McKinney Wins but faces runoff - 47% McKinney - 45% Johnson

[autorank]

McKinney Wins but Faces Runoff
in Democratic Primary

http://www.sos.state.ga.us/elections/election_results/2006_0718/02002.htm

Friend of working people, champion of voting rights,
fearless investigator.

McKinney 46.9%/26,093 Johnson 44.5%/24.042 Coyune 8.6%/4,009

Got a little tight, you know, the voting machine thing...

BLOGGED BY Winter Patriot ON 7/18/2006 12:23PM
REPORTS: GA Dem Primary Votes Flipping from Cynthia McKinney to Opponent Hank Johnson
Problems with Diebold's Paperless Touch-Screen Systems Reported Immediately As Polls Open This Morning…
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3087

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

According to sources in the Cynthia McKinney camp, Georgia voters attempting to vote for her in today's Democratic Primary are seeing their votes flipped to her opponent, Hank Johnson.

McKinney has a well-deserved reputation for speaking truth to power, asking tough questions, and not backing down (see this video, or read this transcript).

Diebold, on the other hand, has a history of touch-screen machines flipping votes from one candidate to another — commonly called "vote-switching" or "vote-flipping" — and otherwise failing altogether.

Georgia, with Maryland one of Diebold's original "showcase" states, employing the paperless version of their touch-screen system, has a history of very strange results in mid-term elections. We'll have more about all this and perhaps some updates, as time permits.


Controversial McKinney fails to avoid runoff
ERRIN HAINES
Associated Press
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/15070231.htm

ATLANTA - Democratic firebrand Rep. Cynthia McKinney started preparing Wednesday for a surprise runoff with former DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson, who has deep roots in the heart of her core constitency.

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, McKinney finished with 47 percent of the vote to Johnson's 45 percent.

"We've been here before, but you know what? It is impossible to keep a good woman down," McKinney told cheering supporters, shortly after dancing and playing a tambourine.

"I intend to fight the good fight. I will continue to tell the truth and I will challenge anyone who dares to destroy anything about the work that I do. ... This battle is now engaged, and we intend to win."

[charlie]

1. Whew

Close one, wasn't it? 1500 out of 55,000. Glad she's keepin' on.

Edit: Uh-oh. Runoff? (Just saw your update)

[autorank]

4. Yep...wonder how many percentage points the vote flipping cost her.

:shrug:

[charlie]

7. I hate this shit

Not being able to trust election results anywhere anymore, and having to endure the inevitable "tinfoil" charges when I can't cede to certainty because of it.

[Binka]

11. You & I Need To Go Kick Some Ass Charlie!

Personally I want to smash my fist in Mike Dewines mug then kick Frist in his balls. Oh wait Frist & balls...er I want to smash him in the face too then!:evilgrin:

[charlie]

15. I'd settle for ballot stuffing

As in force-feeding Ken Blackwell and Katherine Harris disqualified ballots until they fucking explode!

[Kurovski]

19. Hey tough guy...

good to see you, darlin'! :hi:

[Binka]

21. Hey Sugar! The BobCat In The Sack Is Back!

How are YOU doing?:loveya:

[Kurovski]

24. I'm well, and you and the kids?

(actually autorank keeps accusing me of being a killer) *shhh!*

[Binka]

25. Callie & Ian Coming To Sicily In Three Weeks Ben Can't Make This Trip

I'll be flying out to 29 Palms at Christmas to see Ben.

[Kurovski]

27. Continued good wishes to all.

:loveya: keep kickin' & kickin' ass, my tender Snapdragon blossom!

[Rosemary2205]

2. She did not "win"

50.1% of the votes is a WIN.

I'm just sayin.......

[autorank]

3. And you're right. See corrected story.

Also check out why within...damn.

[Binka]

5. Auto What Is Going On?

Confused!

[autorank]

8. Hi...she had to top 50% and she's just short. This morning

voting machines were flippingi votes from McKinney to Johnson by report of many of her voters.
The voting was stopped and apparently the problem was corrected but it's a low vote race so how
many people's votes got flipped before it was caught. Don't know.

She and Johnson will battle it out in a runoff soon. Bad news but...

[Binka]

10. The Bastards Just Don't Stop Do They?

She will prevail. Do you have a link where I can send her some cash? Thanks!:hi:

[autorank]

16. Cynthia for Congress Web Site - Donatoins

http://www.cynthiaforcongress.com/

:hi:

I'll send her some $$$'s too. Thanks for the idea.

