Election Day 2013: The Fate of the Tea Party, GMO Labeling and Other Issues At Stake

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http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/2013-november-election-day-preview



Will the Tea Party’s fortunes continue their downward slide; will New York City elect a progressive as its next mayor; will Washington state require genetically modified foods to be labeled; and will New Jersey raise its minimum wage? These are among the top questions to be decided across the country in elections held today.

Election Day in November 2013 will be filled with trendsetting results and curiosities, as five states elect governors, 31 ballot measures go before voters in six states, and a handful of cities hold votes that will echo nationally.

In New York, voters are expected to elect a populist Democrat as mayor, Public Advocate Bill De Blasio.

Washington state voters may do what California voters failed to do last fall—pass a ballot measure requiring that genetically modified food be labeled. That initiative has prompted agribusiness and food giants from outside the state to spend multi-millions to scare voters into opposing it. Of the $22 million raised to defeat it, a mere $550 has come from Washington state residents, the Seattle Times reports.