Corker wins! [ All Entries ]
Bob Corker took a Senate seat yesterday with 51% to Harold Ford Jr.'s 48%. Independent candidate Ed Choate pulled in a respectable 10,570 votes, or 1%. Interestingly enough, David Gatchell got nearly 4,000 votes for his "none of the above" initiative. I'd predicted a Corker win at 48%, but his voters outdid my expectations . Congratulations to Corker for being chosen to represent the state of Tennessee.Exit polls [ All Entries ]
According to CNN and CNN.com , it looks as if Corker may win this race for the Tennessee Senate seat. The percentages right now show Corker ahead with 52 percent of the vote, and Ford trailing slightly behind with 47 percent of the vote. Those numbers, of course, are changing as each precinct reports the votes. So far, only 57 percent of Tennessee's precincts have reported final votes.
The Tennessee exit poll on CNN.com shows of the 2,497 voters, 53 percent of men voted for Corker and 46 percent for Ford. Ford won 50 percent of women's votes and Corker won 48 percent. Corker has a strong lead in white votes (bo More ...
My predictions [ All Entries ]
I don't really like either candidate, but I find Ford to be less of a tool. However much I'd like Ford to win the race in the next few hours, I predict Corker to win with between 53.2 percent and 54.3 percent of the votes. As of now, a little more than 1 percent of precincts have reported their votes and Corker's in the lead.I'm rootin' for ya Harry [ All Entries ]
Since election night is upon us, I guess it's time for me to step up and say yes, I am rooting for Harold Ford! I'm thinking (more like hoping) he'll win with 52.3 percent of the vote. As I hear election news, I'll be back to chat more.Down to the wire! [ All Entries ]
Well, today is the big day! I hope all of you in Tennessee who can vote actually did vote, since we are sitting here in Virginia feeling very helpless. I'm trying to get an idea of what's going on and what will happen tonight, so here is some recent polling data.
I realize that my earlier post citing the DSCC poll was not an accurate representation since it is obviously biased, so I decided to do a little more research this time.
Check out Real Clear Politics.
RCP's average of the past few days' polling results show Corker with 50.3 percent of the vote and Ford with 44.3 percent, and 4.5 percent undecided. The RCP Web site now lists the Tennessee More ...
What about soybeans? [ Interviews/ ]
With all the mudslinging and dirty campaign ads culminating in today’s election, what happened to some of the real issues affecting Tennesseans? I spoke with Kenneth Moore, chairman of the Tennessee Soybean Promotion Board and director of the United Soybean Board, about his thoughts on this year’s midterm election.
Moore, who supports Corker, said he wished both candidates would have placed more emphasis on agriculture and the environment.
"I think that Corker is interested in agriculture and I think that he has a willing ear, some would say, when it comes to agricultural issues," Moore said. "He supports renewable fuels. But coming from [an agricultural standpoint] I would like to have seen maybe both of them show a little bit more interest in it."
Mo More ...
Reflections with two days left [ All Entries ]
Everyone's looking at Tennessee. Plenty of citizens have seen the now-defunct "Playboy" ad from the Republican National Committee; the NYT, Slate, the LAT, and every local paper from here to Kalamazoo is bringing news of the Tennessee Senate race to their readers.
What they're talking about isn't exactly the news, though. It's image, and it's mostly centered on Harold Ford -- as Slate's Josh Levin points out, Corker has been characterized as the country-talkin' white-haired opponent to the young potential black conservative from the South with a shady family and possibly shady values who must weather the storm of racism and accusations of elitism...who can resist that?.
Their positions on the issues are rather More ...
Low blows from Limbaugh can affect Tennessee race [ All Entries ]
It's one thing to mock a person's disability. It's a completely different story if you go after their integrity and courage to make a difference.
By now I'm sure you've heard of Rush Limbaugh's attack on Michael J. Fox faking the symptoms of his Parkinson's disease in an advertisement for Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill.