I like her. She's one tough lady and fights for the right causes.

[Slaughtermeyer]

18. Donations to Cynthia

In order to encourage people to send donations to Cynthia, I'll mail a free anti-Bush DVD to anyone who donates, just send me a PM. And not just any anti-Bush DVD, but the one by BYU Professor Steven Jones that accuses Bush of deliberately allowing 9/11 to happen and placing explosives in three of the World Trade Center buildings to make sure they would collapse totally. This video was publically praised by Republican congressman Curt Weldon, details here:
http://republican.meetup.com/92/boards/view/viewthread?thread=1870074

Those who don't feel like waiting to watch this video can see it online here:
http://www.911blogger.com/2006/02/dr-steven-jones-utah-seminar-video.html

[Binka]

23. Welcome To Du!

Good to have you here!

[charlie]

12. This Coyne guy got 9%?

He's got a reeeally weird idea about militarizing the southern border -- he wants to turn it into a military base, 2100 miles long and at least 5 miles deep.

http://www.johncoyneforuscongress.com/issues.html

[autorank]

17. Oh lord..he had a white pick up with something like "Boot Cynthia" on it.

His own idea.

Nice web site though :rofl:

Guess we hope his folks stay home.

Sad thing is that the GA Secretary of State, Cox, bought all these lousy voting machines (Diebolds)
and insisted that they were just great. The state passed a law to add paper receipts to verify votes
(which are really lame to begin with and mean little). Cox bought a boat load of machines that
can't accomodate receipt printers so her grand work was all for naught...unless those flipped votes
keep Cynthia out of Congress.

Cox lost the Democratic primary. That was almost as important as Ralph Reed losing the Lt. Gov.
primary on the Republican side. Maybe Reed will hire Cox into his consulting firm. I mean
somebody has to take Abramoff's seat as "election dude."

[charlie]

22. Swell

If it ever comes to light that she lost an election by voting machine shenanigans, she's one Democrat who can count on me doing nothing more than pointing and laughing.

[autorank]

38. Hey charlie, thanks for sharing man...Means a loti to all of us;)

[CatWoman]

40. I'm so full of myself right now

Reed gone; I voted for Taylor over Cox, and Cynthia over Johnson.

*flexing Cat Muscles* :D

[autorank]

41. Good for you and the people of Georgia!

That Cox is a real bad apple. I have no idea about her motivation, just the results. Mega voting centers (hurts the elderly, minorities, the poor), Diebolds (hurts the Democrats), and all sorts of
propaganda. I think she's even features on Diebold literature. Can you imagine?

And I'll never forgive her for costing the country Max Cleland and Barnes in 2002...that was a turkey
of rare proportoins...takes a supercomputer to make those numbers work.

Think she'll take a job as a Diebold sales rep. Kitty has sharp claws :evilgrin:



Why would a public official do an advertisement & endorsement
of a vendor; why would a Democrat do it for Diebold.

[rman]

6. What happened to that 8.6% of the votes?

Besides, 46.9% IS more than 44.5%.
If either is the winner, it's McKinney.

[autorank]

9. Check now. I just added third candidate.

[Up2Late]

13. I don't doubt this for a second, she should have won by 10-20%

would be my guess. Most of her districts voters LOVE her.

BTW, I think her former nemesis, Denise Majette, just won the State School Superintendent Democratic nomination in a big way. She got 70% in my county.

[Freddie Stubbs]

29. Yet she lost the primary in 2002

You may be overestimating her popularity in the district.

[ulysses]

30. and won without a runoff in 2004. n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

31. She avoided a runoff in 2004 by a slim margin

LEVETAN MCKINNEY STOKES THOMAS VAUGHN WOOLARD
19,723 48,512 4,972 2,938 1,280 18,164
20.6% 50.8% 5.2% 3.1% 1.3% 19.0%

http://www.sos.state.ga.us/elections/election_results/2004_0720/0000610.htm

It would appear that there are a significant number of Democratic voters in her who are not happy with her. The incident with the police office probably didn't help.

[ulysses]

32. yes, over five challengers, including the former

county CEO (edit: and state senator). I don't know if she'll win this runoff, but her popularity in the district is undeniable.

[Freddie Stubbs]

33. She also seems to have a lot of people who don't like her in the district

An incumbent receiving barely a majority in the primary is a sign of trouble.

