Conor Kenny's News Articles

Promises Made: The Democratic Congressional Agenda

by Conor Kenny — December 8, 2006 - 5:20pm
  • Topics: Election 2006, U.S. Congress, U.S. Government

    • Guest blogger: Congresspedia intern Tim Malacarne

    The Democratic Party’s return to majority status in both the House and Senate for the 110th Congress means that, for the first time since 1994, Democrats have the unfettered ability to set the congr

    The Last Three Contested House Races: Texas, Louisiana, and (of course) Florida

    by Conor Kenny — December 7, 2006 - 3:12pm

    A month after election day we're finally down to just three contested House races:

    • Louisiana-2nd District: Scandal-plagued incumbent Democratic Rep. William Jefferson will defend his seat against Democratic challenger Karen Carter in a runoff on Saturday.
    • Texas-23rd District: Incumbent Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla faces off against former Democratic Rep. Ciro Rodriguez in a runoff on December 12th. Bonilla fell just short of obtaining the 50 percent he needed to win on November 7th after a judge threw out the congressional district in place during the primary, ordering the general election open to all comers. The district had been drawn under a plan orchestrated by former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) in 2003 and was ruled to violate the voting rights of Latinos.
    • Florida-13th District: Republican Vern Buchanan has been certified the winner of Rep. Katherine Harris's open seat with a 369 vote margin over Democrat Christine Jennings. However, voting irregularities, including 18,000 missing votes, were rife during the election and Jennings and several organizations have filed suit to challenge the results. They are seeking a new election because the electronic voting machines used in the district have no paper trail. We're going to put this one in Buchanan's column for now, but I wouldn't count Jennings out yet.

    In the meantime, we're going to retire the "Wiki the Vote" graphic off the front page, but you can find all of our coverage of the 2006 elections under the "Quick Links" heading at the top of the Congresspedia home page.

    Will the new Congress try to impeach President Bush? Could a state?

    by Conor Kenny — November 30, 2006 - 3:30pm
  • Topics: U.S. Congress, Democracy, U.S. Government

    • After decisive Democratic victories in the recent congressional elections, some speculated that the party may seek to impeach President Bush from office, as the Republican Congress did to Bill Clinton in 1998. After all, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a resolution late in 2005 (which now has 38 co-sponsors) authorizing a special House committee to investigate the administration on a number of matters and possibly make a recommendation for impeachment. Following the elections, however, Conyers echoed the sentiments of Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), insisting that impeachment is now “off the table” in the 110th Congress. Conyers' office has separately confirmed to Congresspedia that he has no intention to reintroduce his bill in the new session of Congress.

    Specifically, Conyers' resolution would have investigated the administration's:

    Prospects for Ethics Reform in the 110th Congress

    by Conor Kenny — November 30, 2006 - 2:46pm
  • Topics: Election 2006, U.S. Congress, Lobbying

    • Guest poster: Paul Blumenthal of the Sunlight Foundation

    Exit polls show that the 109th Congress severely misread the American voters and believed that passing lobbying and ethics reforms was unnecessary, despite the parade of FBI raids, criminal indictments, and jailed lawmakers and lobbyists.

    Taxation Without Representation: Are Voting Rights Finally Coming to the Nation's Capital?

    by Conor Kenny — November 28, 2006 - 7:30pm
  • Topics: U.S. Congress, Democracy, Politics, U.S. Government

    • Earlier this month, voters from the 50 U.S. states shaped the composition of the 110th Congress at the polls. Unable to join them were the 388,000 registered voters who call the District of Columbia home.

    It's Getting Ugly: Remaining House Races Devolve Into Lawsuits and Hand Recounts

    by Conor Kenny — November 22, 2006 - 2:55pm

    As the days stretch on from election day, things are starting to get ugly in the remaining unconceded House races.

    Robo-Calls and Other 2006 Election Irregularities

    by Conor Kenny — November 21, 2006 - 6:50pm
  • Topics: U.S. Congress, Democracy, U.S. Government

    • Congresspedia is tracking the reports of irregularities in the 2006 congressional elections, which include problems with electronic voting machines, voter suppression tactics and even voter registration fraud.

    Congressional Leadership Contests Decided

    by Conor Kenny — November 17, 2006 - 5:03pm
  • Topics: U.S. Congress, Democracy, U.S. Government

    • The last of the votes for the leaders of the 110th Congress are finished and the old guard remains largely in place. In the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) moved up from Minority Leader to House Speaker, Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) moved up from Minority Whip to Majority Leader and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) moved up from Democratic Caucus Chair to Majority Whip.

    And Then There Were Seven: Dems Hold on to Georgia Seat

    by Conor Kenny — November 16, 2006 - 8:19pm
  • Topics: Election 2006, U.S. Congress

    • The Georgia secretary of state today certified the final results of the Georgia congressional elections and Democratic Rep. John Barrow squeaked by Republican challenger Max Burns with less than one percent of the vote to hold on to the Georgia 12th seat. According to the AP story, the Republican-controlled Georgia Legislature redrew the 12th district in 2005 to exclude Barrow's house and many of his constituents, but Barrow moved back into the district and prevailed anyway.

    There are still seven races left to be called. Check back with Congresspedia and our Election 2006 homepage for details, updates and analysis.

    Six Races Still Too Close To Call, Two Headed for a Run-Off

    by Conor Kenny — November 15, 2006 - 6:40pm
  • Topics: Election 2006, U.S. Congress

    • In what seems to be becoming an American tradition, there are still uncalled House seats eight days after the election. While The Democratic control of the House is solidly entrenched, the results of these races will determine just how much breathing room they have in passing their legislative agenda.

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