2006 Midterm Election results

Have any of you received a illegal, Republican-funded robo-call?

While it is heartening that this election seems to be garnering a high level of public involvement quite rare for a midterm election, I can't help but be concerned about America's ability to keep its elections fair and honest. There have been a rash of reports of voter intimidation in varying places over the last few days, and today there are recurring reports of major problems getting electronic voting machines to work at polling places in several major cities at least. The media has been covering such things, but usually using the terminology "minor glitches"-- a rather blase way of putting things that to some extent whitewashes the way that these "minor" issues can effectively shut down entire polling stations or reduce their operation to a crawl, inspiring people to turn away from the polls. It is worrying that the problems caused by our hasty embrace of electronic voting machines just seem to get worse and worse with every election, yet by and large this remains a non-issue in American politics.

Anyway, I'd be curious to see exactly what the tally is of elections in which Intelligent Design/Creationism has been an issue or otherwise come up during the campaign. Nick mentions some school board races in which this is an important issue, and there was the post here about the SC superintendent of education race the other day, but I'm having trouble keeping track of exactly where the creation/evolution issue has cropped up during this election. Harris and Santorum have both endorsed ID, right? Who else? Have any noteworthy politicians specifically come out against IDC or for science education this election?

We have been tracking this at NCSE, evolution/creationism has come up in election news stories in something like 26 states that we know of. Reporters have been asking candidates the question quite a bit this year.

Nick, you mean just on the news page? I'll take a look, thanks.

"Have any of you received a illegal, Republican-funded robo-call?"

Yawn. So this is this year's whiny Democrat made-up b.s. "election crisis" lie. Well, at least it's not the same, tired, old charges that they trot out every two years. The "electronic voting/exit poll" meme in 2004 was so stupid and blatently silly, yet the nutball lefty alternative media lapped it up. I guess in 2008, the 'rats will be complaining that the Republicans made it rain, but just in predominantly 'rat districts...

...aaand our first election troll! Comes complete with unmerited smug attitude, attacks on the educated, intelligent section of the populace and complete disregard for facts.

Thanks for stopping by; don't forget to drool on your way out!

Nick, you mean just on the news page? I'll take a look, thanks.

Board of Ed races decide how much power moderates will have CARL MANNING Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. - Moderates will control the State Board of Education next year, ending the reign of conservatives who pushed anti-evolution standards back into Kansas schools. The only question is by how much. Going into Tuesday's elections, moderates held a 6-4 majority and, depending on voters, it could jump to 8-2. Incumbent conservative Republican John Bacon faced Democrat Don Weiss, both of Olathe. Another incumbent conservative, Republican Ken Willard, of Hutchinson, was opposed by Democrat Jack Wempe of Lyons, a former state Board of Regents member. Republican moderate Sally Cauble of Liberal faced Democrat Tim Cruz, a former Garden City mayor. Cauble defeated conservative incumbent Connie Morris of St. Francis in the August primary. Republican moderate Jana Shaver, of Independence, faced Democrat Charles Kent Runyan of Pittsburg, vying for the seat of retiring conservative member Iris Van Meter. --- Democratic board member Janet Waugh of Kansas City was unopposed. [...]

Natalie Engdahl, 92, of Manchester Township said Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's name came up as one of four Democrats on the straight ticket she'd chosen. Had she not checked to ensure accuracy of her vote, it would have gone to the wrong party, she said. She called a man in charge of operations at the Susquehanna Trail polling place; they negated the vote, she recast the ballot and the correct names were listed, Engdahl said.

Natalie Engdahl, 92, of Manchester Township said Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's name came up as one of four Democrats on the straight ticket she'd chosen. Had she not checked to ensure accuracy of her vote, it would have gone to the wrong party, she said. She called a man in charge of operations at the Susquehanna Trail polling place; they negated the vote, she recast the ballot and the correct names were listed, Engdahl said.