[klook]

35. Due to crossover voting by Republicans

--a highly organized campaign. See American Blackout for details.

[Freddie Stubbs]

36. And she very narrowly avoided a runoff in 2004

Was there a highly organized campaign that year also?

[klook]

39. McKinney faced FIVE opponents in 2004 and WON without a runoff

...no matter how you try to spin it.

2004 Georgia District 4 Democratic Primary Results
Cynthia McKinney - 51 percent
Liane Levetan - 20 percent
Cathy Woolard - 19 percent
Three other minor candidates - 9 percent

Now, just who are these candidates McKinney walloped in the 2004 Dem primary?

• Levetan is a longtime figure in DeKalb County politics and very popular former chair of the county commission. An Austrian-Jewish emigre, Levetan enjoyed huge support among the sizeable Jewish community centered in the North Druid Hills area.


• Woolard, an openly Lesbian candidate who served on the Atlanta City Council from 1997-2004 (and as City Council President from 2001-2004), was very popular with the gay communities in Pine Lake and Decatur (home of the Indigo Girls). She was also the favorite of many 4th District progressives who were uncomfortable with McKinney's "radical" image and the safely middle-of-the-road Levetan.

Add to that the fact that in 2004 McKinney's district included conservative Dunwoody, the northern DeKalb County suburb that was the stronghold of the Republican crossover campaign in 2002 when Denise Majette won her sneak-attack victory. Opposition to McKinney runs VERY strong in Dunwoody.

Facing all these obstacles, it's remarkable that McKinney trounced her closest two rivals (both very popular as I've noted) and defeated a total of five opponents, getting enough votes to avoid a runoff in the process. When you look at the reality of McKinney's win in 2004, saying she won "narrowly" is ludicrous!

This time around, there was apparently a significant effort to Diebold her re-election bid. (See http://www.cynthiaforcongress.com for details.) I, for one, sure as hell hope she wins this year's runoff in August, and I'll be contributing to her campaign and volunteering to help make sure that happens.

[autorank]

14. Two challengers positions --

From GA League of Women Voters Guide
http://www.lwvga.org/resources/guides.html


John Coyne, Democrat (not in runoff but his voters may show up)

John was born in Glen Ridge, NJ in 1950. He graduated from the University of Georgia and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture in 1972. John has been a partner/project manager with the architectural firm of HDH Partnership since 1987. John has served in the management and ownership...

1. The large campaign contributions come from the P.A.C. funds which have no reasonable limit to their level of donation. No candidate, especially an incumbent that is heavily lobbied for support from the PAC's, will agree to limit their contributions. A maximum must be set and all candidates should receive an...

2. The government budget must be managed just like a business. It should be set up to spend only 90% poits revenue, leaving a 10% reserve to pay down the national debt. The budget is burdened with entitlements and special interest payments it receives no benefit from

Hank Johnson, Democrat (McKinney's runoff opponent)

Commissioner Hank Johnson, Democrat, graduated from Washington D.C. public schools, Clark College and
Thurgood Marshall School of Law. A DeKalb-based lawyer, he has served as a Magistrate Judge, and a twice- elected County Commissioner. His wife and law partner is Mereda Davis Johnson. They have two children attending DeKalb Public Schools.

1. Out-of-control lobbying dollars and self-financing lead to bought elections. Federal matching dollars, with spending caps, equally applied to qualified candidates can level the playing field. Candidates can create and employ strategies within the caps to get their message out. Broadcasters can be encouraged to reduce rates to meet the market.

2. Prioritizing is the key to attacking the deficit. Tax cuts for the wealthiest 1%, raids on the Social Security Trust Fund and Medicare, hemorrhaging from the Iraq War, Star Wars and no-bid contacts must end. Investments in infrastructure and education will create jobs, preparing our workforce for global economic competition.

Cynthia McKinney

No response submitted.

[Kurovski]

20. Recommended.

so many interesting things going on tonight.

[Binka]

26. Yes K& R! n/t

[Vidar]

28. I wish her well. She fights.

[Stevepol]

34. Love McKinney, but don't give her much chance in the run-off.

Diebold 53% McKinney 47% is my best guess, something in that range.

[Gregorian]

37. Every Democrat has two adversaries- their opponent, and Diebold.

Diebold 53% McKinney 47%. Nice way to put it.