Christie & McAuliffe Win –

The Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial candidate narrowly defeated the Republican Ken Cuccinelli 48% to 45%.  Terry McAuliffe is the 72nd Governor of Virginia.

In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie defeated Democrat Barbara Buono to win a second term.  Christie is considered a potential Republican Presidential candidate in 2016.

To read related Fox News articles, please click here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/

Jim Sutliff

Posted in 2013, Democrat, Election, General, Governor, Politics, Republican | Leave a comment

McAuliffe Leads Virginia Race –

Recent polls indicate that Democrat Terry McAuliffe is leading Republican Ken Cuccinelli in the race for Governor of Virginia.  A Quinnipiac poll has Cuccinelli only trailing McAuliffe 45 percent to 41 percent.  A recent poll from Roanoke College has McAuliffe leading by a much wider margin of 15 percentage points.  The election will be held on Tuesday, November 5th.

To read a related Reuters article, please click here:

http://www.reuters.com/

Jim Sutliff

Posted in 2013, Democrat, Election, General, Governor, Politics, Republican | Leave a comment

U.S. Senate To Vote On Spending Bill –

The United States Senate is expected to vote on a spending bill this Friday.  The deadline to avoid a partial shutdown of the Federal government is October 1st.  The measure supported by the Democratic controlled Senate is expected to be almost $1 trillion and will fund the government through November 15th.  Republicans have the majority in the House of Representatives and may amend the bill and send it back to the Senate.

To read a related Bloomberg article, please click here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Jim Sutliff

Posted in 2013, Administrative, Budget, DC, Democrat, Economy, General, Politics, Republican | Leave a comment

New Jersey Senate Race –

Cory Booker will face Steve Lonegan in the special election on October 16th.  Cory Booker won the Democratic Senatorial primary on Tuesday, August 13th.  Frank Pallone finished second in a Democratic field that included Rush Holt and Sheila Oliver.  Steve Lonegan won the Republican Senatorial primary and was recently endorsed by New Jersey governor Chris Christie.  The New Jersey Gubernatorial election will be held on November 5th.

To read related Wall Street Journal articles, please click here:

http://online.wsj.com/

Jim Sutliff

Posted in 2014, Congress, Democrat, Election, General, Politics, Primary, Republican | Leave a comment

Republican Rick Perry Will Not Seek Re-Election –

Texas Governor Rick Perry announced that he will not run for re-election in 2014.  Governor Perry took office in 2000 and won re-election in 2002, 2006, and 2010.  Rick Perry is the longest serving Governor in the history of Texas.  Republican Greg Abbott already announced his candidacy for Governor.  Greg Abbott has served as the Texas Attorney General since 2002.

To read related Reuters articles, please click here:

http://www.reuters.com/politics

Jim Sutliff

Posted in 2014, Administrative, Election, General, Governor, Politics, Primary, Republican | Leave a comment

Senator Frank Lautenberg –

New Jersey Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg passed away on Monday at the age of 89.  Frank Lautenberg first won election in 1982 and served five terms in the U.S. Senate.  Lautenberg was a co-founder and CEO of Automatic Data Processing.  Republican Governor Chris Christie will appoint a replacement for the Senate seat.  A couple of potential selections are Republican State Senator Tom Kean and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno.

To read related CNN articles, please click here:

http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/

Jim Sutliff

Posted in 2013, 2014, Congress, Democrat, Election, General, Politics, Republican | Leave a comment

Michele Bachmann Announces Retirement –

Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced that she will not run for re-election in 2014.  Bachmann has represented the 6th district of Minnesota since 2006.  Michele Bachmann made the retirement announcement early in the election cycle which will enable potential Republican candidates to start fundraising.  The 6th district is expected to be a competitive race in 2014.  Democrat Jim Graves has already announced his candidacy.  Jim Graves lost a close race with Michele Bachmann in 2012.

To read related Bloomberg articles, please click here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/

Jim Sutliff

 

Posted in 2014, Congress, Democrat, Election, Fundraising, General, Politics, Republican | Leave a comment

Senator Johnson To Retire –

South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson announced that he will not run for a fourth term in 2014.  Currently, Senator Johnson is the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.  Democratic United States Senators that have announced their retirement include Johnson (South Dakota), Harkin (Iowa), Lautenberg (New Jersey), Rockefeller (West Virginia), and Levin (Michigan).  Republican Mike Rounds is expected to run for the Johnson seat in 2014.  Mike Rounds is the former Governor of South Dakota.