The in ad (click here to see the ad and hear some of Limbaugh's comments) Fox talks about the importance of stem cell research in finding a cure for diseases like Parkinson's. He is jerky, swaying from one side to the other, and his head is bobbing all over the place.
Fox is also in an advertisement for Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin and his symptoms are jus More ...
Face-off [ All Entries ]
Some insights into the Oct. 28 debate, until we get a chance to weigh in ourselves:
Listen courtesy of the Times Free Press; hear the candidates discuss the debate
Knox News
Memphis Flyer
Fox News
Front page of the Times [ All Entries ]
Tennessee ad controversy is hitting the front pages of even the New York Times...
The ad that is causing the controversy is one that comments on Ford attending Playboy parties and using money from porn industries. Republicans denied playing a part in the advertisement but now claim that it appeals to Corker's public base. That obviously make it right to have bare-shouldered actresses asking Ford to call her. A lot of the stuff that Ford is accused of supporting is just wrong. He did not vote to support gay marriage.
The ad was done by producer Scott Howell who has a knack for making controversial ads "to win tough races in spite of — or because of — the intense reaction the work so More ...
Money Money Money Money! [ Financing/ ]
According to PoliticalMoneyLine, an independent organization that monitors federal campaign finance reports, national-oriented 527 groups have received over $172 million to-date in preparation for next month’s election, with almost $42 million added within the third quarter of the 2006 cycle.
527s are political advocacy groups named after Section 527 of the IRS code that authorized their creation. The groups are not officially affiliated with campaigns or parties, though their intentions are to clearly help one candidate or another by airing negative information about the opponent.
Some groups have not filed third quarter reports yet, including the Free Enterprise Fund, which has produced anti-Ford ads heavily aired in Middle More ...
A few words on lobbyist ethics on the Hill [ Interviews/ ]
Everyone knows that Congressmen and women accept money from outside groups to fund their campaigns. All political parties have to get money from somewhere; otherwise they have no chance of winning their races. The question that we need to ask as intelligent and informed voters is not who's giving money to whom, but is this money actively changing the tide of politics?
Our Press and Politics class had a chance to interview Craig Holman. Holman works for Public Citizen Watch and focuses on government ethics and campaign finance. He said he has spent the last two years lobbying for lobby reform and is concerned with the "uncontrollable amount of money" that goes into Congress and worries about how it will be used.
Holman explained that there is a rule in Congress that More ...
Newsweek [ All Entries ]
Ford on the cover of Newsweek.
Regular Joe [ Interviews/ ]
Being a college student myself, I got curious about what Tennessee youth think about the race. Turns out that Ford supporters were more willing to talk to me, so I asked Joe Thompson, a senior at U. Memphis, to tell me why he chose to throw his weight behind the Rep. (Corker supporter comments to come).
Thompson, a Memphis native who has lived in the "more-wealthy" areas of the city, said he supports Ford's conservative leanings, including:
- Co-founding the Blue Dog Coalition, and working to balance the budget
- Bipartisan efforts
- Iraq policy to decentralize the country into three states with a centralized government "so that we can win the war and bring our troops home, where they belong."
- Voting against the Amnesty for Illegals act
His objections to Cor More ...
Food for thought [ All Entries ]
I came across these two articles and they both made me laugh.
You know when Pat Robertson doesn't support the Republican candidate in the heart of the Bible Belt, there might be a problem. But then again, would you really trust everyone and anything that Robertson endorses? Click here for the article.
Also, apparently Ford is robbing the cradle. I'm not really sure how valid this report is, or if it even matters to me, but I laughed nonetheless. With quotes from the George Washington sophomore like this, how can you go wrong?
Julia Baugher Said She "Struggled To Understand Exa More ...
Ad controversy hits the fan? [ Ads/ ]
A few weeks ago Corker came out with a new ad that's gotten him into some trouble. This ad has people saying:
"Bob is a great mayor...he never let us down and he wont let us down in the Senate."
