A $100,000 grant isn't a big one at the Rockefeller Foundation, which has $3.6 billion in assets. But the grant maker's decision to award that much to a thinly disguised effort to give businesses more influence in the New York City's mayor's race is both inappropriate and a waste of philanthropic resources. It also demonstrates why big foundations need to come under pressure to diversify their boards.

The grant to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce marks one of the few times a foundation has tried to influence a municipal election. According to The New York Times, the foundation wanted to "draw attention to business issues and help influence the discussion in a wide-open mayor's contest that has been dominated thus far by Democrats who have not always been friendly to business."

The grant is partisan in nature, namely to support Republicans and their business allies. It is no secret that the foundation is closely tied to Mayor Bloomberg and his staff; its chief operating officer is Peter J. Madonia, who was the mayor's chief of staff and a senior adviser to the mayor's political campaigns. Six of its 13 trustees, including its chair, David Rockefeller Jr., come from the business world.

Rockefeller's board is totally unrepresentative of the society at large. In addition to the six business-oriented representatives, the foundation's president, Judith Rodin, and two other board members have devoted most of their careers to academe. The three others include Nigeria's minister of finance; Sandra Day O'Connor, the retired Supreme Court Justice; and Helene Gayle, the head of Care.

There are no union members, social-service executives, religious representatives, or community leaders among these ultra-elite trustees. Little wonder that the grant to the Chamber could pass muster.

At a time when government funds have been drastically cut to nonprofits and private money is scarce, it is surprising that the foundation should have decided to give $100,000 to the Chamber of Commerce, which lacks neither money nor access to huge corporate dollars. Companies in New York could have provided the money and much more without Rockefeller's help.

That makes me suspect that Mayor Bloomberg's supporters hope to get a halo effect from an association with Rockefeller and play down any suspicions that the chamber was acting only in its self-interest.

During his three administrations, Mayor Bloomberg has continually supported business concerns. It doesn't make sense to put pressure on his administration now. And why does anybody think business needs wouldn't get discussed once a campaign for Mayor Bloomberg's successor gets under way?

Instead, what probably will get left out are other important issues, like the plight of poor people, especially blacks and Hispanics, or the fate of the homeless. Nor can we expect many discussions about the thousands of needy children who require more nourishment and better health care or about the families that lack low-cost housing. Shouldn't the foundation be investing its funds in assuring that such issues are also discussed during the mayoral campaign?

The Rockefeller grant was unnecessary, but if it had to be made, the foundation should also have made similar grants to other nonprofits to ensure that the campaign embraces a serious discussion of problems of poverty, race, low-cost housing, and the need to produce jobs and improve health care. After all, those are the issues that are key to the foundation's mission -- and its legacy.

Pablo Eisenberg, a regular Chronicle contributor, is a senior fellow at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. His e-mail address is pseisenberg@verizon.net

Aaron Blake, Washington Post
The first big vote of the 2016 presidential race was held Tuesday: the “fiscal cliff.” One major GOP contender, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), voted no on the package, while another, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), voted yes. And the votes may provide some insight into their potential 2016 strategies.(We should also note that a third potential candidate, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, voted no with Rubio.)

A highly polarized country. A savagely partisan Congress. A brutal presidential race, which ended with the Democratic incumbent defeating his Republican challenger, an ex-businessman.

This was America in 1940 and early 1941 -- a period that the historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr would later label "those angry days" and one that bears striking parallels to today's poisonous political climate. Just as now, Americans were engaged in a bitter debate over the future direction of their country. World War II had just begun, and the question was: Should the traditionally isolationist U.S. come to the aid of Britain, the last European nation holding out against Hitler? President Roosevelt and other interventionists said yes, believing that Britain's survival was crucial to America's economic and physical security. The country's isolationists, a predominant force in the Republican party, argued that the United States was in no danger and must focus only on its own defense. Just as today, the president's re-election made no difference to his Republican congressional foes, who steadfastly refused to cooperate with him and his policies.

There was, however, one vital difference between then and now. In the midst of all the polarization and gridlock, a few prominent Republicans stepped up to do what they thought was right, defying their party and putting the interests of their nation and its people ahead of political ambition and partisan advantage.

The chief rebel was none other than Wendell Willkie, the 1940 GOP candidate for president. Instead of pulling a Mitt Romney-like disappearing act after the election, Willkie went on the radio to announce to the American people: "We have elected Franklin Roosevelt president. He is your president. He is my president... We will support him."