To read a related Fox News article, please click here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/26/democratic-sen-johnson-to-retire/

James Sutliff

Posted in 2013, Congress, Democrat, Election, General, Politics, Primary, Republican | Leave a comment

Senator Carl Levin To Retire –

Democratic Senator Carl Levin announced that he would not run for reelection.  The Michigan Democrat is in his sixth term as a United States Senator.  Democrats that may run for the Senate seat are Congressman Gary Peters and Congressman Dan Kildee.  Republican candidates may include Congressman Dave Camp and Congressman Mike Rogers.  The 2014 Michigan Senate race is expected to be a close contest.

To read a related Fox News article, please click here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/10/roger-camp-and-perhaps-another-romney-interested-in-sen-levin-michigan-seat/

Jim Sutliff

Posted in Administrative, Congress, Democrat, Election, Fundraising, General, Politics, Primary, Republican | Leave a comment

State Of The Union 2013 –

The 2013 State of the Union was delivered on February 12th, 2013 at 9 pm.  The White House site provides the State of the Union Address and outlines for the economic plan.  The State of the Union Address lasted slightly more than one hour.  United States Senator Marco Rubio delivered the Republican response to the State of the Union.  Marco Rubio is a Republican Senator from the state of Florida.

To visit the White House State of the Union site, please click here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/state-of-the-union-2013

James Sutliff

Posted in 2013, Administrative, Budget, Business, Congress, DC, Democrat, Economy, Energy, Environment, General, Healthcare, International, Politics, Presidential, Regulatory, Republican, Tax, Trade | Leave a comment

Secretary Of State John Kerry –

John Kerry became the 68th Secretary of State of the United States of America on February 1st, 2013.  John Kerry was a United States Senator from the state of Massachusetts for 28 years.  Senator Kerry was the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since 2009.  Prior to the Senate, Kerry was the Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor.  In 2004, Kerry was the Democratic candidate for President.

To visit the Secretary of State site, please click here:

http://www.state.gov/secretary/

Jim Sutliff

Posted in 2013, Administrative, DC, Democrat, General, Politics | Leave a comment

Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller To Retire –

West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller has announced that he will not run for re-election in 2014.  Senator Rockefeller has served five terms in the United States Senate.  Jay Rockefeller has also served as the Secretary of State and as the Governor of West Virginia.  Since 2009, Senator Rockefeller has been the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.  The Democrats retirement increase the chances for Republicans to win the seat in 2014.  Republican Shelley Moore Capito had already announced that she will run for the Senate seat.  Shelley Moore Capito is a Congresswoman and the daughter of former West Virginia Governor Arch Moore.

To read a related Fox News article, please click here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/11/west-virginia-sen-rockefeller-wont-seek-re-election/

James Sutliff

Posted in 2013, Congress, Democrat, Election, General, Politics, Republican | Leave a comment

Republican John Boehner Remains Speaker –

Republican Congressman John Boehner received 220 votes and was re-elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives.  Republicans have the majority in the House with 233 Congressional representatives.  The Democrats have 200 representatives and there are 2 vacancies.  Boehner needed to clear the 217 vote hurdle to avoid a second round of voting.  This was the first day of the 113th Congress.

To read related articles on Real Clear Politics, please click here:

www.realclearpolitics.com

Jim Sutliff

Posted in 2013, Budget, Congress, DC, Democrat, Election, General, Politics, Republican | Leave a comment

Fiscal Cliffhanger –

Republicans and Democrats are expected to return on New Year’s Eve to continue negotiations.  Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was upbeat about the chances of reaching an agreement before January 1st.  The Senate agreement may include tax increases for couples earning more than $250,000 a year.  The House of Representatives would have to vote on any agreement reached by the Senate.  Democrats have the majority in the U.S. Senate and Republicans have control in the House.

To read a related Fox News article, please click here:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/30/congress-returns-sunday-to-strike-deal-to-avert-fiscal-crisis-details-and-times/

James Sutliff

Posted in Administrative, Budget, Democrat, Economy, General, Republican, Tax | Leave a comment

Consumer Confidence Falls –

Consumer confidence continued to fall as the nation gets closer to the deadline for the fiscal cliff.  The twelve month outlook and expectations of consumers also fell sharply in recent surveys.  Currently, Republicans and Democrats are far apart in negotiations relating to tax rates and spending levels.  One proposal would increase the highest tax rate to 39.6%.

To read a related Fox Business article, please click here:

http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/2012/12/07/us-consumer-sentiment-sinks-in-early-december/

Jim Sutliff

Posted in Administrative, Budget, Business, Economy, General, Tax | Leave a comment