They even go so far as to say "We’re from Chattanooga and are here to set the record straight... the negative ads are wrong and from people who know nothing about what he's done for Chattanooga."
On the surface not much is wrong with that, but news reports immediately started stating that two of the women in the ad were not from Chattanooga. The Tennessean reported that "The Corker campaign confirmed Wednesday that not all those people live in Chattanooga or voted for Corker wh More ...
Finally a word from Corker's people [ Basics/ ]
Days after Ford's campaign office made press releases declaring their victory in the first debate, Corker's office has done the same. I guess it's just the nature of the beast that both sides say they had the upper hand in the debate.
Some food for thought from Laura Leifer from Corker's office and press releases from Todd Womack, Corker for Senate communications director.
Congressman Harold Ford was put on the defensive during Saturday’s Memphis debate, failing to meet the high expectations the debating expert set for himself, the frustrated Ford said during a campaign stop in Jackson on Sunday that he may now have to emulate the campaigning style of his father, Harold Ford, Sr., and presumably, his uncle, John Ford.
“It’s interesting and note More ...
A word on lobbying with Heyward [ Interviews/ ]
I emailed Independent candidate Bo Heyward and asked him to weigh in on the issue of campaign lobbying and whether it can realistically be curbed.
"The problem with any change when it comes to money in elections is that someone will always figure out a way around it," he said.
"I am completely against any and all forms of lobbying. I look at it as legal bribery. All lobbying means is that the groups with the most money have the most influence, so the rest of us suffer. I really think there should be laws against any and all forms of lobbying, and that any interaction between lobbyists and elected officials should be illegal."
More ...The lobby debacle: jumping the gun? [ All Entries ]
There's much ado about Harold Ford, Sr.’s lobbying job and its influence on his son. Commercial Appeal reported that in December, the company that Sr. lobbies for, Pegasus Airwaves, flew Jr. to Miami for a speaking engagement that was actually a Christmas party.
Wrong? Yep – this democracy wasn't made just for you to drink eggnog, Harold. However, the response strikes me as jumping the gun. It doesn’t necessarily follow that Sr.’s lobbying decisions automatically implicate Ford More ...
Ford ahead in latest poll [ All Entries ]
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a poll yesterday showing Ford ahead with a seven-point margin over Corker, 51 percent to 44 percent.
The poll, conducted by Hamilton Beattie & Staff, also showed a nine-point lead by Democrats in a "generic match-up," meaning that 51 percent of voters said they would vote for a Democratic Senate candidate rather than a Republican (42 percent said they would vote for a Republican).
Lastly, the DSCC poll also showed that Bush has a 35 percent approval rating in Tennessee.
Since this is a red state, how did Corker miss the boat? Shouldn't he be winning here?
More to come on this...
First debate fires up the race [ Basics/ ]
Ford and Corker went head to head in Memphis Saturday for their first of three public debates.
Corker started off making a point that it's "unusual" that the Ford family has dominated Tennessee politics for over three decades and several more family members are on the November ballot.
"Let me be clear: I love them," Ford said, according to AP wire reports. He urged Corker to stick to the issues, not family.
We all know by now that Ford's uncle is awaiting trial on federal bribery charges related to Operation Tennessee Waltz, and his father was indicted in bank fraud case but was acquitted by a jury.
His brother is trying to succeed him in his Congress seat and his aunt is tryi More ...
Picking through more claims [ Ads/ ]
The latest round of political attack ads accuse Corker of cozying up to the oil and gas industry and receiving $70,000 in return, and Ford of taking undocumented, outside-funded trips and consequently missing hundreds of votes in Congress. Corker defended the money received from Pilot Corp., which the Center for Responsive Politics has documented as $25,100 so far, by saying that the company was a big seller of alternative fuels. The Ford camp denied the defense, pointing out that the alt-fuel claims were false and that Pilot's CEO was Corker's former college roommate.