To the fury of the Republican old guard, Willkie endorsed 1941 legislation creating the Lend Lease program, sending aid to Britain, as well as backing the first peacetime draft, which made possible the huge U.S. Army and Air Force that took the field after Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt, who would later describe his former foe as "a godsend to this country when we needed him most," acknowledged that Willkie's support for those measures, both of which were crucial in winning the war, might well have made the difference between congressional victory and defeat.

Joining Willkie as GOP apostates were Henry Stimson and Frank Knox, the country's two most respected Republican senior statesmen, who became members of Roosevelt's cabinet and who, like Willkie, were essentially read out of their party. Neither much cared. As Knox told his friends, "I am an American first, and a Republican afterward."

Like Stimson and Knox, Wendell Willkie has disappeared into the mists of history, recalled, if at all, merely as one of FDR's defeated rivals. He deserves much more. Noting Willkie's moral courage and political leadership, MSNBC's Chris Matthews recently wrote, "I long for such a leader today."

Elizabeth Warren is making one last plea to supporters to help retire her campaign debt after her pricey senate race against Republican Scott Brown.

By November 1, 2012, Warren and Brown had spent nearly $68 million in their heated election battle, shattering previous fundraising and spending records in Massachusetts. Warren kicked off her campaign fundraising with a bang, raising $5.7 million in the last three months of 2011.

The AP reports:

Warren's chief of staff, Mindy Myers, sent an email to the Democrat's supporters saying the campaign has set a goal of raising another $200,000 by midnight Dec. 31.

In the e-mail, Myers says Warren is ready to be sworn in next week, but needs help paying the campaign's final year-end bills.

Warren defeated Republican Sen. Scott Brown last month in what was easily the most expensive campaign in Massachusetts history.

Despite raising $42 million, Warren ended the campaign more than $400,000 in the hole.

Warren's victory was a major win for liberals in the Senate. The Sen.-elect recently secured a spot on the Senate Banking Committee, along with Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.).

Kim Barker, ProPublica
In the waning days of Montana's hotly contested Senate race, a small outfit called Montana Hunters and Anglers, launched by liberal activists, tried something drastic. It didn't buy ads supporting the incumbent Democrat, Sen. Jon Tester. Instead, it put up radio and TV commercials that urged voters to choose the third-party candidate, libertarian Dan Cox, describing Cox as the "real conservative" or the "true conservative."

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) will seek the open congressional seat in his home state, CNN reported Thursday.

A Republican source tells CNN that the former governor is likely to announce any day that he will run for the seat left vacant by Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who was appointed by Gov. Nikki Haley (R) to replace outgoing Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) in the upper chamber early next year. DeMint announced earlier this month that he was leaving the Senate to become the president of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Goose Creek Patch confirmed CNN's report.

"Sanford is dead serious about this run," a former aide told Patch. "His dire predictions on America's fiscal future have come true. I wouldn't want to be running against him."

A primary will be held in early March. Teddy Turner, a Republican, announced his intention to run earlier this week, and several others have hinted at entering the race.

Sanford, who left office in 2011, had his political ambitions derailed in 2009 when his extramarital affair with an Argentinian woman came to light. Earlier this month, Sanford told the Wall Street Journal that he was open to a political comeback.

"Second acts are what marks the American experiment and is something at one level or another we all hope for," Sanford said. "If there's anything that I've learned in life, it has many surprises, strange turns and twists ... You never say never."

Scott Conroy, RCP
By Scott Conroy - December 20, 2012After several news organizations reported that President Obama has settled on nominating Sen. John Kerry to be the next secretary of state, the unofficially declared race to succeed the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee has begun to intensify.If Obama does call on him to take Hillary Clinton’s place as the nation’s top-ranking Cabinet official, Kerry would have to resign his Senate seat after what would likely be a relatively smooth confirmation process.Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick would then appoint an interim senator before a...

Chicago leaders discuss candidates to run for Jackson’s seat amid turmoil in the city’s black politics. James Warren on the state of play—and the possibility of a white candidate winning.

Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call
As another election year draws to a close, it's time again for me to pick the cycle's winners and losers, my most and least favorite candidates, and those who distinguished themselves by skill or by old-fashioned dumb luck.After three successive partisan wave elections, the overarching takeaway from the 2012 cycle is that candidates and the campaigns they run still matter. Up and down the ballot — from the presidential race to Senate contests to various House races — we saw examples of how the strength of one candidate/campaign (or the sheer ineptitude of...

