Mediaboss Marketing

WASHINGTON David Catania is trying to do something historic -- convince Washington, D.C., voters to elect a non-Democrat as mayor.

Catania, a District of Columbia council member, is a former Republican turned independent. This automatically makes his mayoral bid an uphill climb -- but as he tries to break Democrats hold on power, he's mounting an aggressive campaign promising to improve the citys struggling public school system and reform a City Hall racked with corruption.

I think the timing is perfect because voters tell me they are sick and tired of this political machine, Catania told FoxNews.com this week. They want a government that listens to them.

Catania claims to offer a fresh start for residents weary of the corruption and decades of ward politics. Over the past three years, three of Catanias fellow council members, all Democrats, and five people connected to Democratic Mayor Vincent Grays 2010 reelection effort have pleaded guilty to federal and other corruption or campaign-finance charges.

Catania, who is white, also is an openly gay candidate in a city considered one of the most liberal in the country. He touts a progressive agenda at a time of economic development in which commuter bike lanes and joints selling $14 Paloma cocktails are rapidly replacing corner liquor stores.Catania also has led efforts to legalize same-sex marriage and helped save the only hospital in the citys two poorest, mostly black, wards -- all of which could endear him to a wide range of voters.

However, the 46-year-old Catanias biggest challenge might just be political history.

The nations capital has elected only Democratic mayors since it started holding public elections in 1974.

In addition, the District never has elected a white or openly gay mayor. And Democrats still account for 76 percent of the citys 456,633 registered voters, according to most recent figures from the city election board.

With just six weeks remaining before Election Day, an NBC4/Washington Post/Marist poll shows Catania behind 17 percentage points against Democratic frontrunner Muriel Bowser, who is black and a fellow council member.

The Democrat label still carries a lot of weight, said Will Sommer, who covers D.C. politics for The City Paper, an alternative weekly.

Read this article:
DC MAYORAL RACE Independent challenges Democrats' hold on power

As Kanawha County Republicans head to the state Supreme Court in hopes of filling a ballot vacancy in the 35th District House race, state Democrats are lobbying the court to deny the appeal.

Thursday, the state Democratic Party filed a motion asking permission to speak at the court hearing, scheduled for Tuesday. The court will decide whether to allow Marie Sprouse-McDavid to fill the ballot vacancy left by Republican Delegate Suzette Raines withdrawal in August.

The state Election Commission ruled in August that Republicans could not replace Raines on the ballot, because the personal problems that she claimed did not qualify as the extenuating circumstances that would allow a replacement.

Republicans then waited 30 days to challenge the Election Commission and Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, citing state code that says you must give 30 days notification before filing suit against a state agency.

The Democrats, in their recent filing, say that 30-day notice is unnecessary in this case because it begins in the Supreme Court and because the law has an exception for cases where a delay would cause irreparable harm.

Because ballots without Sprouse-McDavids name have already been sent to military members and other absentee voters, the Democrats argue that the Republicans delay was inexcusable.

There was simply no basis for petitioners to legitimately conclude that they should sit idly by while the general election draws ever nearer, Kimberly Parmer, lawyer for the state Democratic Executive Committee, writes in the filing.

Republicans are asking Kanawha County to mail ballots with Sprouse-McDavids name on them to absentee voters and to notify those voters that prior ballots are void.

The Democrats also argue that the purpose of the 30-day notification is to provide more timely information, but Republicans refused to provide a copy of the appeal they intended to file.

Rather than petitioning this court immediately for emergency relief, [the Republican Party] instead served notice of its intent to file a petition, purportedly complying with a statute that is both inapplicable and unconstitutional as applied to cases filed with this court, Parmer wrote.

See more here:
Democrats ask W.Va. high court to keep Raines ballot slot empty

What Attorney General Eric Holder #39;s Resignation Could Mean For Democrats
Eric Holder announced this week he plans to step down as attorney general, ending his term as one of President Barack Obama #39;s longest-serving advisers. His resignation, which many saw as ...

By: The Diane Rehm Show

See the original post here:
What Attorney General Eric Holder's Resignation Could Mean For Democrats - Video

Vincent Sheheen

Charleston-area Democrats fired lots of bow-shots at Republicans in a gathering along the Ashley River Saturday but struck a more serious tone in stressing success in the November election hinges on a commitment to turn out.

"Charleston County is going to make or break the difference," local party Chairman Brady Quirk-Garvan said during the party's annual Blue Jamboree.

"If 56 or 58 percent of Charleston County votes for Vincent Sheheen, he's our next governor," he added.

Republican Gov. Nikki Haley was a repeat target of many of the speakers during the four hour event, along with most of the Democrats' GOP rivals.

"We're tired of falling into these 'Nikki Haley potholes,' " Sheheen told the crowd as rain forced attendees under a large open-air shed. Sheheen, a state senator from Camden, blamed Haley for neglecting state roadways.

U.S. Senate Democrat candidate Brad Hutto took note of his Republican opponent U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's penchant for making appearances on nationally focused Sunday morning political talk shows.

"You wouldn't know he is from South Carolina," Hutto told the group. "He doesn't talk about South Carolina. He talks about anything, but us."

Saturday's featured speaker was former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a senior advisor for Ready for Hillary, a Super PAC that has spent more than $7.4 million as of June 30 setting the ground work for a possible Hillary Clinton run for the White House in 2016.

A "Ready for Hillary" campaign bus was prominently parked at the event, held at the Jenkins Orphanage in North Charleston. The PAC also provided $5,000 to help with S.C. Democrat Party field work this year.

Originally posted here:
Democrats jab Republicans, push turnout in Charleston Party rally

Are Democrats Losing Their Edge Among Female Voters For 2014?
The GOP #39;s Dark, Racist Art of Election Stealing: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard/Article/The-GOP-s-Dark--Racist-Art-of-Election-Stealing/259397...

By: politicalarticles

Link:
Are Democrats Losing Their Edge Among Female Voters For 2014? - Video