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Election 2002 (11/6/2002) Historic gains by Republicans on November 5 could
spell opportunities for sportsmen across the United States.
While the party that holds the White House has often lost ground
in Congress, President George W. Bush capitalized on his high approval
ratings and led the GOP to gains in the House of Representatives and a
takeover of the Senate. In
addition, Republicans successfully defended stiff challenges in many
gubernatorial races, and captured some historic prizes in the process.
President Bush campaigned relentlessly in the final weeks of the
election season in key races for Senate, House and governor, and the
effort seems to have paid off. U.S. Senate Goes Republican Nearly every key Senate race went to the GOP. Colorado’s Republican incumbent Wayne Allard emerged victorious in a tight race. Minnesota’s Norm Coleman, the former mayor of St. Paul, narrowly defeated latecomer, former Vice-President Walter Mondale. Missouri’s former Congressman Jim Talent beat incumbent Democrat Jean Carnahan, who took office two years ago after her husband was elected posthumously. Because it was a special election, Talent will be sworn in shortly, establishing an immediate Republican majority. In the New Hampshire Senate race, Congressman John Sununu, son of former President Bush's Chief of Staff, edged Governor Jean Shaheen. Sununu had previously defeated anti-hunting sympathizer Senator Bob Smith in a tough primary. The shocker, however, came in Georgia where Democrat incumbent Max Cleland, a decorated war veteran, was ahead in all pre-election polls. Republican Saxby Chambliss, a key U.S. House supporter of sportsmen and former co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, handily won in a race that seemed to set the tone for the entire election. The GOP currently holds 51 seats with a couple of races yet to be decided. In South Dakota, incumbent Democrat Senator Tim Johnson, a protégé of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, appears victorious with a lead of 527 votes over Republican Congressman John Thune, handpicked by President Bush. The other seat remaining in play is in Louisiana, where incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu won in a four-way race but failed to get 50 percent of the vote plus one. As a result, she faces a run-off on December 7 with runner-up, State Elections Commissioner Suzanne Terrell. Democrats did manage to pick up Arkansas’s
Senate seat with State Attorney General Mark Pryor’s defeat of
incumbent Republican Tim Hutchinson.
In New Jersey, former Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg, a last
minute substitute for scandal-ridden Bob Torricelli, won as well over
Republican Douglas Forrester. The GOP takeover should bring positive tidings for sportsmen. Sununu’s victory in the primary makes the takeover that much sweeter. Had Smith won, he would likely have become the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, a position that has great influence over hunting, fishing and trapping issues. The change also removes longtime Democratic Senator Robert Byrd from the chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee. Byrd has become increasingly liberal over recent years including supporting a ban on trapping on the National Wildlife Refuge system. Also up for grabs is the chair of the important Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The current ranking minority Senator is Frank Murkowski who was elected Governor of Alaska and will be retiring from the Senate. The results should also mean a break in the
logjam of judicial appointees bottled up by the Democratic Chairman of
the Senate Judiciary Committee, Frank Leahy of Vermont. With the anti's going to federal court more aggressively than
ever in recent years, these lifetime appointments could make a crucial
difference down the road. With
Leahy deposed as chairman, bills like Delaware Senator Joe Biden’s
dangerously worded captive animal legislation are less likely to see any
movement in the next session. However, with several long-time Republicans not returning due to election losses and retirements (Helms, Murkowski, Smith, Thurmond), the shuffle for chairmanships is far too complicated to predict. GOP Increases Its Majority in the House of
Representatives Democratic hopes of taking over the House of Representatives never materialized as the Republicans increased their number by as many as six seats. This should leave in place a strong House Resources Committee, which deals with most wildlife and hunting issues that come before the House. However, the Resources Committee will be acquiring a new chairman due to the retirement of Congressman Jim Hansen of Utah. Likely candidates to succeed Hansen are Jim Saxton of New Jersey, John Duncan, Jr. of Tennessee and Richard Pombo of California. Republicans Maintain Edge in Gubernatorial Seats
with Key Upsets Expected Republican losses in governor races around the U.S. were neutralized by four upsets in democratic strongholds. In Massachusetts, former Salt Lake City Olympics chief, Mitt Romney, a Republican, defeated the current State Treasurer, Shannon O’Brien. Despite a 2-1 advantage in voter registration, Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the frontrunner for governor of Maryland, was upset by Republican Representative Robert Ehrlich. Townsend, daughter of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, came out for increased gun control late in the race, in the wake of the sniper shootings. Ehrlich succeeds retiring incumbent Parris Glendening, which can only spell good things for sportsmen. Glendening is perhaps the only governor in the country to display an open affection for animal rights and contempt for sportsmen. In Hawaii, Republican Linda Lingle, a former Maui mayor and state GOP chairman, narrowly defeated Attorney General Mazie Hirono. Once again, the most shocking upset was in Georgia where Republican Sonny Purdue defeated incumbent Roy Barnes. No Democratic incumbent governor has failed to win a second term in Georgia until now and a Republican had not sat in the governor’s mansion since 1872. These three wins helped offset the expected pickups for Democrats in Illinois, where anti-gun candidate Rod Blagojevich defeated Attorney General Jim Ryan; in Michigan where current Attorney General Jennifer Granholm defeated Lt. Governor Dick Posthumus; and in Pennsylvania where former Philadelphia mayor, Ed Rendell, prevailed over Attorney General Mike Fisher. In the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, Democrat Jim
Doyle, the current Attorney General who is regarded by sportsmen as
anti-hunting, defeated incumbent Scott McCallum. In Iowa, Democrat Tom Vilsack, who vetoed a mourning dove
bill in his first term, was re-elected to a second term. A key highlight of the election was the victory of Connecticut’s Republican Governor John Rowland, who was decisively elected to a third term over former State Comptroller, Bill Curry. Last summer, Rowland courageously vetoed poorly worded state animal cruelty legislation that would have negatively impacted sportsmen who hunt with hounds. Gubernatorial races still remain in question in Alabama, Arizona and Vermont. In all, Democrats did increase their share of statehouses from 21 to 23, but still trail Republicans who hold 24 seats. Animal Rights Groups Have Mixed Results with
Ballot Issues Arkansas voters appear to have overwhelmingly rejected Initiated Act 1, a poorly worded animal cruelty act opposed by the state’s sporting and agriculture communities. With 69 percent of the vote tabulated, the Act was being defeated 64 percent to 36 percent. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance was a contributor to the "Vote No campaign" and worked with its partners in Arkansas, including the Arkansas State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, to inform sportsmen about the Act. In Oklahoma, animal rights groups successfully banned cockfighting with the passage of Ballot Question 687 by a vote of 56 percent to 44 percent. At the same time, they defeated Ballot Question 698 that would have raised the bar to qualify future ballot issues attempting to restrict animal uses. The issue was defeated 53 percent to 47 percent. In Florida, animal rights organizations successfully championed a constitutional amendment granting special rights to pregnant hogs. Amendment 10, which passed 55 percent to 45 percent, is viewed by many as a trial balloon for similar ballot issues in hog producing states in future years. CopyrightÓ U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance- www.ussportsmen.org
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