Tomorrow, Americans will go to the polls to vote in the 2010 mid-term elections. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs (although only a fairly small portion of them are genuinely competitive), as well as one-third of the United States Senate. In addition, state legislative and gubernatorial elections are being held all across the country.
I serve on the Global Solutions Political Action Committee, which is associated with Citizens for Global Solutions, and I have been lucky enough to have something of a Global Citizen front row seat to these elections. Although they will essentially be a referendum about President Obama's domestic program rather than anything to do with foreign affairs, there are still several races that Global Citizens would do well to keep a close eye on. Here's a quick glance at a few of them.
1. Wisconsin Senate. This race pits incumbent Democratic Senator Russ Feingold against Republican challenger Ron Johnson, a prominent businessman. Feingold has a long record of distinguished service in the Senate and has been very strong on issues important to Global Citizens, particularly in terms of making human rights a priority in American foreign policy. While Ron Johnson has not made foreign policy much of an issue in the race, it would be a great disappointment for Global Citizens if Feingold were knocked out of the Senate.
2. Kentucky Senate. This race pits Republican Rand Paul, the son of the famous libertarian/isolationist Congressman Ron Paul, against Democrat Jack Conway, the state's attorney general. Although the younger Paul has not articulated foreign policy views as strictly isolationist as those of his father, he has spoken disparagingly about the United Nations, saying that American troops should never participate in U.N. peacekeeping operations and hinting that the United States should not pay its agreed-upon share of U.N. funds. He certainly is not the kind of person Global Citizens should want in the Senate. Let's hope Jack Conway wins this one.
3. Pennsylvania Senate. This race pits Democrat Joe Sestak, currently representing the state's 7th district in the House of Representatives, against Republican Pat Toomey, a former congressman. Congressman Sestak has long been a champion for internationalist causes, and is a member of the American Engagement Caucus, a grouping of House members who support closer American collaboration with other nations. Toomey, on the other hand, edges close to the isolationist wing of the Republican Party. We need more people like Sestak in the Senate and fewer like Toomey, so let's hope for a Sestak victory.
4. Nevada Senate. This race, one of the most closely watched in the country, pits Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid against Republican challenger Susan Angle. Reid is, frankly, not the best leader the Senate has ever had, and he certainly could have had the upper chamber move more aggressively on internationalist issues. But Angle is an extreme anti-internationalist candidate, calling, among other things, for the United States to withdraw from the U.N. A Reid victory in this race is a win for Global Citizens.
5. Louisiana House District 2. This is a Democratically-leaning district represented by a Republican, Congressman Anh Cao (the first Vietnamese-American in Congress), who is running for reelection against Democrat Cedric Richmond. Cao is a moderate Republican internationalist. He strongly supports full U.S. participation in the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and is generally outstanding on issues important to Global Citizens. He also is the co-founder of the House American Engagement Caucus. This will be a tough race, but hopefully Cao will pull through, thus helping turn the Republican Party away from their nationalistic policies.
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