KYDem

Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska has been found guilty in his corruption trial, as a result of lying on his senate financial forms about $250,000 in gifts. This now makes Mark Begich much more likely to win the seat on November 4. This is no small victory for democrats as Stevens is the most senior member of republican senators and a legend in Alaska. Many polls had this seat within the margin of error, or just leaning to Begich. I expect Begich will win by a more significant margin come election day. I wonder if such a prominent republican senator being involved in a scandal will hurt republicans nationally as people hear about another republican being corrupt or dishonest.

So, in May I wrote that the NC senate race would be one to watch. Over the last few months, Kay Hagan has steadily gained on Elizabeth Dole. Now, Hagan is polling ahead in the most recent polls, Public Policy Polling has her up 5 points and Rasmussen has her up 6 points. Pollster shows Hagan trending above Dole now, a huge gain since she entered the race. Her rise may have been assisted by Libertarian candidate Chris Cole. Kay Hagan has also raised a lot of money and with Obama gaining ground in the state, thus forcing McCain to put more forces into a state he expected to win pretty easily, I foresee a strong democratic presence in NC this fall. Only a few months ago, this race was looking good for the GOP, but now things are changing. With her fundraising, hard work, a strong obama presence, and a struggling GOP/McCain Campaign, I see Hagan winning a close race.

Here is a link to pollster.com to see the trend... http://www.pollster.com/polls/nc/08-nc-sen-ge-dvh.php

Former Senator Phil Gramm has stepped down as Co-Chair of McCain's campaign. After calling the country a bunch of whiners, I'm sure McCain was eager to dump Gramm. I'm sure he doesn't notice problems with the economy as he has been a lobbyist for UBS. Plenty of people have been hurting for a long time now, this is not a new problem. Maybe he thinks that people who are struggling to make ends meat are just lazy. Since he was a major player in McCain's economic policy, I just wonder what McCain really thinks...

SurveyUSA has released a poll for the upcoming North Carolina Senate race. I find it interesting that Senator Elizabeth Dole (R) is only leading Kay Hagan (D) 50% to 46% with 4% undecided. Even more curious is that of those supporting Sen. Dole 63% say that they could change their minds, only 32% say that for Hagan. 48% say they have made up their minds to vote for Sen. Dole and 49% have done so for Hagan. Rasumussen has has Hagan polling at 48% with Dole at 47%. This is quite the flip from a month ago when they had Dole leading by 13%. I know this is a lot of numbers, but it makes one wonder if this could be a sleeper race. With the republican party trending negatively, this may be a chance for the democrats to steal a senate seat in North Carolina. Definitely something to keep an eye on as the general election campaign progresses.

State Rep. Don Cazayoux (D) defeated Woody Jenkins (R) yesterday in a special election to fill the empty congressional seat left by the resignation of Richard Baker. After Dennis Hastert's seat went to Bill Foster (D), this seems to be another sign that the country is trending democrat and tired of the policies brought upon them by the current administration. These pickups for democrats come in districts that supported Bush in 2004 with 59% and 55%, respectively. With the Democratic Party continuing to fundraise better than the Republican Party, 2008 could be a great year for Democrats if they continue to work hard.

So, until this past summer I never read blogs, let alone posted on one. That was until I started reading BluegrassReport. It started as casual reading, transitioning to the occasional post. Now, I feel that I cannot help but get involved in the discussion. Politics is my passion and this, I hope, will be another way for me to discuss the many issues facing the world. A little bit about myself... I am from Kentucky and a 22 year-old junior in college. Those who know me will tell you that I can't help but discuss politics, even if it is to the detriment of my studying. I have volunteered for a gubernatorial and a congressional campaign, spent two semesters interning in a senator's regional office, and last summer I interned for my congressman on the Hill. It's a wonder I have any other interests. The world is full of possibilities and I wake up everyday excited to make a difference for the better. I look forward to the many discussions.