Former Republican Governor Charlie Crist has officially joined the Democratic Party, he announced on Friday evening.

Crist, who served as governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011, left the Republican Party after losing a Senate primary battle to Marco Rubio in 2010 -- switching his party affiliation to independent in order to run against now-Senator Rubio in the general election. (Crist lost that race by 19 points.)

The newly christened Democrat tweeted the big announcement Friday evening:

The change became official at a White House Christmas reception, the Tampa Bay Times reports, where "President Obama greeted the news with a fist bump."

Crist was a high-profile campaign surrogate for Obama this past election cycle, speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this September in support of the president. "I didn't leave the Republican party," Crist said in his speech. "It left me."

According to the Times, the move foreshadows Crist's next big political undertaking:

The widely expected move positions Crist, 56, for another highly anticipated next step: announcing his candidacy for governor, taking on Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Scott and an untold number of Democrats who would challenge him for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

By Alina Selyukh and Alexander Cohen

WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Mitt Romney's presidential campaign had $25.7 million left in the bank days after the Nov. 6 election that ended months of relentless fundraising in the most expensive race in U.S. history, new campaign finance disclosures showed on Thursday.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, defeated the Republican candidate following a campaign that cost more than $2 billion overall.

Obama's re-election effort had $14.2 million left as of Nov. 26, according to the Federal Election Commission disclosures.

Leftover campaign cash is common and often goes to the national party or other candidates.

The Romney campaign on Thursday said every raised dollar had gone toward Romney's run and that it "continues to process invoices for pre-election expenses." It expected to have less than $1 million by the end of the year.

"It is not uncommon. It is of course a great risk," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics that tracks campaign finance. "As a loser you want to make sure you've given it your all."

Obama and Romney both spent much of their campaign cash on voter outreach and especially advertising. But the Democrat and his "Super PAC" backers at Priorities USA Action, an unlimited-spending group, held an early advertising game advantage.

Obama's campaign dominated the airwaves, booking the increasingly expensive spots earlier and at the lowest price.

The "super" political action committee, which was legally barred from coordinating with the campaign, ran a series of aggressive ads about Romney's private equity past that portrayed him as a corporate raider.

The damaging ads, as well as negative press surrounding Romney's disparaging "47 percent" comment about Americans relying on government funds, contributed to the candidate's defeat.

The pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future - boosted once again by this year's Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson - plowed $45.5 million into a last-ditch effort to sway voters, according to Thursday's filings.

But according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, nearly three-quarters of Americans had made up their minds in the presidential race before Obama and Romney faced off in the first debate on Oct. 3.

The pro-Obama group spent $20.9 million from Oct. 18 and had $4.3 million in cash on hand as of Nov. 26, according to the FEC filings. Romney's Restore Our Future reported having $842,062 left.

Adelson, billionaire chief executive of Las Vegas Sands , and his wife Miriam contributed another $10 million to Restore Our Future, accounting for nearly half of all the group's last-minute fundraising and bringing the couple's total gift to the Super PAC to $30 million.

Adelson's total donations to Republican candidates and organizations, although not all of them are disclosed, are said to have topped $100 million this election cycle. He planned to spend "that much and more" in the next campaign, he told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

The pro-Obama Super PAC received 11th-hour $1 million infusions from two of its own top donors, media mogul Fred Eychaner and Houston lawyer Steve Mostyn. They brought Eychaner's total to $4.5 million, and Mostyn's to $3 million, according to FEC filings. (Editing by Xavier Briand)

WASHINGTON -- Campaign finance filings with the government now show that the cost of the 2012 U.S. presidential race has surpassed $2 billion, a new record.

The new tallies released Thursday, which include nearly $86 million in fundraising by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the election's final weeks, boosted the total campaign haul over the $2 billion mark.

The campaign's record-breaking expenditures on media ads were fueled by eye-popping amounts donated to "super" political action committees, including at least $95 million supporting Romney and other Republicans that came from a billionaire Las Vegas casino magnate.

Casino owner Sheldon Adelson and his wife gave $23 million to a super PAC headed by GOP strategist Karl Rove and $10 million to a pro-Romney political committee in recent weeks.

