As results continue to roll in from the West Coast, and with the Senate races in Nevada, California and Washington too early to call, that will do it for the United Fresh team in Washington. Be sure to check back at www.UnitedFresh.org and with Inside United Fresh on Thursday for further analysis of how the makeup of the new Congress will affect the fresh fruit and vegetable industry nationwide.
Thanks so much for joining United Fresh this evening. For questions or additional comments, please contact Patrick Delaney at pdelaney@unitedfresh.org.
Posted by Patrick Delaney at 11:21 pm ET
As we start to take stock in what may take place next year, a quick read on tonight’s election result tells us that President Obama’s legislative agenda will be all but dead for the next two years. However, what we may see is an even more active regulatory agenda from the administration on policy issues that the President deems important.
In a number of ways, the new Congress will look very, very different. When the gavel goes down opening the 112th Congress on Monday, January 3rd, as few as 60 and as many as 100 new members will take the oath of office. This means that in many respects, the learning curve will be high both for these new members and for our industry. We will need to spend a considerable amount of time meeting these new members, learning about their districts and listening closely for what motivates their public policy decisions. In the House, the new Republican majority will be lead by Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).
Rep. Boehner, who spoke at this year’s Washington Public Policy Conference, is chiefly a legislator and if elected Speaker, he would be the first Republican speaker to have chaired a committee since Joe Cannon who ran the House from 1903 to 1911. Boehner served as Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee from 2001-2006 and as Vice Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee during that time. Most likely, this means that Republican leadership will not short-circuit the committee legislative process.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 11:00 pm ET
As the West Coast starts to come into play at 11:00 pm ET we will be looking at some important races to the produce industry and will be closely watched by many. The Senate races include Senator Patty Murray of Washington and Senator Boxer from California. In the House, Rep. Jim Costa of California along with Congressman Walt Minnick of Idaho look like they are facing tough re-election prospects.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 10:40 pm ET
Another conservative Blue Dog Democrat goes down as Rep. Kratovil of Maryland was defeated tonight. Congressman Kratovil served on the House Horticulture Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over fruit and vegetable issues in the House Agriculture Committee.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 10:32 pm ET
As the polls are closing across the country, some other House races we are watching right now to get a better handle on include Rep. John Salazar of Colorado, Rep. Frank Kratovil of Maryland, and Rep. Bill Owens of New York. All have been friends of the produce industry during their time in Congress. Rep. Kratovil looks like he is in big trouble right now.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 10:12 PM ET
Results are coming in for a couple of House Agriculture Committee members, Democrats Larry Kissell and Mike McIntyre, both of North Carolina. McIntyre is a subcommittee chairman and preliminary results show both of them ahead by nearly or more than half of the votes reported in those districts. Bobby Bright, another Democrat who also serves on the House Agriculture Committee is currently tied with his opponent in the race for Alabama’s 2nd district. Kathy Dahlkemper of Pennsylvania, who has been supportive of the produce industry, is currently behind in her effort to retain that state’s 3rd district seat.
Posted by Julie Manes at 9:47 p.m. ET
News reports just coming out include that Rep. Boyd from Florida has lost his reelection bid. This is a big loss for Florida as he has been a stalwart supporter of agriculture and the produce industry since he was first elected to Congress in 1996. During his time in Congress, he served on both the House Agriculture Committee and the House Agriculture Appropriation Committee.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 9:37 pm ET
Major news outlets are predicting Republican takeover in the House. As Tom mentioned it looks like the Senate will stay in control of the Senate. It looks like a divided Congress which translates into legislative gridlock for the next couple of years.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 9:30 pm ET
Joe Manchin winning in West VA is indeed a big deal. That race had tightened a lot in the last two weeks and Dems in the state were concerned. A good friend of mine (our kids were trick or treating together Sunday night) left Monday morning for W.Va. to get out the vote.The D’s will hold the Senate. But don’t count on the House. A couple of the House races that are still too close to call are looking strong for the R’s.
The Californians here at our reception are heading out to vote — it’s never too late!
