Second Muslim Elected To Congress
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The grandson of the late U.S. Rep. Julia Carson won a special election Tuesday to succeed her, keeping the seat in Democratic hands and becoming the second Muslim ever elected to Congress.
Democrat Andre Carson had a 5,000-vote lead over Republican Jon Elrod out of nearly 59,000 votes counted. With 88 percent of 445 precincts reporting, Carson had about 53 percent of the vote compared with about 44 percent for Elrod.
Carson will represent a district that covers most of Indianapolis for the remainder of the year. In a primary in May, he’ll seek to be the Democratic nominee for a full two-year term.
In his victory speech, Carson told more than 100 supporters gathered at a downtown Indianapolis hotel that he would have to “hit the ground running.” One of his top priorities, he said, would be ending the war in Iraq.
“We need to bring our men and women back home and end this useless war,” Carson said.
Elrod held out hope for a late surge and did not concede defeat. Elrod campaign manager Kyle Casting said the candidate would not give up until the last vote was counted.
“We are waiting for the last ballots to come in. There are several precincts left to come in,” Casting said.
Mississippi was also choosing candidates Tuesday to fill two rare open congressional seats. One of those seats became vacant when Republican Roger Wicker was appointed to replace Sen. Trent Lott after his resignation.
In Indiana, District 7 is predominantly Democratic and Carson had a large fundraising advantage over Elrod, along with more than $150,000 in spending by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Carson’s behalf.
But Carson also faced several obstacles including expected low voter turnout and potential backlash over complaints of political nepotism.
Elrod had promoted himself as a moderate focused on fiscal reforms, such as eliminating most earmark funding for projects sought by members of Congress. He had also refused to join the other 48 Indiana House Republicans in backing a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages.
Both candidates are young and have little political experience.
Carson, 33, has been a member of Indianapolis City-County Council since August. Elrod, 30, is a first-term state representative who won election in 2006 by eight votes over a five-term Democratic incumbent.
Also on the ballot is Libertarian Sean Shepard. Shepard had about 3 percent of the vote.
Julia Carson, a Democrat who first won election to Congress in 1996 and died in December, was the first black to represent Indianapolis in Congress—from a district that is nearly two-thirds white.
Carson, whose grandmother raised him in a Baptist church, converted to Islam more than a decade ago.
Carson will join Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., as the only Muslims in Congress. His religious identity has drawn little attention during the campaign, and Carson said he doesn’t believe it hurts him politically.
“I’m a proud Hoosier,” Carson said after his speech Tuesday night. “I’m an Indy 500 Hoosier, I’m a Covered Bridge Festival Hoosier, I’m a Black Expo Hoosier, I’m a state fair Hoosier. I just happen to be a Hoosier of the Muslim faith.”
In Mississippi, Republicans and Democrats were choosing their candidates for two congressional seats.
Mississippi’s 3rd District is open for the first time in 12 years after Republican Rep. Chip Pickering decided not to seek a seventh term. The heavily Republican district stretches from Oktibbeha County in the north to Adams and Wilkinson counties in the southwest.
Former state Sen. Charlie Ross and attorney Gregg Harper are heading for a runoff in the Republican primary. The winner will face Democrat Joel Gill.
Democrats say they have a chance to claim north Mississippi’s 1st District. The district leans Republican but could be a toss-up this fall. Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers and state Rep. Steve Holland were headed for a runoff in the Democratic primary. On the GOP side, former Tennessee Valley Authority chairman Glenn McCullough and Southaven Mayor Greg Davis also were headed to a runoff.
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Oh, goodie …
I see [things] are progressing nicely.
Let us know if he swears in on the “floater” book …
March 11th, 2008 at 8:51 pmWill the future history books write how the free nations of the early 21st century slid into a new dark ages not by the loss of a war, but by casting of ballots.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:33 pmThe slow takeover without a shot being fired.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:39 pmI can almost see the minarets in my town.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:41 pmWell, this is just a great way to start the day.
Kurt. Right on the money.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:26 amI’m not sure about the 2/3′rds white part, I live about 30 miles from there and it doesn’t appear that way to me.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:54 amThe Central North is the USA’s Achilles heal.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:00 amThe people vote in the very Muslims that will butcher their children, because they are not republican. Empower the enemies of the free world.
The Gop send our sons and daughters to protect our nation. I wonder when the Left will protect our nation with their sons and daughters, and WHO they will be fighting.
Clearly, the Dems have sided with Islam.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:30 amThe cancer grows.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:36 amSen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois)
My fellow Identity-Americans
As your future President I want to thank
my supporters, for their… well, support.
Your mindless support of me, despite my
complete lack of any legislative achievement,
my pastor’s relations with Louis Farrakhan
and Libyan dictator Moamar Quadafi, or my
blatantly leftist voting record while I present
myself as some sort of bi-partisan agent of change.
I also like how my supporters claim my youthful
drug use and criminal behavior somehow qualifies
me for the Presidency after 8 years of claiming
Bush’s youthful drinking disqualifies him.
Your hypocrisy is a beacon of hope shining over
a sea of political posing.
I would also like to thank the Kennedy’s for
coming out in support of me. There’s a lot of
glamour behind the Kennedy name, even though
JFK started the Vietnam War, his brother
Robert illegally wiretapped Martin Luther King, Jr.
and Teddy killed a teenage girl. And I’m not
going anywhere near the cousins, both literally
and figuratively.
And I’d like to thank Oprah Winfrey for her support.
Her love of meaningless empty platitudes will be
the force that propels me to the White House.
Americans should vote for me, not because of my
lack of experience or achievement, but because
I make people feel good. Voting for me causes
some white folk to feel relieved of their imagined,
racist guilt.
I say things that sound meaningful, but don’t really
mean anything because Americans are tired of
things having meaning. If things have meaning,
then that means you have to think about them.
Americans are tired of thinking.
It’s time to shut down the brain,
and open up the heart.
So when you go to vote in the primaries,
remember don’t think, just do.
And do it for me.
Thank You.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:47 amGod help us all,If he will.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:01 amwildbill208, it is up to us to help ourselves, with God’s blessing.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:11 amThey ar probably referring to the working population. It seems that is what they do here in Cleveland when they want to use whites as the majority. When they are looking for handouts from the fed, then they refer to the high percentage of minorities living below the poverty level. What that means is the lazy blacks that don’t want a job. There are plenty of black that hold good jobs, but those are only pointed out when they need an example of a good black liberal democrat. I know several married and single blacks that make good salaries, and are conservative republicans, but you will never hear of them in the paper being touted as role models…
March 12th, 2008 at 9:04 amwhat does it matter what religeon they are?
March 12th, 2008 at 9:23 amWhat do they base their decisions on? what do they use as a base of morality? Like it or not, it does matter.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:20 amAwesome, two muslims in Congress and a soon to be muslim sympathizer nominee for President. Osama and Zarahiri must be pretty happy right now.
Fucking towelheads.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:36 amStrike Two.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:25 pmwhat does it matter what religeon they are?
*******
March 12th, 2008 at 4:26 pmAre you fucking kidding me?!
Moe is brain dead. Look at the freaking site you just posted on snail brain.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:49 pmOne muzzie is one to many.