Archive for the ‘State Legislature News’ Category

We had two special elections last night and two special election victories.

South Carolina saw Republican Phyllis Henderson win:

Voters in Greenville County chose the new member of the South Carolina House on Tuesday.

Republican Phyllis Henderson topped Democrat Susan Scarborough Smith for the District 21 seat, claiming 73 percent of the votes.

The special election filled the seat of the late Rep. Bill Wylie, of Simpsonville. Officials said the 70-year-old Republican died of a heart attack while on vacation in Jackson’s Hole, Wyo., in September.

Voters in Texas sent Republican John Kuempel to the State House:

John Kuempel, son of the late state Rep. Edmund Kuempel, won a special election Tuesday to fill his late father’s seat, state election officials said. With all precincts reporting, John Kuempel, 40, received 65 percent of the votes cast.

Voters chose between six Republicans, two Democrats and a Libertarian. The second-runner, Republican Gary Inmon, got 10 percent.

John Kuempel’s victory gives the GOP 101 seats in the Texas House — one more than the supermajority they achieved earlier Tuesday, when Democrats Allen Ritter of Nederland and Aaron Peña of Edinburg formally became Republicans.

Edmund Kuempel, 67, a Seguin Republican, died Nov. 4 from a heart attack, two days after he was re-elected to the District 44 seat representing Guadalupe, Gonzales and Wilson counties.

From newsOK.com:

Four Republicans filed Monday for the Senate District 47 post now held by Sen. Todd Lamb, R-Edmond.
Advertisement

Lamb is leaving office in January to become lieutenant governor.

Filing Monday for the northwest Oklahoma City and Edmond-area district were engineer Todd Brawley, 46, attorney Steven Dobbs, 63, civic volunteer Carol Hefner, 49, and politico Greg Treat, 32.

Attorney Kenny Goza, 41, has also announced plans to run for the seat. The filing period ends Wednesday.

The primary is Jan. 11. There will be no runoff. A general election, if needed, will be Feb. 8.

So far, no Democrat has announced plans to run for the seat.

Read the Rest…

It seems like everyday we are here telling you of a Democrat leaving his party and joining the Republicans. Today’s is courtesy of Louisiana, and it puts the GOP one seat away from majority.

From nola.com:

State Rep. Fred Mills of St. Martin Parish has become the latest lawmaker to defect from the Democratic Party and join the Republican ranks.

His move, confirmed by Louisiana Republican Party spokesman Aaron Baer and aides to Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, gives the House GOP Caucus 52 members, widening the plurality it achieved just weeks ago and putting the party within one vote a majority for the first time since post-Civil War Reconstruction.

Mills did not respond to messages about his decision. It is widely known among Capitol observers that he is contemplating a bid for the state Senate seat vacated by Troy Hebert’s acceptance of Jindal’s appointment as commissioner of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Rep. Simone Champagne of Jeanerette already had joined the Republicans in preparation for the special election for the Hebert seat early next year.

Read the Rest…

From 13wmaz.com:

Twiggs County State Rep. James “Bubber” Epps is the latest Georgia legislator to switch from the Democratic to the Republican party.

Speaking by phone from Athens, Epps said Monday that he’s joining the Republican caucus in the General Assembly.

He said he’ll be better able to help the district, in a house dominated by Republicans and controlled by Republican leadership.

“I think it will give me a seat at the table,” he said.

“My major roll is to position myself where I can best serve my constituents,” he said. “I have to be in the best position possible to bring back what can I can for the district.”

Epps noted that only five bills from the Democratic caucus made it through the legislature to become law this year.

Read the Rest…

Folks are lining up for the appointment to the senate seat held by Secretary of State Elect Jon Husted:

From Dayton Daily News:

State Reps. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, and Seth Morgan, R-Huber Heights, and their supporters have mounted contrasting efforts to win the seat representing the 6th District, which includes most of the Montgomery County suburbs.

Lehner has assembled a portfolio of recommendations from top area government, business, education and health care leaders.

Morgan backers, meanwhile, launched an online petition drive that by Friday had picked up signatures from 498 people across the state. Morgan also provided Senate Republicans with a letter of support signed by leading Ohio social conservatives.

Two other candidates for the seat also are widely known among county Republicans. Dr. David Westbrock, a physician from Washington Twp., twice has run unsuccessfully for the U.S. House and is a vice chairman of the county Republican Party.

Read the Rest…

Yet ANOTHER Democrat has decided his party has failed him. This moves Texas ever so close to the 2/3 Majority mark in the Texas House.

From Statesman.com:

State Rep. Allan Ritter of Nederland said Saturday that he will leave the Democratic Party and become a Republican, probably giving the GOP a two-thirds majority in the Texas House.

He may not be the last one. Democratic Rep. Aaron Peña of Edinburg hinted Saturday about making the switch to the GOP.

Ritter would be the 99th Republican in the 150-member House. The seat last held by Republican Edmund Kuempel of Seguin, who died last month, is likely to stay in GOP hands, which means two-thirds of the members of the House would be Republicans. The party would be able to pass a constitutional amendment and take money out of the state’s rainy day fund without any Democratic votes.

Ritter, whose district is in the Beaumont area, did not have a Republican challenger this year. Others who fit his profile — moderate to conservative, white Democrats from rural areas and mid-size towns — got swept away in the November elections, and Ritter could well have lost if the GOP had challenged him.

Read the Rest…

From CharlotteObserver.com:

The new Republican majority in the North Carolina House has chosen Ruth Samuelson as majority whip.

The Mecklenburg County representative was chosen Saturday by the House Republican Caucus during a retreat in Hickory.

Last month, the caucus chose Rep. Thom Tillis of Mecklenburg County as their nominee to become the next speaker of the North Carolina House and Paul Stam of Wake County as the next majority leader.

Read the Rest…

Republicans are now filing legislation that would ban insurance mandates that are included in the health care bill. Expect fights like this to spread across the country.

From kspr.com:

Legislation filed by a pair of Republican lawmakers in Arkansas proposes blocking a portion of the health care overhaul that requires people to buy health insurance.

Rep.-elect David Meeks and Sen. Denny Altes on Wednesday proposed prohibiting any laws or rules that would require someone to purchase health insurance and would penalize people who don’t buy insurance. Meeks is from Conway and Altes will be a state representative from Fort Smith in next year’s session.

The federal health care law requires most Americans to carry health insurance — through an employer, a government program, or by buying their own policy. The federal health care insurance mandate does not take effect until 2014.

Read the Rest…

Now a State Senator, this longtime Democrat is fed up with his party in Washington. The Democrat exodus continues.

From nola.com:

BATON ROUGE – State Sen. John Alario, a former two-time House speaker and a fixture in state politics for nearly four decades, is now a Republican.

After weeks of saying he was likely to abandon his Democratic allegiance by the end of the year, Alario quietly made it official late last week.

“I just casually went in and took care of it,” Alario, of Westwego, said. “I had been pondering it for some time and didn’t want to make a big deal of it.”

Read the Rest…