Mark, a recurring problem that I've heard reported with Diebold voting machines as far back as 2004 is that they'll sometimes reset certain votes as if they had been cast for the first person on the ballot. This is invariably the incumbent, which lately means it's the Republican. I don't know if this was the problem in the story you mention, but I'd suspect it was.

If this problem hasn't been fixed by 2008-- and I see little indication Diebold ever really fixes problems-- maybe Republicans will finally start to see the problem with Diebold, because by then this bug will be much more frequently reassigning votes to Democrats...

I got to vote using optical scan today, since I moved from Georgia to North Carolina. Diebold's corrupt machines aren't going to mess with my ballot this year.

We voted on Diebold machines this year for the first time. Fortunately, ours have got a paper ballot that prints and you can double check - mine checked out perfectly, which I was happy about.

What surprised me was how busy it was - it was a grey rainy day, and we were voting in the midmorning, as usual. And we had to wait in line to vote. There were about six people ahead of us, and by the time we got to the machines, there were about six behind us.

We've never had to wait in line before - not even in 2004.

We voted on Diebold machines this year for the first time. Fortunately, ours have got a paper ballot that prints and you can double check - mine checked out perfectly, which I was happy about.

What surprised me was how busy it was - it was a grey rainy day, and we were voting in the midmorning, as usual. And we had to wait in line to vote. There were about six people ahead of us, and by the time we got to the machines, there were about six behind us.

We've never had to wait in line before - not even in 2004.

I voted early (yesterday), and the turnout was bery heavy. They had both paper and electronic voting. I didn't see a single person opt for the electronic machine.

I got a robo-call from the Republicans twice this election cycle... and one from the Democrats.

Of course, given that these calls are #$*&(#$ing annoying and really tick me off, maybe it was two calls from the Democrats trying to besmirch the Republicans and one from the Republicans trying to besmirch the Democrats. Candidates have been known to put their opponent's fliers under windshield wipers for the same reasons. :-)

I am, however, not aware that these calls are illegal. Last I heard they were only illegal for private businesses, with exceptions made for charities and political organizations. They SHOULD be totally illegal. A few years ago, I had moved in with my sister when she needed help with the rent. I was unfamiliar with the apartment and I cut my finger rather badly, but couldn't find the bandages. I reached for the phone to call her to ask where they were when the phone rang. It was a robo-call that lasted OVER TEN MINUTES. Hanging up on them didn't break the connection and I was unable to use my phone for the entire duration of the idiotic pitch. I'd have been in a really bad way if my injury had been something serious and I needed to call 911.

I am, however, not aware that these calls are illegal. Last I heard they were only illegal for private businesses, with exceptions made for charities and political organizations.

There was a report from York County, Pennsylvania, that a touch-screen machine, when straight-line Democrat candidates was selected, produced Republican Rick Santorum in the lineup: Natalie Engdahl, 92, of Manchester Township said Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum's name came up as one of four Democrats on the straight ticket she'd chosen. Had she not checked to ensure accuracy of her vote, it would have gone to the wrong party, she said. She called a man in charge of operations at the Susquehanna Trail polling place; they negated the vote, she recast the ballot and the correct names were listed, Engdahl said.

State-wide races are also important to watch --- notably, Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is facing a tough challenge, and has been running from ID ever since the Kitzmiller v. Dover loss (before that, he was the biggest friend the ID movement had in Congress).

— Nick Matzke

Does anyone have reference to a clearer answer?

Looks like the Dems are gonna have a nice night in Ohio... It's pretty much been known that Strickland was going to win the Governor's race for a while, but several local news stations are giving the race to him now that some results are coming in. Haven't heard much on the BOE elections...
http://www.wkrc.com/Default.aspx
I think these elections here in Ohio are very important, for obvious reasons...

MSNBC, among others (CNN) are calling for Santorum (R-PA) and DeWine (R-OH) to lose their seats.