Corker's new ad, called "Flight" , emphasizes More ...
Rebellion in the ranks [ All Entries ]
I'm detecting some rebellion in the ranks, a mutiny on the Bounty...rain on your wedding day. Whatever. Bitterness is popping up here and there about who got through the primaries in both the main parties.Kleinheider sez:
Is anyone else starting to think Ed Bryant might have been the stronger GOP nominee? - Chuck Todd on NationalJournal.com (via HH)
LeftWingCracker asked: Why are YOU voting for Junior? -- and several people answered in terms of political strategy rather than straight up support. Others advocate Lugo or say they actually wanted Kurita. All the commenters engage in a lengthy and quite interesting discussion More ...
Debate update, and more Bush in TN [ All Entries ]
Chattanoogans: look for a Ford/Corker (Forker!) extravanganza on WTCI, your local PBS station. A repeat of tonight's program will be on Sunday at 11 p.m.
The first official Forker debate will be broadcast live from Memphis this Saturday, Oct. 7 at 8; next in Chattanooga on Tuesday, Oct. 10 @ 11 p.m. (and first lady Laura Bush is expected to be at a thousand-dollar fundraiser in Knoxville on the 11th). 10/10 debate rebroadcast Sunday, Oct. 15 @ 11:30 a.m.; final debate Saturday, Oct. 28 in Nashville.
Q&A with Michael Gant [ Interviews/ ]
Q&A with Michael Gant, director of the Social Science Research Institute and professor of American politics and research methodology at UT Knoxville.
What are your thoughts on the election in general?
Well, it's not gonna be a blowout. Depending on which polls you look at – well all the polls show it's close; some show Ford ahead, some show Corker ahead. It's the first time in a while we've had an interesting Senate race here. Two really good candidates.
It's getting a little bit nasty and can get a lot nasty. Frankly, they're both kinda skating on the edge of being honest. It's not just one side or the other; they're both doing it in their ads. Making claims about the other's records.
More ...Corker, Ford in dead tie [ Basics/ ]
Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. of Washington, D.C. just conducted three polls showing that Democrats have a chance in taking more seats in the Senate.
In Tennessee, Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Chattanooga Times Free Press showed Ford and Corker basically tied. The poll show Ford with 43 percent of likely voters and Corker is supported by 42 percent. Only 1 percent supports a third party candidate and 14 percent are undecided.
The polls find Black voters are 91 percent in favor of Ford. White voters support Corker by a 49 percent to 39 percent margin. Ford leads among women with 47 percent but Corker leads the men with 46 percent.
A total of 625 registered Tennessee voters were interviewed statewide by telephone from September 25 through Se More ...
About us [ Basics/ ]
A little background info on this site...More ...Q&A with reporter Rick Locker [ Interviews/ ]
The gloating and/or hand-wringing that goes on each time a news medium deigns one candidate the election leader started me thinking about just how much weight the "horse race" nature of politics holds with voters. Commercial Appeal political reporter Rick Locker took time out to briefly answer a few of my questions about the angle reporters take with Senate coverage.
What significance, if any, do polls and polling have in the Senate race?
We rarely, if ever, use the candidates' own polls. We will report on independent polling if its credible. We are sponsoring our own poll, with the Chattanooga paper, that will run in Sunday's paper.
More ...Is Ford ignoring his race? [ All Entries ]
No, not his political campaign… his ethnicity. In an article earlier this month on a Memphis web site, the magnitude of Ford’s race was laid out: if elected, Ford would be the first black senator from the South since the Reconstruction, and would be one of only two black senators in the United States Senate today.
But is this something Ford focuses on? It is certainly addressed in the national media, including articles in Time (labeled as a black politician) and a mini-bio page from 2002 on CNN.com (hailing Ford as only the second African American in history to address the DNC in 2000 as a keynote sp More ...
