigma) 3.4%
Brent Wangen (L) 2.6%

[NewYorkExpress]

Illinois

Governor

Pat Quinn (D) 48%
Kirk Dillard (R) 46%
Rich Whitney (G) 5%
Lex Green (L) 1%

Senate

Lisa Madigan (D) 49%
Ray LaHood (R) 45%
LeAlan Jones (G) 4%
Michael Labno (L) 2%

First Congressional District

Bobby Rush (D) 74%
Ray Wardingley (R) 23%
Jeff Adams (I) 3%

Second Congressional District (Jesse Jackson Jr defeated in primary)

Freddrenna Lyle (D) 75%
Isaac Hayes (R) 19%
Anthony Williams (G) 6%

Third Congressional District (Dan Lipinski defeated in primary)

Toni Preckwinkle (D) 55%
Michael Bendas (R) 39%
Laurel Lambert Schmidt (G) 6%

Fourth Congressional District

Luis Gutierrez (D) 85%
Israel Vazquez (R) 13%
Robert Burns (G) 2%

Fifth Congressional District

Rahm Emanuel (D) 60%
Rosanna Pulido (R) 31%
Andrew Williams (G) 9%

Sixth Congressional District

Peter Roskam (R) 52%
Ben Lowe (D) 48%

Seventh Congressional District

Danny Davis (D) 88%
Mark Weiman (R) 9%
Clarence Clemons (I) 3%

Eighth Congressional District

Melissa Bean (D) 49%
Joe Walsh (R) 47.5%
Bill Schuerer (G) 3.5%

Ninth Congressional District

Jan Schakowsky (D) 67%
Joel Pollak (R) 29%
Simon Ribero (G) 4%

Tenth Congressional District(Mark Kirk running for Attorney General)

Dan Seals (D) 51%
Bob Dold (R) 49%

R+9

Eleventh Congressional District

Adam Kinzinger (R) 52%
Debbie Halvorson (D) 48%

R+10

Twelfth Congressional District

Jerry Costello (D) 56%
Theresa Kormos (R) 40%
Rodger Jennings (G) 4%

Thirteenth Congressional District

Judy Biggert (R) 55%
Scott Harper (D) 45%

Fourteenth Congressional District

Bill Foster (D) 51%
Ethan Hastert (R) 47%
Daniel Karis (G) 2%

Fifteenth Congressional District

Tim Johnson (R) 60%
David Gill (D) 40%

Sixteenth Congressional District

Don Manzullo (R) 57%
George Gaulrapp (D) 38%
Terry Campbell (G) 5%

Seventeenth Congressional District

Phil Hare (D) 49%
Bobby Schilling (R) 46%
Roger Davis (G) 5%

Eighteenth Congressional District

Aaron Schock (R) 71%
Diedre Heimer (D) 16%
Sheldon Schafer (G) 13%

Nineteenth Congressional District

John Shimkus (R) 75%
Tim Bagwell (D) 25%