Webb had pulled ahead of Allen in VA but it's within 10 votes at 71% so it may go down to absentee ballots. The 3rd party candidate who withdrew still got 17,000+ votes (so far) and thus had she not been there at all it would have been a huge difference, likely a big win for Webb spoiled.

District 7 Sawyer, Thomas C. -- 6,095 / 51.49% Fink, Deborah Owens -- 3,290 / 27.79% Kovacs, David -- 1,661 / 14.03% Jones, John T. -- 791 / 6.68% Total Votes -- 11,837

District 7
Sawyer, Thomas C. --- 6,095 / 51.49%
Fink, Deborah Owens --- 3,290 / 27.79%
Kovacs, David --- 1,661 / 14.03%
Jones, John T. --- 791 / 6.68%
Total Votes --- 11,837

If that holds, that's great news... I was kind of worried about the BOE elections, as I wasn't sure how well-educated the voters were on the issues.

Member, State Board of Education 003 Precincts Reporting: 15 of 295 D-Don Weiss 10305 / 48 % R-John W. Bacon 11063 / 52 % Member, State Board of Education 005 Precincts Reporting: 36 of 612 D-Tim Cruz 1221 / 32 % R-Sally Cauble 2631 / 68 % Member, State Board of Education 007 Precincts Reporting: 27 of 463 D-Jack Wempe 4393 / 55 % R-Ken R. Willard 3666 / 46 % Member, State Board of Education 009 Precincts Reporting: 55 of 431 D-Charles Kent Runyan 6137 / 48 % R-Jana Shaver 6726 / 52 %

District 7 Sawyer, Thomas C. 57,962 / 59.02% Fink, Deborah Owens 25,922 / 26.40% Kovacs, David 9,414 / 9.59% Jones, John T. 4,902 / 4.99% Total Votes 98,200

Sebelius claims victory Tuesday, November 7, 2006 TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) --- Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius won re-election Tuesday night, defeating Republican challenger Jim Barnett in a race that wasn't viewed as a serious threat to prevent her from capturing a second term. With 10 percent of precincts reporting, Sebelius had 63 percent of the vote against 36 percent for Barnett, a senator and physician from Emporia. The call for Sebelius was based on a number of factors, including voter turnout, previous voting patterns, and a statistical analysis of the vote from voter interviews conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.

Democratic Granholm (Incumbent) 333,030 54% Republican DeVos 273,425 44% Libertarian Creswell 3,841 1% Green Campbell 3,662 1% Taxpayers Dashairya 1,247 0% 17% of precincts reporting

Katherine Harris got trounced in Florida. She's the kook who told some fundie group that only Christians should be in government and that the separation of church and state is "a lie". She's also the one who, as Florida Secretary of State, stole the election in Florida for Bush in 2000 by refusing to recount the votes.

Nov 7, 2006 10:25 pm US/Eastern Sen. Rick Santorum Loses Seat To Casey (AP) PHILADELPHIA Pennsylvania voters handed the U.S. Senate's No. 3 Republican his first political defeat Tuesday, rejecting conservative stalwart Rick Santorum in favor of Democrat Bob Casey, the mild-mannered son of a former two-term governor. Santorum, a strong voice for conservatives in Washington, had long been a polarizing figure in Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania.

With 38 percent of precincts reporting, Casey had 782,245 votes, or 61 percent, and Santorum had 504,270, or 39 percent. A disciplined Casey stuck to his I'm-not-Santorum message throughout his campaign, accusing the Republican senator of pursuing a rigid ideology that put him out of step with Pennsylvanians.

Unable to gain ground on the front-runner, Santorum mounted ever harsher attacks against his Democratic opponent, in the end accusing him of "aiding and abetting terrorism and genocide" through state pension investments. Santorum raised $25 million and Casey $15 million, making it the most expensive Senate race in Pennsylvania history.