Ford plays the religion card [ Ads/ ]
Even for the Bible Belt, Harold Ford's new advertisement set in a his childhood church, might have been pushing the envelope.
Baptized at Mount Moriah East Baptist Church in southeast Memphis, Ford said it is where he learned right from wrong. In one try, he responded to charges that Democrats are weak when it comes to national security and they are irreligious.
As a response to Bob Corker's ad claiming Ford is weak on national security, especially when it came to voting for the Patriot Act saying:
"I’m Harold Ford Jr. Here, I learned the difference between right and wrong . . . and now Mr. Corker’s doing wrong. First spending millions telling untruths about his Republican opponents, both good men, and now me. I voted for the Patriot Act, 5 t More ...
In net presence, Ford dominates [ Ads/ ]
To judge by the widely varying online presences of TN Senate candidates, it would seem that Al Gore only taught fellow Democrats how to use his cool invention called the Internet.
- Of the first 10 Google search results for "corker campaign ad", 8 of them lead to articles on Ford's ads, leaving Corker and his campaign to be discussed by proxy.
- A Youtube search for "tennessee senate" yields, among results on various state Senators and, inexplicably, a trailer for "The Notorious Bettie Page", 12 videos for and about Ford. 10 are campaign ads. 2 are duplicate clips of Ford speaking in Sumner County. Just one is of Ed Bryant at a rally.
Where exactly is everyone else? Have they missed the memo on the power of new media? By making multimedia easily accessible More ...
Kate's Top 5 [ All Entries ]
http://www.tnpoliticsblog.com/2006/09/daily_dose_164.php
This blog is a Tennessee Politics blog and even though the main contributor is a Republican, he tells the audience that, and tries to maintain a non-partisan blog. This site does not offer as much personal commentary about the issues as others do, but serves mainly as a forum for all of the press releases and links to news stories about the race. In the "about us" section, they lay out all of their policies about linking information, being non-partisan, accuracy, and how to get in contact with them if you have information that they are not presenting. However much this blog does not function in the way we're used to blogs functioning, it's an honest re More ...
Catherine's Top 5 TN-related blogs [ All Entries ]
Catherine's Top 5 Tennessee-related Blogs
Unfortunately, it looks as though Megan and I reviewed two of the same blogs. I included all five of mine so that you could get a good idea of all the blogs.
Criterion: -Relevancy to the 2006 TN Senate Race -Quality of information presented -Timeliness -Appearance
1. Volunteer Voters http://volunteervoters.com
I liked this blog the best out of my top five because its author, A. C. Kleinheider, covers an extremely broad range of issues regarding Tennessee politics. The blog is produced by WKRN-TV, and the entries have depth and quality. His topics range from corruption to foreign policy to local issues, all stemming from Tennessee. Right now, he is heavily covering the Tennessee Senate race, with entries dedic More ...
Megan's Top Blogs [ All Entries ]
Here are my favorite blogs chronicling the TN Senate race. I was aiming for 5 choices, but the combination of my criteria and Kate's top choices kept me to a more exclusive group of 3.
More ...Ads are getting dirty [ Ads/ ]
A conversation with John G. Geer, professor of political science and editor of The Journal of Politics at Vanderbilt University on the negative advertising campaigns in the 2006 Tennessee Senate Race.In the Tennessee Senate Race, there has been a lot of fuss over the campaign ads. What ads in particular do you think hold the most weight? First Corker attacked Ford. Then the Republicans attacked Ford for his stance on security. Ford has an ad in which he says there is "nothing more important than security." The Republican Party is pointing out that he voted against the Patriot Act renewal, voted to cut and run from Iraq, and voted no to adopt recommendations from the 9-11 Commission. Ford responded to the ad with his own set in a church, which was an effective ad. F More ...
