NEMA: Electro Industry October 2010 - 4

Washington Report
Ű Election 2010—Surveying the Battlefield
On November 2, 2010, voters will cast their votes in the midterm congressional elections. At press time, recent polling suggests that this midterm election will not be a “typical” midterm in which the party in the White House loses a few seats in Congress, but that a more substantive shift is shaping up. Polls show a majority of Americans disapproving of the job the Obama administration and Congress are doing and showing concern that the country is headed in the “wrong direction.” Turnout will be a key factor in this election, with voters having greater options to vote early and by absentee ballot prior to election day. NEMA has a variety of information available, including how to register, voting requirements, and candidate voting records. To learn more about how you can get involved in this year’s elections, please visit www.nema.org/gov/advocacy. Here is what we do know about Election 2010: U.S. Senate Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate (57 seats, plus two Independents that caucus with the Democrats) but do not have a filibuster-proof majority. There are 37 Senate seats on the ballot in November (19 Democrat seats, 18 Republican). As electroindustry went to press, Real Clear Politics (www.realclearpolitics. com), using a composite of polling data, projected Democrats with 48 seats, Republicans with 44 seats, and 8 seats rated as “toss-ups.” At the end of August, most political analysts were projecting Republicans to pick up five to eight Senate seats, less than the 10 needed to gain control of the Senate. U.S. HoUSe Democrats also control the U.S. House of Representatives (255 seats, compared with 178 Republican-held seats), with two vacancies to be filled by special election. For Republicans to regain control of the House, they will need a net gain of 39 seats. Typically, the average loss of House seats for the party in control of the White House in the first off-year election cycle is 16 seats. However, many Republicans are optimistic about the potential for bigger gains. At the end of August, Real Clear Politics forecasted Republicans edging Democrats 206 to 194 in seats characterized as “safe,” “likely,” or “leaning,” with 35 seats rated as “toss-ups.” During the same timeframe, political analyst Charlie Cook projected Republicans would gain 35 to 45 House seats, although other politicos estimated lower GOP gains, likely to be somewhere in the 25 to 35 seat range. GovernorS In addition to deciding control of Congress, voters will be selecting new governors. This will be pivotal going into the congressional redistricting cycle that will occur in the states over the next two years. Currently, Democrats hold 26 governorships to Republicans’ 23, with one Independent. There are 37 states with gubernatorial races this November, 26 of which also have U.S. Senate races. Republicans would need to achieve a net gain of three governorships to hold a majority of state governorships. ei Sarah Owen, Government Relations Manager | sarah.owen@nema.org

On July 28, the NEMA High Performance Building Council participated in the Department of Energy’s notice of proposed rulemaking for energy efficiency and sustainable design standards for new federal buildings. NEMA provided oral and written comments. NEMA and HPBC look forward to continued participation in the rulemaking process. Justin Neumann, Government Relations Manager | justin.neumann@nema.org

NEMA electroindustry • October 2010

NEMA: Electro Industry October 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEMA: Electro Industry October 2010