Of those who voted for Casey, only a slight majority said their vote was a show of support for Casey rather than a vote against Santorum, according to an Associated Press exit poll.

"Casey is not my cup of tea but at least he'll be restrained by the Democratic Party," said physics professor Tony Verbalis Jr., a Democrat from Fountain Hill who voted for Casey. "Santorum is a nutcase. He's in far-right la la land. He wants to bomb Iran. I don't feel he's representing us."

Current results: INDEPENDENCE PARTY - Tony Fayyazi - 2438 GREEN - Arnold E Karr - 1058 REPUBLICAN - Karen Floyd - 63537 LIBERTARIAN - Tim Moultrie - 2222 DEMOCRAT - Jim Rex - 63725 CONSTITUTION - Ralph Lindblad - 951 WRITE-IN - 41

Current results: INDEPENDENCE PARTY - Tony Fayyazi - 2772 GREEN - Arnold E Karr - 1227 REPUBLICAN - Karen Floyd - 73801 LIBERTARIAN - Tim Moultrie - 2558 DEMOCRAT - Jim Rex - 76937 CONSTITUTION - Ralph Lindblad - 1050 WRITE-IN - 50

Democratic Granholm (Incumbent) - 605,907 / 57% Republican DeVos - 443,349 / 42% 32% of precincts reporting votes by county

Member, State Board of Education 003 Precincts Reporting: 38 of 295 D-Don Weiss 13582 49 % R-John W. Bacon 14224 51 % Member, State Board of Education 007 Precincts Reporting: 228 of 463 D-Jack Wempe 22134 50 % R-Ken R. Willard 21996 50 %

REPUBLICAN - Karen Floyd - 88274 DEMOCRAT - Jim Rex - 92831

REPUBLICAN - Karen Floyd - 91456 DEMOCRAT - Jim Rex - 100295

District 2 Bender, John R. - 47,600 / 38.23% McGervey, Kathleen A. - 41,549 / 33.37% Ault, Kenneth - 25,421 / 20.42% Hansen, Roland - 9,946 / 7.99%

Jim Rex continues to advance in SC. 20,000 votes ahead now:

REPUBLICAN - Karen Floyd - 114,453
DEMOCRAT - Jim Rex - 133,772

Rex , Jim Dem 489,530 47.50 Floyd , Karen GOP 489,317 47.48

District 8 Cain, Deborah L. - 111,664 / 52.51% Craig, Jim - 100,997 / 47.49%

District 4 Schloemer, G.R. 109,067 66.85% Hritz, John 54,093 33.15%

You're way behind on the SC race. It looks like it might take the absentee ballots to decide.

State Board of Ed. Dist. 3 295 out of 295 (100%) precincts reporting statewide * Don Weiss (DEM) 42056 votes (44.2%) * John Bacon (GOP) 53073 votes (55.8%) State Board of Ed. Dist. 7 404 out of 463 (87.3%) precincts reporting statewide * Jack Wempe (DEM) 37718 votes (49.2%) * Ken Willard (GOP) 38921 votes (50.8%)

This just in: Steve Reuland's mom says that there will be a run-off in the South Carolina race. So that won't be resolved tonight.

AP: S.D. voters reject law banning almost all abortions

Lieberman wins! Well I'll be darned.

This is not strictly elections, but an article at Christianity Today is pondering whether or not the National Association of Evangelicals will collapse as a result of the Haggard scandal.

Since the NAE wrote the major pro-creationism brief in the Edwards v. Aguillard case, and generally represents the theological home turf of the ID movement (conservative evangelicals that are very committed to Biblical inerrancy but not necessarily extreme literalism, and thus not necessarily young-earth creationism), this is worth paying attention to.

This just in: Steve Reuland's mom says that there will be a run-off in the South Carolina race. So that won't be resolved tonight.

as of 9:30pm PST, the dems now control the house again (gain of 17 seats)!

the all important ways and means committee lost two of its biggest rethuglican fatheads.

