Lots of the seats that went from red to blue tonight also went from anti- to pro-choice. Check out the wave of incoming lawmakers who want to protect your right to choose:
In the Senate:
* Claire McCaskill (Missouri)
* Sherrod Brown (Ohio)
* Ben Cardin (Maryland)
* Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota)
... and (fingers crossed)
* John Tester (Montana)
* James Webb (Virginia)
And the House:
* Dave Loebsack in IA-02
* Ed Perlmutter in CO-07
* Harry Mitchell in AZ-05
* Mazie Hirono in HI-02
* Tim Walz in MN-01
* Nick Lampson in TX-22 (He's not staunchly pro-choice, but much better than DeLay.)
* John Hall in NY-19
* Steven Kagen in WI-08
* Bruce Braley in IA-01
* Nancy Boyda in KS-02 (She's generally pro-choice but in favor of abortion restrictions. Probably as good as we're going to get from Kansas. And better than the alternative.)
* Carole Shea-Porter in NH-01
* Gabrielle Giffords in AZ-08
* Chris Murphy in CT-05
* Tim Mahoney in FL-16
* Ron Klein in FL-22
* Phil Hare in IL-17
* John Yarmuth in KY-03 (Says he supports abortion rights, but isn't NARAL-endorsed)
* Paul Hodes in NH-02
* Kirstin Gillibrand in NY-20
* Mike Arcuri in NY-24
* Zack Space in OH-18
* Joe Sestak in PA-07
* Peter Welch in VT-AL
Of course, a lot of these politicians are nominally pro-choice but would vote for a slew of abortion restrictions. But they're better than the handful of incoming anti-choice Democrats:
* Charlie Wilson in OH-06
* Jason Altmire in PA-10
* Joe Donnelly in IN-02
* Brad Ellsworth in IN-08
* Baron Hill in IN-09
* Heath Shuler in NC-11
* Chris Carney in PA-11
and, infamously:
* Bob Casey (Pennsylvania) Though it's not as if Santorum was any better...
I'm sure there are Feministing readers in lots of these districts who know more about these candidates' positions on choice than I do. So feel free to comment and let us all know about their repro rights records.
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Baron Hill is pro-choice. He wouldn't answer when I asked him about pharmacists refusing to dispense birth control, but firmly stated that he is pro-choice.
Ugh, but his voting record isn't very good, is it? (I just went and looked.) But he is classifying himself as pro-choice, for whatever that is worth. And he was WAAAAAY better than the evil bastard incumbent.
Yes, big victories all around. I am a bit disappointed with my state though. Colorado. Tancredo won, Mustgrave won, marriage ban passed, civil unions failed. I'm proud we elected a dem governor and a few dem reps, but shit, we still show are stripes.
That would be "our" stripes. Jesus, it's early.
Yeah for the House!!! Hopefully the Senate is next.
It all depends on whether Allen challenges the election successfully, and on whether Burns manages to close a 1,700 vote gap.
The Maryland Senate seat did not change hands. Sen. Sarbanes, a pro-choice Democrat, retired. Rep. Ben Cardin, also pro-choice, won his seat over anti-choice Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. Cardin's House seat also stayed in Democratic hands and went to Sarbanes' son. All in the family here in Maryland, which showed the Republican governor the door yesterday too. Maryland is a pretty nice state to live in. I'm expecting a court of appeals to overturn that awful rape decision from last week. Cross your fingers for us too - in December we have our same-sex marriage case before the highest court in the state. We had a domestic partnership bill pass both houses last year but the governor vetoed it.
Don't forget Keith Ellison in Minnesota's 5th District! We're sending the first Muslim to Congress. From his Web site, regarding choice:
"I am pro choice. I am in favor of comprehensive sex education, which includes information about abstinence, but goes far beyond that. I am against legislation that would impose a waiting period on women who seek a safe and legal abortion, and I am against legislation that would restrict the information that a physician can share with a patient regarding reproductive choices."
Don't forget Stephanie Herseth the lone rep for South Dakota! She is moderatly pro choice and publicly rejected the abortion ban in our state. She also soundly beat the republican candidate that ran on being anti-abortion.
Don't forget Bernie Sanders from Vermont in the Senate. He is very pro-choice! GO BERNIE!
Jim Webb is actually opposed to abortion, but is also opposed to legislating against it. He is for legislative changes that will address underlying issues leading to high abortion rates -- poverty, abstinence-only sex ed, lack of access to contraception, etc., with a particular emphasis on poverty.
Assuming this is relevant, since I'm assuming/hoping he won...
Just want to clarify that folks like Bernie Sanders aren't on the list because I was working off of the Democrats' list of pickups and open-seat winners. Sanders' seat was in pro-choice hands before last night.
Anyway, once I'm a little less foggy I'm going to take a look at the list again and update it. So keep the comments rolling in. Thanks!
"Probably as good as we're going to get from Kansas."
I've heard so many comments about how Kansas is so far behind, and being a Kansan myself, I really think that there's a big misconception about the state. Yes, it does vote overwhelmingly Republican, but people can (and do) change - and I really don't think most people are as completely conservative as you think. Outside the Fred Phelps camp, people are generally just overwhelmed by the republican propoganda, and the democrats have ignored a lot of opportunities. There's loads of low-paid uneducated workers, lots of reservations, and they're voting to keep themselves locked in their places by voting republican! we need some re-education campaigns by the dems. Counter-propoganda, at the least. and destigmatizing of the word 'liberal'.
I think there's more hope than people give it credit for.. the people aren't stupid, just misinformed.
This is indeed WONDERFUL news!! For anyone who wants to learn more about pro-choice politics and how to show support, I found this awsome site with tons of info, check it out!! http://voice4choice.org