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Meet the candidates: Eight states holding congressional primaries today

(For a full list of candidates, see the Delaware, District of Columbia, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin portals.)

By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas

It’s almost like Super Tuesday again: seven states and the District of Columbia are holding primary elections today. The races in some states are perfunctory, with little or no opposition for incumbents, while other districts are hotly contested. Either way, today's races will set up some of the most important match-ups in November, and our citizen-journalists have been tracking them on Congresspedia.

Delaware
Vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden is up for re-election this year. There are no other Democrats challenging him for the Senate seat, and Republican Christine O'Donnell is also unopposed. Meanwhile, two Democrats are battling for the chance to challenge at-large Rep. Mike Castle (R).

District of Columbia
In 1982, in a bid for statehood, District residents approved what would have been a state constitution, and called for the election of a shadow representative and two shadow senators, who would assume office in Congress if statehood was granted.

Residents continue to elect shadow senators and a shadow representative (in addition to the non-voting delegate. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the delegate, is unopposed today, as is shadow representative Mike Panetta (D). Incumbent shadow senator Paul Strauss, a Democrat, is being challenged by Philip Pannell in today’s primary.

Click through for previews of primaries in the other states.

Congresspedia Preview: This Week in Congress (September 5-12, 2008)

By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas

Congress is returning to work this week, following a month off for campaigning in home districts and to allow for the Democratic and Republican conventions. A couple of oldies but goodies will top the agenda for senators and representatives: only one spending bill for the FY 2009 budget has been approved (for Military Construction-Veterans Affairs), and it was passed by just one chamber. Therefore, it appears likely Congress will work on a continuing resolution to keep the government running.

In addition, the question of energy development will emerge as a major issue, as Republicans are continuing to press for expanded offshore drilling while Democrats want to extend renewable energy tax breaks. Also, there are congressional primaries in several states tomorrow — there is more information below, and stay tuned tomorrow for a full election preview.

Meet the candidates: Winners of the congressional primaries in Arizona

(For a full list of candidates, see the Arizona portal.)

By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas

There were no surprises in Arizona on Tuesday, with the front-runners obtaining victories in the state’s congressional primary elections. Half of Arizona’s eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are considered competitive, and the goal for Republicans is to prevent Democrats from flipping any of the four GOP-held seats. The best chance for Democrats is likely in the 1st congressional district, where indicted Rep. Rick Renzi (R) is not seeking re-election.

For CD-01, the November ballot will feature former state Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D), who easily won her party’s nomination, and Sydney Hay, a lobbyist for Arizona’s mining industry. Kirkpatrick has an advantage with fundraising, but Hay has accused the Democrat of having no legislative accomplishments and of being "wrong" on the issues.

In other races, former Maricopa County treasurer David Schweikert secured the GOP nomination in the race of Republican candidates looking to unseat Democratic Rep. Harry Mitchell in the 5th district. Meanwhile, in the 6th CD, Rebecca Schneider won the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Jeff Flake in the general election.

Meet the Candidates: Winners of Alaska's Congressional Primaries

The Alaskan primary has gone well beyond down to the wire, as Rep. Don Young (R) waits to hear whether the absentee and "question ballots" counted on September 5th will maintain his 152 vote lead (out of 93,544 cast) over Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. The winner will face former State Rep. Ethan Berkowitz, who won the Democratic nomination.

Ted Stevens, meanwhile, easily batted away his Republican challengers and will face Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich on the Democratic side, as well as Libertarian David Haase, Veterans Party of Alaska candidate Ted Gianoutsos and Alaska Independence candidate Bob Bird.

Know something about any of these candidates? Join the other citizens, activists and candidates contributing information to their Congresspedia profiles. You can get started at the Alaska portal or contact one of the staff editors for help.

Meet the candidates: Congressional primaries in Arizona today

(For a full list of candidates, see the Arizona portal.)

By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas

Arizonans head to the polls today for a number of local and federal primary races, while Sen. John McCain is in St. Paul preparing to receive the GOP nomination for president during the Republican National Convention. And though he’s in the national spotlight, Arizona Republicans are hoping he can help out in done-ballot races come November. With one open seat (due to the retirement of Republican Rep. Rick Renzi) and several other contested races, Arizona will factor heavily in the battle for control of Congress this year.

Open seats usually attract a large number of candidates, and Renzi’s seat in the 1st congressional district is no exception. Congresspedia’s citizen-journalists have identified four Democrats and five Republicans vying for the general election ballot. For the GOP, Barry Hall, Tom Hansen, Sydney Hay, Preston Korn and Sandra Livingstone are in the running. Hay has name recognition from the 2000 primary and a fundraising advantage, but Livingstone drew the support (and endorsements) of some prominent Republicans in the district. The winner will likely face Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, a former state lawmaker, in the November general election.

There are two other contested primaries in Arizona today, in the 5th and 6th districts.

Wanted Immediately: An Editor for our Election Protection Work on SourceWatch

Background

As the world learned in 2000 and 2004, the very integrity of the voting process in the United States has come under suspicion with dubious outcomes. Fair and honest elections with properly counted results that can be documented and trusted are essential to democracy. But can we really trust the results today? Who is watchdogging elections at the local, state and national level? Will hanging chads and unaccountable electronic machines determine the outcome of the 2008 vote?

To help answer these questions, and to play a role in improving the process, we at the Center for Media and Democracy will soon be launching a new project on our www.SourceWatch.org website, our Election Protection portal. Watch for it in the weeks ahead.

SourceWatch, our online encyclopedia of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda, will soon become a clearing house of vital current information, research and reports for examining the US election process. The new Election Protection portal will be a key "first stop" online resource for information about election officials, polling places, procedures and regulations.

We're hoping to meet an urgent need. There has never to our knowledge been a central repository for this information, certainly not one that harnesses citizen journalism and the benefits of 'wiki' collaboration to stay up to date and accurate. The lack of such a website has been a serious hindrance to understanding and responding to problems on Election Day and to reforming voting procedures before the next election.

Many organizations and individuals are working across the United States to protect our right to vote and the integrity of the electoral process. In the weeks ahead we will be drawing attention to their work and pulling it together in one portal in Sourcewatch. This is an experiment, it's not been done before. We're doing it in the spirit of our successful experiment earlier this year, the Super Delegate Transparency Project.

Limited-Term Position Available to Work on the Election Protection Project

Right now, we're looking for the right person to become the paid editor of our Election Protection wiki, beginning immediately. Below is the job posting. If you qualify, please send us an email. This is a short term position with no benefits, and it will be a demanding job, but it's an important position. We hope to fill this position by the end of the week, so please send this quickly to anyone you know who might be interested.

Members of Congress using Twitter: 30+ and still counting

By Congresspedia assistant editor Avelino Maestas

Congresspedia was launched as a project that would enable Americans to participate in government, by researching and writing about their elected representatives and the lawmaking process. Bridging the divide between lawmakers and their constituents, through the use of technology, has been a central goal.

There are, of course, other resources where this connection is happening, and one that caught our attention lately is Twitter. The popular microblogging site allows users to post short, 140-character status updates, messages and announcements. Those following a user can receive an instant notification when that person "tweets."

Lately, more and more members of Congress have started using the service. Some have adopted it for campaign purposes (see Sen. Barack Obama) while others are using Twitter to inform their constituents about developments in Congress. For example, Rep. John Culberson was one of the first members to "tweet" from the floor of the House of Representatives.

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