Democrats
Senate may vote this week on Section 179 tax break
The Senate is expected "in the coming days to restore more than 50 tax breaks, all of which expired at the end of 2013, just through the end of this year," including the Section 179 business expensing provision, says The Hill newspaper.
Do rural areas only vote Republican and cities Democratic?
One of the rules of thumb in politics is that rural America is populated by social and fiscal conservatives, so residents vote Republican. The Daily Yonder looked at vote totals in all 3,143 counties in the Nov 5 elections for U.S. House...
As rural moves right, Democrats face obstacles
Book-ending the Daily Yonder's data on Republicans winning a larger share of the rural vote in the mid-term election, political analyst Matt Barron says Democrats face problems ranging from poor recruitment of candidates...
Roberts wins, may be first to chair House, Senate ag panels
Kansas Sen Pat Roberts easily won his fourth term in the Senate, beating independent Greg Orman by 9 points. Roberts says he expects to be Agriculture Committee chairman when Republicans take control of the Senate in January. He would be the first person to chair the both the House and Senate Agriculture committees.
A dozen elections with food and agriculture policy impact
A dozen elections today may influence food and agriculture policy nationally, They range from the Kansas race that could determine the next chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee to referendums on soda taxes and GMO labeling.
Ernst leads in Iowa for Senate, Kansas is neck-and-neck race
Republican Joni Ernst led Democrat Bruce Braley by 7 points, 51-44, in the latest Iowa Poll of the Des Moines Register. It was Ernst's largest lead in any poll in a month.
Heavy spending in re-election bid by food stamp critic
Some $10 million could be spent on the U.S. House race between Rep Steve Southerland and Democrat Gwen Graham in the Florida panhandle, says WTXL-TV in Tallahassee.
GMO food labeling initiative trails in Oregon poll
Opponents held a 6-point advantage in a poll of 403 likely voters in Oregon on whether to require special labels on foods containing genetically modified organisms, says the Portland Oregonian, one of two news outlets that commissioned the survey by Elway Research.
Food stamp critic Steve King heads for re-election in Iowa
House Agriculture subcommittee chairman Steve King leads by 12 points in a Loras College poll of 280 likely voters in the Fourth House District in northwestern Iowa.
Greens grow bigger in mid-term elections
Environmental groups, long seen as second-tier players in electoral politics, are gaining attention for activism and spending on mid-term races for Congress, says Politico.
Cotton stands taller in Arkansas
Arkansas Sen Mark Pryor's chances are fading against Republican Tom Cotton, saysSabato's Crystal Ball, adding "it’s increasingly hard to see him overcoming Arkansas’ hard shift to the right.
Reid aces food policy scorecard, Boehner scores a zero
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and 70 other members of Congress, mostly Democrats, got perfect grades from advocacy group Food Policy Action for their votes on food and agriculture issues over the past two years.
Food and agriculture races to watch on Nov 4
From soda taxes in California to neck-and-neck Senate races in the heartland, an abundance of races of import for U.S. food and agriculture policy will be decided in the Nov 4 elections.
Pryor and Cotton debate in key farm-state Senate race
In the first debate of the Senate race in Arkansas, Sen Mark Pryor, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, said opponent first-term Rep Tom Cotton, a Republican, is more interested in foreign policy than...
Orman “small favorite” in Kansas, Benishek likely in Michigan
Independent Greg Orman is "at least a small favorite" to defeat third-term Sen Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, in Kansas, says the Sabato's Crystal Ball.
Roberts gains ground for Senate in Kansas
Republican Pat Roberts is the leader in newly released polls by CNN and Fox. Roberts, potentially the next chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was ahead of independent Greg Orman 49-48 with 3 percent undecided in the CNN poll...
Valadao, Davis move to good bets from re-election targets
First-term Republicans David Valadao of California and Rodney Davis of Illinois rate as likely winners of re-election to the House, says the political tip sheet Sabato's Crystal Ball. Valadao, a member of the Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, and Davis, a member of the Agriculture Committee, "ranked among the top Democratic targets in the country earlier in the cycle but neither race has really materialized," said the Crystal Ball, which previously listed the races as "leans Republican."
A deadlock in Senate race in Iowa
Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst are tied at 40 percent each with 15 percent undecided in a Suffolk/USA Today poll of one of the races that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.