At ca. 1:00 AM Eastern time, the Ohio Secretary of State page says Ohio School Board District 7 has 100% of precincts recorded. Results are good for evolution education:

52.42% Sawyer, Thomas C.
29.28% Fink, Deborah Owens
12.17% Kovacs, David
6.13% Jones, John T.

Virginia senate race

Candidate Party Vote Count % Votes Cast
Jim Webb Dem 1,143,756 49.5%
George Allen GOP 1,141,030 49.4%
Glenda Parker IG 25,556 1.1%
Updated: 11/8/2006 12:57 AM ET

Ortega back to lead Nicaragua

Posted at 2:02pm on 08 Nov 2006

Nicaragua's former Marxist guerrilla leader Daniel Ortega has bounced back to power today with a presidential election victory after 16 years in the political wilderness.

He had 38% support with votes tallied from more than 90% of polling stations, a lead of 9 points over his Washington-backed conservative rival Eduardo Montealegre.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200611081401/ortega_back_to_lead_nicaragua

State Board of Ed. Dist. 7 452 out of 463 (97.6%) precincts reporting statewide * Jack Wempe (DEM) 40318 votes (48.8%) * Ken Willard (GOP) 42227 votes (51.2%)

Sawyer easily defeats Fink Former congressman wins in race shaped by evolution debate By Katie Byard Beacon Journal staff writer Former Congressman and Akron Mayor Tom Sawyer handily defeated incumbent Deborah Owens Fink in the District 7 state school board race Tuesday. "This is very gratifying," said Sawyer, a former teacher. "Education has been the passion of my public life from its beginning." Sawyer was drafted to run by Help Ohio Public Education, formed by scientists critical of Fink's attempts to change the state science curriculum. The group's founders, Case Western Reserve University professors Patricia Princehouse and Lawrence Krauss, have contended that the changes were an effort to insert religion into the science curriculum. Fink, a Republican, attributed a lot of Sawyer's strong showing to his name. "Anytime you put someone up with the name recognition of Tom Sawyer, it's an uphill battle," the University of Akron marketing professor said. "And it's certainly not a good year to be a Republican -- across the board." Sawyer, an Akron Democrat, said the race "has been the most exciting one I have been in in years. I'm just sorry that it deteriorated in recent days." He was referring to Fink's last-minute mailer accusing him of falling behind on his state income taxes several years ago. Sawyer has admitted mistakes, and the tax bill has been paid. Sawyer and Fink each spent unusually large sums for a state school board race. Fink estimated she spent more than $100,000, while Sawyer said he spent about $50,000. Fink, a Bath Township resident, said the debate over the teaching of evolution was "the only thing that kept me in the race." In February, the state board rescinded the controversial changes to the science curriculum. The vote came after a federal judge in Pennsylvania rejected the teaching of intelligent design there, saying it is religion masquerading as science. Sawyer said the evolution debate "was a metaphor for the failure of some members of the state board of education to understand the larger issues facing education in Ohio. I mean funding, quality and governance." Fink was a distant second, while David Kovacs, a UA philosophy student and a Green Party member, came in third. John Jones, a Republican, finished fourth.

Candidates for Ohio Board of Education, 2006 BOE races are non-partisan and so is HOPE. Our recommendations below are for the 5 Districts electing representatives Nov 7, 2006. District 4: G.R. "Sam" Schloemer District 7: Tom Sawyer District 2: John Bender District 3: Uphoff or Gunlock District 8: Deborah Cain

District 3 Haverkos, Susan M. - 89,204 / 37.55% Gunlock, Thomas W. - 75,063 / 31.60% Uphoff, James K. - 46,034 / 19.38% Anagnostou, Mike - 27,262 / 11.48%

The Senate: 2:08 am and it ain't over yet. What will the morning bring?

It appears that all 4 Ohio Board of Ed candidates who ran on a pro-science platform have won.

