The heat is on Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick who is caught up in a text-messaging sex scandal. But he wasn’t on the ballot yesterday. So, some wished the sins of the son were visited upon the mother who was on the ballot.
And they nearly got their wish. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus, narrowly fended off two primary challengers. Kilpatrick received 20,888 votes, or 39.1 percent, former state Rep. Mary Waters had 19,183 votes, or 36 percent, and state Sen. Martha Scott garnered 13,280 votes, or 24.9 percent. The margin of victory was 1,705 votes.
The low turnout, roughly 13 percent, and the slim victory may foreshadow problems for other congressional incumbents.
A new Gallup poll found:
In a year when approval of Congress has reached a new low, just 36% of U.S. registered voters say most members of Congress deserve re-election. This is among the lowest ratings Gallup has measured in a recent presidential or congressional election year. ...
Gallup has found ratings in the neighborhood of the current 36% in three other election years -- 1992, 1994, and 2006. All of these years brought about significant change in the membership of Congress.
That may not be the change members of Congress believe in.
And speaking of change, DeKalb County (Ga.) CEO Vernon Jones was routed in the runoff race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. In a light turnout election (less than 10 percent), Jones lost to Jim Martin, a white former state legislator. Martin defeated Jones 59.8 percent to 40.2 percent.
Jones tried to hitch his wagon to Barack Obama. His campaign tactics included a brochure with a photoshopped image of Obama. That was change the voters did not believe in.