Murdoch and Ford, sittin in a tree? [ Financing/ ]
Commercial Appeal analyzed Ford's and Corker's campaign financial disclosure reports and uncovered a bevy of high-profile contributors. What's generating buzz is that he of right-wing Fox fame donated to Ford's campaign; watchers at TPM Cafe think it's not a change of political heart, but just a case of plain ol' opportunism that prompted the payout. Corker's money seemed to stay in-state: a greater percentage of his funding came from Tennesseans than Ford's.
More issues [ Basics/ ]
For an African-American Democrat, Harold Ford, Jr. votes like a Republican. According to a Time Magazine article about him, he supports school prayer, thinks more soldiers should be sent to Iraq, wants to outlaw gay marriage, repeal the estate tax, and get rid of the handgun ban in the nation’s capital. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1223381,00.html
The only problem is that Tennessee has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1990. As a whole, the South has not sent an African-American to Washington since the 1870s.
His opponent, Bob Corker has a lot of the same views. Corker says he is against abortion and will do everything he can to ban it. Ford is also pro More ...
The Basics, part 2 [ Basics/ ]
The Candidates
Officially, seven candidates are on hand for the Tennessee Senate seat vacated by the retiring Bill Frist (R):
- Bob Corker (R)
- Ed Choate (I)
- Harold Ford ( D)
- David “None of the Above” Gatchell (I)
- Emory Heyward (I)
- H. Gary Keplinger (I)
- Chris Lugo (G)
The Basics [ Basics/ ]
Partisan splits seem to be a big distinction in this senate race. Corker is an extremely partisan conservative; vowing to "work with other conservatives to reexamine our spending...," according to Corker's campaign web site. Ford, on the other hand, has made it explicit on his web site that he aims for the best solution of a problem, rather than relying on party ideologies. For example, both Ford and Corker agree that a balanced budget amendment to the constitution is needed.
More ...
RW&tB blog
We are Catherine, Kate and Megan, journalism students at the University of Richmond keeping track of the TN Senate race. Some original reporting, some media watching, all nonpartisan. Join us.
- Topics
- Recently
- Corker wins!
- Exit polls
- My predictions
- I'm rootin' for ya Harry
- Down to the wire!
- What about soybeans?
- Reflections with two days left
- Low blows from Limbaugh can affect Tennessee race
- Face-off
- Front page of the Times
- Money Money Money Money!
- A few words on lobbyist ethics on the Hill
- Newsweek
- Regular Joe
- Food for thought
- Ad controversy hits the fan?
- Finally a word from Corker's people
- A word on lobbying with Heyward
- The lobby debacle: jumping the gun?
- Ford ahead in latest poll
- First debate fires up the race
- Picking through more claims
- Rebellion in the ranks
- Debate update, and more Bush in TN
- Q&A with Michael Gant
- Corker, Ford in dead tie
- About us
- Q&A with reporter Rick Locker
- Is Ford ignoring his race?
- Ford plays the religion card
- In net presence, Ford dominates
- Kate's Top 5
- Catherine's Top 5 TN-related blogs
- Megan's Top Blogs
- Ads are getting dirty
- Murdoch and Ford, sittin in a tree?
- More issues
- The Basics, part 2
- The Basics
Links and such
- Candidates
- Bob Corker (R)
- Ed Choate (I)
- Harold Ford (D)
- David Gatchell (I)
- Emory Heyward (I)
- H. Gary Keplinger (I)
- Chris Lugo (G)
Election day is November 7, 2006.
TN Division of Elections - Ed Choate (I)
- Our classmates are smart too
- Last Best Place: MT
- Buckeye Senate '06: OH
- RI Senate Central
- The Contested Commonwealth: PA
- The Roll
- Blogging for Corker
- Conservatives for Corker
- The Ford Report
- Forward With Ford
- From the Roots: DSCC
- Nashville Files
- Project Vote Smart: TN
- Rasmussen Reports: Politics
- Swing State Project
- Team GOP
- TN Politics Blog
- Volunteer Voters
- Wash. Post Key Races