This is especially noteworthy because most of the time science becomes an issue, it's because the board in question has adopted a creationist policy that stands to cost the taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees.

This was different because Ohio's science standards are, for the first time in over 4 years, completely free of government-sponsored religious indoctrination. For the first time, a pro-science agenda has been positively promoted --not out of fear, but out of hope.

Incumbent Sam Schloemer of Cincinnati won re-election in a landslide. Sam is a strong proponent of using science class to teach science only. His opponent is a multi-millionaire creationist/ID/"critical-analysis" proponent. It appears Sam won more than 67% of the vote. From the beginning of his campaign, he said his candidacy would be a referendum on ID in Ohio.

Ohio's strongest ID proponent, Deborah Owens-Fink, lost to pro-science challenger Tom Sawyer. Fink mustered only 29% of the vote, a dismal performance for this record fundraiser & marketing whiz from Akron.

Deb Cain appears to have a decisive win over ID fence-sitter Jim Craig. Cain garnered 53% of the vote. Cain was not motivated to run because of the science issues but by broad concerns about the lack of leadership on the state board generally and her district in particular. But she did impress me when I asked her back in Aug where she thought ID could be taught; after reflecting a moment, she responded that she could really only see it in an after school Bible study program.

John Bender is up 4 points against the closest of 3 opponents with varying anti-science tendencies. This race is artificially close because of a major typo on a slate card sent out by the Democrats. It listed both Bender and Republican creationist McGervey. Evidently someone cut & pasted from the list of candidates & did not proofread...

The 5th race, District 3, did not turn on the ID issue. Currently the mildly-pro-science incumbent is down several points, but that could change as more precincts report in.

So, I am happy to say that things are looking up in Ohio!

UPDATE: As of 2:00 AM, Democrat Claire McCaskill had been projected the winner in the Missouri Senate race, and Jim Webb was leading George Allen in Virginia, by 12,000 votes, with 99 percent of the precincts reporting. Webb was also ahead in all of the counties not fully reported. It looked as if the Democrats would finish election night ahead in enough races to take control of the Senate. But in Virginia, there will probably be a recount--and perhaps a major legal battle.

As of this moment, control of the Senate rests in Montana and Virginia. Both have the Democrat leading, in both cases the Democrat is leading by less than 8,000 votes; the primary count in both places is mostly but not entirely in; and it appears recounts of some form or other will be happening in both places.

Good God, it's like watching a photo-finish horse race slowed down by 600x.

It appears that all 4 Ohio Board of Ed candidates who ran on a pro-science platform have won.

Nicaragua's former Marxist guerrilla leader Daniel Ortega has bounced back to power today with a presidential election victory after 16 years in the political wilderness.

Automated calls are legal, but under FCC laws they must identify their source at the beginning of the message.

— Coin

So it looks like the pro-science folks will have the 6-4 majority for the next two years...at which point I think 4 pro-science candidates, and only one creationist, will fact re-election (the opposite of 2006, where it was 4-1 the other way). Is this a permanent see-saw dynamic in Kansas? An example of self-organization theory where a political system locks into a steady cyclical pattern?

Given the high profile of the creationism issue in the Ohio board of education races, particularly with Fink in Akron, what does this say about the true support for creationism in Ohio, as opposed to what flawed polls have stated?

Given the high profile of the creationism issue in the Ohio board of education races, particularly with Fink in Akron, what does this say about the true support for creationism in Ohio, as opposed to what flawed polls have stated?

This just in: Steve Reuland's mom says that there will be a run-off in the South Carolina race. So that won't be resolved tonight.

