Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Zamarripa, Democrat Elected Wisconsin State Assembly Representative, Republicans Gained Control Of Legislature

JoCasta Zamarripa

Republicans gained control of the Wisconsin governors seat, the state legislature and U.S. Senate seat in midterm elections 2010.

By H. Nelson Goodson
November 3, 2010

Milwaukee - On Tuesday, JoCasta Zamarripa, 34, (Dem.) of Milwaukee was elected state representative of the Wisconsin 8th Assembly District with 4,287 votes, 86% with 100% Precints reporting. Zamarripa defeated Ramona Rivas (Indp.) who received 678 votes, 14% of the vote. Zamarripa became the first Latina to be elected to the state assembly and will be sworn to office in January. 
Zamarripa a Democrat from the predominately Hispanic community South side of Milwaukee will be working with a Republican majority assembly, which gained 25 Republican seats.
In other races, Ron Johnson, (Rep.) was elected U.S. Senator with 1,107,360 votes, 52%, with 98% of Precints reporting, defeating Russ Feingold (Dem.) who received 1,005,480 votes, 47%. Feingold was the incumbent U.S. Senator for 18 years in the Senate.
Scott Walker (Rep.) was elected Governor of Wisconsin with 1,101,554 votes, 52%, 97% Precints reporting, defeating Tom Barrett (Dem.) with 986,627 votes, 47% of the vote. Walker was also celebrating his birthday on election day. Without a college degree, Walker joins several governors in the U.S. without degrees. He will become the 45th governor of Wisconsin on January 3.
J.B. Van Hollen (Rep.) was re-elected Wisconsin Attorney General.
Wisconsin voters decided they wanted change and Republicans were able to gain enough seats to control both the state assembly and senate. It was a major defeat for Democrats in Wisconsin.
In the South side of Milwaukee, Latinos on Tuesday came out in large numbers, more than 4,960 voted. Latinos became a voting and political empowerment block. In Nevada, U.S. Senator Harry Reid (Dem.) was re-elected and drew 2-1 of the Hispanic vote giving him the election. Reid defeated Sharron Angle (Rep.), an extreme conservative who avoided the mainstream media. More Latinos voted in the Nevada midterm election than in 2008.
In Congress, Republicans were able to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives by controlling 243 seats and  Democrats with 192 seats. Majority is 218 seats of 435 seats. Republicans gained control of the House. The Republicans have won at least 60 seats in the House, making it the largest takeover in 60 years for Republicans. Exit polls indicated the major issue was the economy and that Democrats hadn't acted fast enough to fix it. But, Democrats take credit for preventing a catestrophic depression, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Dem.).
With Republicans in control of the House, immigration reform, and the DREAM Act will be difficult to gain support by newly elected Republicans who ran anti-immigrant campaigns. The re-election of Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (Rep.) in Wisconsin, who is well known for his anti-immigrant stance will most likely reignite the push for immigration enforcement nationally with the Republican controlled House. Sensenbrenner's 2006 failed push to criminalize anyone that aided an undocument immigrant caused a major backlash from Democrats and Latinos nationally costing Republicans to lose control of both the House and U.S. Senate in Congress. Sensenbrenner will most likely influence Wisconsin's Republican control legislature and governorship to enforce immigration laws for the next two years. Walker, the newly Republican elected Governor of Wisconsin has vowed to sign a similar Arizona SB 1070, if passed by the legislature. Although, the Arizona SB 1070 has been challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice and key portions of the state law have been blocked by a federal judge pending the outcome of the case. SB 1070 allowed Arizona state and police to require proof of legal status in the U.S. from people they suspect are illegally in the country during investigations or traffic stops.
In the U.S. Senate, Democrats maintained 51 seats, including 2 Independent seats, which side with Democrats and Republicans with 46 seats. Republicans gained 6 seats. Majority is 51 seats of 100 seats. Democrats maintained control of the U.S. Senate.
Republicans hold 26 governor seats, including Wisconsin and Democrats 14 seats, including California where Jerry Brown (Dem.) defeated Meg Witman (Rep.) and 9 state governorships still undecided.
President Barack H. Obama addressed the nation on Wednesday from the White House, for full speech and video click at following linked: http://bit.ly/cPsdWq

PEW Hispanic Center reports:

The Latino Vote in the 2010 Elections http://bit.ly/bch1NH

Latinos and the 2010 Elections: Strong Support for Democrats; Weak Voter Motivation http://bit.ly/bBsHFI

Editors note:

Have to love America and Democracy, despite the Republicans gaining control of the House, the Latino vote was crucial in Democrats maintaining control of the U.S. Senate. There are 19 million eligible Hispanic voters in the U.S. On Tuesday, we showed America we are a voting and political empowerment block. Republicans have to break down their barriers and begin working in issues affecting Latinos today as well as Democrats. Every Latino vote counts regardless for who you voted for in the end. We are all Americans and one country. ;)

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