Aerospace, defense see tight electoral races

The big day is here ... but I guess, more important, is what happens next ...

From Aviation Week

Aerospace, Defense See Tight Electoral Races

Nov 4, 2008

John M. Doyle

There's more at stake in the Nov. 4 U.S. elections than control of the White House, with a number of top congressional leaders fighting to keep their seats while Democrats seek a veto-proof majority in the Senate and even wider control in the House of Representatives.

Some previously safe seats, such as that of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), have lately come into play. Chambliss, a member of the Armed Services Committee who has been a champion of Lockheed Martin's F-22 stealth fighter - manufactured in Marietta - is battling Democrat Jim Martin, a former state representative. An increase in newly registered black voters, energized by the presidential candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), is seen as a major reason for Martin's surge.

Another recently competitive race pits the chair of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), against William Russell ®, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who moved to the district to challenge Murtha. A Vietnam veteran and retired Marine Corps colonel himself, Murtha has held the seat since 1974.

With a reputation for bringing home pork barrel appropriations to his district, Murtha was expected to cruise to victory until Republicans pounced on remarks he made that the southwest Pennsylvania region he represents is "racist" and "really redneck."

The National Republican Party has poured $400,000 into anti-Murtha TV ads, forcing Murtha to raise money and seek the support of national figures such as former President Bill Clinton (Aerospace DAILY, Nov. 3). If Murtha loses, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), the next ranking Democrat and a strong Boeing supporter, could replace him.

In another high-profile race, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), recently convicted of failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts and services from an oil company executive, is battling the Democratic mayor of Anchorage, Nick Begich. Stevens, 84, says he intends to serve if re-elected although presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, have said he should step down.

Once one of the most powerful men in the Senate, Stevens sits on the Commerce Committee, which regulates air transportation and space, as well as the Homeland Security Committee and the defense appropriations subcommittee. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Nov. 1 that "a convicted felon is not going to be able to serve in the U.S. Senate," and that Stevens will face an Ethics Committee investigation.

Two other Republicans on the Armed Services Committee face tough re-election challenges - Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). Collins also is senior Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, where fellow Republicans Sens. John Sununu (R-N.H.) and Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) are battling to keep their seats.

On the House side, three senior Republicans on the Armed Services Committee are retiring: Reps. Duncan Hunter (Calif.); Jim Saxton (N.J.) and Terry Everett (Ala.).

Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.), an appropriator who represents Florida's space coast, is also leaving.

On the Senate side, former Armed Services Chairman John Warner (R-Va.), an advocate of the Joint Strike Fighter's alternate engine plan, is retiring. So is Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), who sits on the Appropriations and Homeland Security committees, where he supported funding for the Los Alamos and Sandia national labs in his home state.