Ballot measure losses jolt the religious right Anti-abortion, stem cell, same-sex issues all falter; leaders left wondering From the country's heartland, voters sent messages that altered America's culture wars and dismayed the religious right - defending abortion rights in South Dakota, endorsing stem cell research in Missouri, and, in a national first, rejecting a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona. Conservative leaders were jolted by the setbacks and looked for an explanation Wednesday. Gay-rights and abortion-rights activists celebrated. The verdict on abortion rights was particularly clear. Oregon and California voters defeated measures that would have required parents to be notified before a girl under 18 could get an abortion, and South Dakotans - by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent - rejected a new state law that would have banned all abortions except to save a pregnant woman's life. Anti-abortion leaders said the GOP shared some of the blame for the defeat. The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, said President Bush and other top Republicans failed to campaign strongly for the South Dakota abortion ban and against the Missouri stem cell measure. 'Family values' issues lose steam "While South Dakotans fought valiantly to defend their babies, we once again witnessed an almost total lack of support from the national leadership," Euteneuer said. The anti-abortion group Operation Rescue said the election results meant any legislation from Congress restricting abortion would be "virtually impossible" for the next two years. "America has voted and the bloody results have placed the most vulnerable among us, the pre-born, in the crosshairs for continued extermination," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. Janice Shaw Crouse, a conservative analyst with Concerned Women for America, suggested that Republicans - some of them entangled in corruption and sex scandals - had lost some of the selling power of the "family values" themes they had pushed in recent elections. "Families had such high hopes when conservatives were in power; they ended up discouraged, disappointed and disillusioned," she said.

Dead woman wins county commissioner's race S.D. candidate gets 100 votes; official says voters knew she was deceased Updated: 11:41 a.m. ET Nov 8, 2006 PIERRE, S.D. - A woman who died two months ago won a county commissioner's race in Jerauld County on Tuesday. Democrat Marie Steichen, of Woonsocket, got 100 votes, defeating incumbent Republican Merlin Feistner, of Woonsocket, who had 64 votes. Jerauld County Auditor Cindy Peterson said she believes the county board will have to meet to appoint a replacement for Steichen. Peterson said she'll check with the state's attorney to be sure that's the process. Peterson said voters knew Steichen had died. "They just had a chance to make a change, and we respect their opinion."

Conservative leaders were jolted by the setbacks and looked for an explanation Wednesday.

"Families had such high hopes when conservatives were in power; they ended up discouraged, disappointed and disillusioned," she said.

Here in Kansas, we're glad we have a 6-4 moderate BOE majority, but really mad that two creationists, Bacon and Willard, have retained their seats in Districts 3 and 7. Bacon's a CPA, Willard an insurance salesman (and soon to become head of either the state or national Association of School Boards!).

Their challengers were Don Weiss in District 3 and Jack Wempe in District 7.

Weiss has an extensive background in education. So does Wempe, as well as being a well-known public figure.

The church vote must not be underestimated in heavily RRR areas. Bacon did virtually no campaigning. I don't know about Willard. But they don't have to. Churches do it for them.

You know, "evilution" is the worst thing that could be taught to their kids. John Calvert (IDnet) got into the ID fight because he didn't want his grandkids taught they came from monkeys. 'Cause, see, if they're taught they're animals, they'll act like them. Then they'll stop killing each other for the heck of it, despoiling the environment, lying, cheating and stealing.Like Haggard, Foley et al.

Oops. I guess that's not what he meant.

The church vote must not be underestimated in heavily RRR areas. Bacon did virtually no campaigning. I don't know about Willard. But they don't have to. Churches do it for them. (my emphasis)

"Families had such high hopes when conservatives were in power; they ended up discouraged, disappointed and disillusioned," she said.

Along with School Board results in Kansas, it's worth noting the defeat of Attorney General Phill Kline. See http://curricublog.org/2006/11/08/ks-elections-evolution/

Also, I apologize for multiple trackbacks. I didn't know that would happen when I do intermittent saves while editing a post that was published earlier (it doesn't happen during intermittent saves prior to publishing the first time). Nick, please feel free to delete (as if you would need me to say that :) ! )