WASHINGTON -- Former Mitt Romney campaign adviser Stuart Stevens on Wednesday tried to explain the Republican presidential candidate's loss, telling PBS's Charlie Rose that the campaign lost control in its final week as Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast.

"After the storm, I never had a good feeling," Stevens said. "Not that the storm impacted things so much, per se, but these races -- a race like this is a lot like an NBA game. It's all about ball control at the end. ... We went from having these big rallies around the country to literally sitting around in hotel rooms and there was just nothing we could do about it."

Stevens has carried on as a cheerleader for Romney since the election, though many in the Republican Party have abandoned the candidate. The former adviser wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post last week, claiming Romney's ideas "carried the day" with voters who made more than $50,000 per year -- arguing those votes showed Romney was favored by the middle class.

Stevens told Rose he wrote that piece because he felt it was important to stand up for his side, even when it wasn't doing well.

Stevens gave a number of potential reasons for the election loss. He said the Romney campaign had to deal with both a grueling primary and the general election, which took up resources and at times led to muddled messaging. Overall, he said the campaign didn't expect Democrats to bring out so many voters, and Romney simply could not measure up.

He didn't blame the loss on Romney's comments about the "47 percent" of people who the candidate said are dependent on the government and want to stay that way. But he acknowledged it did damage.

"There are always moments when things don't come out right," Stevens said of Romney's remarks.

Stevens also addressed the infamous Clint Eastwood chair moment during the Republican National Convention, when the legendary actor was given prime-time billing and surprised nearly everyone by yelling at an imaginary President Barack Obama instead.

Eastwood "had very specific things that he was supposed to say," but took a different format at the last minute, Stevens said.

"Eastwood, um, it was very good of him to come out," Stevens said. "It's very difficult to get Hollywood people to come out. He felt strongly about this and he wanted to do it. He's spoken himself as to why he decided to do what he did. ... He asked for a chair as he was standing to go on stage."

Karl Rove's familiar 2012 presence on Fox News appears to be coming to a halt.

New York Magazine reports that President Roger Ailes is limiting Rove and fellow contributor Dick Morris from the lineup for the time being. A Fox News representative affirmed the situation to NYMag, adding that programming chief Bill Shine conveyed "the election's over."

Rove turned heads with an Election-night meltdown on Fox News, where he questioned the network's "premature" decision to call Ohio and, subsequently, the race for President Barack Obama. Fox News Executive Vice President of News Editorial Michael Clemente told the Associated Press the morning after that Rove's argument proved his value.

The following day, Rove appeared on Fox News, charging that Obama's victory was a product of the president's ability to suppress the vote. A week later, Ailes admitted in an interview with TVNewser that he had a "what the?" reaction to Rove's Election-night antics.

"Rove was wrong," Ailes said. "He backed down. Our guys were right."

Morris drew similar attention for his prediction that GOP candidate Mitt Romney was headed to a landslide victory. New York Magazine's report notes that Shine is requiring producers to ask for approval before lining up any Rove or Morris appearances.

Joshua Green, Bloomberg BW
One fascination in a presidential race mostly bereft of intrigue was the strange, incessant, and weirdly overfamiliar e-mails that emanated from the Obama campaign. Anyone who shared an address with the campaign soon started receiving messages from Barack Obama with subject lines such as "Join me for dinner?" "It's officially over," "It doesn't have to be this way," or just "Wow." Jon Stewart mocked them on the Daily Show. The women's website the Hairpin likened them to notes from a stalker.But they worked. Most of the...

Ronald Brownstein, National Journal
The same dynamic that powered the Democrats' unexpected Senate gains this fall could also give the party more leverage to drive its legislative agenda through the chamber in the months ahead.At the core of the Democrats' surprising pickup of two Senate seats was a consistent pattern. In almost every major contested Senate race, exit polls showed that the Democratic candidate won more support among voters who also backed President Obama than the Republican nominee did among voters who backed Mitt Romney. 

WASHINGTON -- District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray (D) hasn't been cooperating with federal prosecutors investigating his 2010 campaign efforts, according to recent reports.

As WRC-TV/NBC4's Tom Sherwood reports:

In the past, Gray repeatedly said he's cooperating with authorities in an investigation that’s more than a year old and has seen some felony convictions, but he would not repeat that pledge Monday.

"I was the one who called for an investigation of my own campaign, and we will continue to work with this investigation," Gray had said in July.

But the mayor, who hasn't been charged with any crime, has apparently stepped away from those earlier words and wouldn't say if he's cooperating with prosecutors.

