CNN reports corruption was the number most important issue to voters who responded to exit surveys. Early Senate numbers (uncomfirmed and with caveats):
Democrats are leading in Rhode Island (+7), Virginia (+7), Pennsylvania (+15), Ohio (+14), New Jersey (+8), Montana (+9), Missouri (+2).
Republicans are leading in Tennessee (+4) and Arizona (+4).
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Goodbye Rhode Island. We got lost and missed our interview with Democratic Senate nominee Sheldon Whitehouse. However, we chased him across town to Brown University and got a great interview with him in a social room in one of the dorms.
We’re now in Boston! My brother and I went to school here and haven’t been back to Beantown in a while. We have all sorts of craziness happening over the next three days.
We’ll interview Deval Patrick, Michael Dukakis, Jeanne Shaheen, Ed Augustus and many more.
Right now, I’m sitting outside of Arty’s house, waiting for him to get home from work so we can unpack the DoubleSpeak van. Arty is a good friend from Northeastern University who still lives up here in Jamaica Plains. Arty does some technical work on the DoubleSpeak website and he hosts our website on his server. Maybe I can talk him into guest posting on the blog.
The next DoubleSpeak episode will be up in a few hours. Stay tuned!
-Peter
It’s late. We just got done a little business meeting and scheduling session. We’re now parting ways and spreading out to bedrooms throughout this wonderful Rhode Island home.
Patty’s (Matthew’s special lady friend) parents are great. They made us a feast and even helped with laundry, which was starting to pile up.
I’m so excited to get to Boston! Lots of friends, lots of great interviews and we’ll take Saturday off to relax and enjoy the city.
If anyone is in the Boston area and would like to meet up, shoot us an email at doublespeak@doublespeakshow.com and we’ll let you know where we’ll be.
After Boston, we’ll leave the comforts of the East Coast and forge the Ohio Valley. That, my friends is where the journey will really begin.
If you haven’t had a chance to listen to today’s episode with Joe Sestak, please do so. I just re-listened and I have to say, this man needs to be elected to Congress. He’s thoughtful, able, smart and ready for this job.
We just ate a huge Portuguese feast at Patty’s parent’s house and now we’re all sitting around doing work on our respective laptops.
We had a really great day in New Haven. As Josh mentioned before we interviewed Tim Tagaris, the Internet Director for the Ned Lamont campaign. He’s wicked smart (I’m in New England so I can say that) and we’ll have his interview posted in the next day or two.
New Haven is a beautiful town and today was perhaps the nicest day I’ve seen all year- perfect temperature with sun and a slight breeze. When the weather is good, I am happy.
The leaves are already starting to change colors up here in New England and we’ve driven by a number of pumpkin patches. It’s definitely fall and I love it.
Tomorrow we’ll spend the day right outside of Providence producing a couple of shows and then tomorrow night we’re scheduled to interview Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate in Rhode Island. Then, we’ll head to our old stomping ground in Boston for a three day jaunt. We have some great interviews booked up in the Bay State including with a former Democratic nominee for President…any guesses?
Ok, back to work. Hope everyone is having a good night out in TV land.
-Matthew
This first entry today won’t be long because we’re finishing up some work here in Cheshire, CT and then driving back to New Haven for some interviews.
Later this afternoon we’re driving due north to Rhode Island, home of one of the most closely watched Senate races in America between embattled Republican Lincoln Chaffee and Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse.
We had a great night sleep, some tasty (healthy) food and we’re all feeling good.
Tonight, more writing and producing!
Keep an eye out for our next episode with Joe Sestak (PA-07) and Lois Murphy (PA-06) – the episode should be up within the hour.
Key findings: Whitehouse gains a slight edge because 72% of Democrats say they would vote for Whitehouse. Although 69% of likely voters have a favorable opinion of Chafee, compared to 51% for Whitehouse, over 80% of those saying they have a favorable opinion of Whitehouse say they would vote for Whitehouse, compared to 56% for Chafee. Democrats who like both candidates say they would vote for Whitehouse.
Also, a Rasmussen Reports poll released on September 18, 2006 shows Whitehouse leading Chafee by 8%.
As the DoubleSpeak minivan barrels up the coast, you should expect to hear from Sheldon Whitehouse on our show soon!
Greg Giroux from Congressional Quarterly wrote up a great primary day primer on Political Wire. I’m running around like a mad-man today, so in the interest of time, I tip my hat to the good people over at Political Wire and encourage everyone to check out their great analysis. DoubleSpeak will have election night coverage later this evening and into tomorrow morning. Stay tuned.
Most of the remaining November matchups for governor, senator and U.S. House will be set Tuesday, when nine states will hold primary elections: Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
The marquee matchup is the Republican Senate primary in Rhode Island, where Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who frequently bucks GOP leaders, faces a stiff challenge from Cranston mayor Steve Laffey, who is more conservative. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is backing Chafee on the grounds that he is the only Republican who could possibly prevail this year in Rhode Island, which usually votes Democratic. Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, a former Rhode Island Attorney General, is expected to easily win his party’s primary.
The other major Senate primary Tuesday is in Maryland, where Democrats have a large field of candidates in the race to succeed retiring five-term Democrat Paul S. Sarbanes. Rep. Ben Cardin and former Rep. Kweisi Mfume are the best-known Democrats, while Republicans are behind Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. In the contest for governor, Republican incumbent Bob Ehrlich and Democrat Martin O’Malley, the mayor of Baltimore, are unopposed in the primaries. In Cardin’s Democratic-leaning 3rd District, the crowded Democratic field includes state Sen. Paula Hollinger, former Baltimore health commissioner Peter Beilenson and lawyer John Sarbanes, who is the retiring senator’s son. In the 4th District, which is anchored in inner suburbs of Washington, D.C., Democratic Rep. Albert Wynn faces a primary challenge from lawyer Donna Edwards.
An often overlooked race in the Democratic Party’s battle to win back control of Congress, the Rhode Island Senate race continues to get more interesting. Rhode Island Secretary of State Matt Brown (D) dropped out of the race this April, leaving former Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse (D) as the presumptive nominee to battle Lincoln Chafee in the general election. While Chafee is considered a moderate in the GOP, Rhode Island is a decidedly blue state that seems poised to go bluer this cycle.
A new Brown University poll out today shows Whitehouse leading Chafee for the first time in the race. Via PW.
If the general election is held today, 38 percent say they will vote for Sheldon Whitehouse, 37 percent support Senator Chafee, and 25 percent are undecided (compared to Chafee’s lead of 40 to 34 percent in February).
If the Republican nominee is Mayor Laffey, Whitehouse is ahead by 55 to 25 percent (up from the 44 to 29 percent Whitehouse had in February).
This is an absolutely essential pickup for the Dems in ‘06 if we want to retake the Senate. You can help by volunteering or contributing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Patrick Kennedy has ended nearly a month of treatment for addiction to prescription pain drugs and had an appearance scheduled Monday in his home state of Rhode Island.
Kennedy left the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. on Friday.
“The congressman was discharged after completing his treatment at the Mayo Clinic,” said Kennedy chief of staff Sean Richardson. “He’s feeling great and he’s looking forward to getting back to work.”