Posted by Tom Stenzel at 6:10pm/PT
In West Virginia, Joe Manchin has just been projected the winner in the Senate race in that state. This race has been closely watched as being key to whether Republicans could take control of the Senate. With this race falling in the Democrat column, it will be very difficult for the GOP to flip the Senate.
Posted by Julie Manes at 8:50 p.m. ET
Just in, Blanche Lincoln loses in Arkansas, so the Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman falls tonight despite a spirited campaign. It also means another pickup for Republicans. If Democrats hold the Senate early expectations for next Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee include Senator Debbie Stabenow from Michigan or Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota. Senator Stabenow has been a champion for the produce industry for many years and spoke at this year’s Washington Public Policy Conference.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 8:44 pm ET
The California results have arrived early… Giants in 5!
Posted by Rick Antle, Tanimura & Antle along with Luke Gowdy, CH Robinson, Mike Cavallero, and Ron Midyett, Apio at the Election Night Reception in Salinas, CA 5:41pm PT
Hi everybody live from Salinas, CA. The industry here is pretty jazzed about the election, and making some changes. I won’t call out anyone on who voted R or D, but I sense the national election results may prove more friendly to Republicans than the CA races. The Whitman/Fiorina folks here at our reception in Salinas tonight are not overly optimistic.
Looking back east, I’m happy that Rob Portman has won the Ohio Senate seat. He’s a Cincinnati guy who we can work with, so let’s count that as one victory for our industry. Reggie Griffin has a job to do now — let’s set up that meeting with Sen. Elect Portman!
Posted by Tom Stenzel at 5:18 pm PT
Congratulations to Rob Portman of Ohio former U.S. Trade Ambassador and OMB Director under President Bush. We look forward to working with Senator-elect Portman when he comes to Washington in January.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 8:10 pm ET
Some key races in the House that may tell us how the night is going for Democrats should come in over the next 30 minutes. These include House Agriculture Committee members Mike McIntyre (NC), Larry Kissell (NC), John Boccieri (OH), Jim Marshall (GA), Kathy Dahlkemper (PA), and Frank Kratovil (MD).
Posted by Robert Guenther at 7:40 pm ET
Early returns are showing Baron Hill of Indiana’s 9th District nearly 13 points behind with about a quarter of precincts reporting. This race could be called shortly and is considered a bellwether race.
Posted by Julie Manes at 7:37 p.m ET.
In particular, the Arkansas race will be closely watched as it includes Sen. Blanche Lincoln current Chairperson of the Senate Agriculture Committee. In addition, Sen. Michael Bennett from Colorado, who also sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, will be up with the polls closing in Colorado 9:00 EST.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 7:28 pm ET
Greetings from the United Fresh Election Night Reception in Salinas, CA!
Posted by Jeff Oberman at 4:21pm PT
As the races start coming in we will be posting some thoughts on how these elections are going to impact the produce industry. Looking at the Senate the key tonight will be can the Republicans get to 10 seats and take over control. So with the Coats win in Indiana nine more to go for the Republicans.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 7:17 pm ET
Hello everyone, this is Julie at United Fresh. We’re starting to get results for some of the key races that Robert mentioned and one of the races that has just been called is the Indiana Senate race in which Dan Coats has just been declared the winner. This seat flips from Democrat to Republican.
Posted by Julie Manes at 7:09 pm ET
So Lets get going….
So thus far we have heard throughout the day that turnout has been good, especially in rural areas. For tonight we are watching 12 key Senate races which will shape the balance of the Senate. These include the Senate races in AR, CO, WV, IL, WI, NV, CA, PA, ND, IN, OH, and WA.
In the House, we will highlight races across the country and as polls begin to close provide some insight into these races and what they mean to the produce industry and any trends that may be forming.
Posted by Robert Guenther at 6:58 pm ET
Hello this is Robert from United Fresh and welcome to Fresh Decision 2010. We are going to spend the next few hours pouring through the congressional races across the country looking at how they will impact the produce industry and watch for trends in key congressional races that will shape the 112th Congress in January.
We invite you to follow along and provide us comments about your thoughts as this potential historic night unfolds. Feel free to submit comments below or email them to pdelaney@unitedfresh.org
Posted by Robert Guenther at 6:46 pm ET