As the Examiner reports:

"I've indicated... all along, especially in the recent past, that it would really be inappropriate for me to comment on a pending investigation, and that continues to be my position," Gray said. "The investigation is ongoing, and we'll see it through."

This weekend, The Washington Post's editorial page, which has repeatedly called on the mayor to be more forthcoming about the allegations surrounding his successful campaign to oust incumbent Adrian Fenty (D), cited sources who said that Gray "isn't talking" to prosecutors.

WRC-TV/NBC4, also citing unnamed sources, affirmed the Post editorial page's assertion that Gray has been uncooperative. Gray's lawyer, Robert Bennett, hasn't responded to questions about the mayor's alleged resistance to meeting with federal investigators.

Prosecutors have been investigating what's been described as a "shadow" campaign that illegally funneled more than $650,000 in unauthorized contributions to efforts to boost Gray's candidacy. Three people, Thomas Gore, Jeanne Clarke Harris and Howard Brooks, have pleaded guilty in recent months to charges related to the secret campaign efforts.

As the Post reported earlier this month, David Dzidzienyo, the director of Gray's official campaign field operations, said he voiced concerns to Gray during the 2010 race about how campaign efforts headed up by longtime local campaign operative Vernon Hawkins were being funded.

Gray responded, according to the Post: "I don't want to hear about problems. I just want to be the candidate."

Richard Thaler offers praise for geeks, quants and wonks.

Matthew Dowd unpacks the mythic narrative of the 2012 elections.

Ryan Enos finds that Sandy had a predictably small effect on the election.

Mark DiCamillo analyzes the growing power of California's ethnic population at the polls.

Harry Enten reviews American public opinion on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

John Sides counts the ways that the 2012 election was good for political science.

Zeynep Tufecki decries the 'Smart Campaign.'

Dave Troy finds that population density was the Republican's real adversary (via Gage).

Reg Baker outlines the real lessons from US electoral polling.

David Paleologos explains why he wrote off Obama in Florida and Colorado.

Steven Shepard examines the issues with Gallup's polling.

Bill Glauber profiles pollster Charles Franklin.

Brad DeLong chronicles the many attacks on Nate Silver.

Nate Silver talks polling on Morning Joe, is thankful the North Dakota Senate race was low-profile.

Google Consumer Survey announces a contest to create a visualization or analysis based on their election data.

Matt Vasilogambros, NJ
Question? Call us at 800-207-8001 | Sign In | Learn About MembershipBy Matt VasilogambrosRep. James Clyburn of South CarolinaAs Republicans criticize U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, some members of Congress are suggesting that racism and sexism may be behind the attack.Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., says that the attacks on Rice have gone beyond her job performance. When asked about Rice on CNN's Starting Point on Tuesday, Clyburn said that words like "lazy" and "incompetent," which have been used to describe black members of the administration, including Rice and President...

Allen West's political career was granted a temporary reprieve on Friday, after Florida's St. Lucie County Canvassing Board ordered a recount of early ballots in his race against Democrat Patrick Murphy for Florida's 18th Congressional District, NBC Miami reports.

West (R- Fla), a controversial freshman congressman elected in the 2010 Republican landslide, appeared to have lost his contest against Murphy by 0.7 percentage points after all ballots were initially counted last week. The margin of victory was too large to trigger a recount, and the state of Florida certified the race's results on November 10. West, however, refused to concede, claiming "discrepancies" in early voting results.

A federal judge had ruled against West's request for a recount earlier on Friday, saying he lacked the authority to make such an order. The St. Lucie Canvassing Board then ruled by a 2-1 vote to recount early ballots in the race, although it denied West's request to recount absentee ballots as well. "A series of tabulation errors by the county has raised suspicion and it's supporters and appeared to motivate the board's favorable vote," according to NBC Miami.

Murphy's campaign has dismissed calls for a recount, insisting that West is merely trying to cling to the spotlight after a clear defeat. West's campaign struck back, saying in a statement:

Patrick Murphy has had such a good time with Nancy Pelosi pretending to be a congressman, he realizes a recount would likely derail his plans, and that's why his lawyers promised a lawsuit if all votes are recounted fairly and accurately. It's an interesting stance from a candidate who said he was the clear and outright winner.

St. Lucie County has until Sunday to file its certified results with Florida. It is one of three counties included in Florida's 18th Congressional District.

California Governor Jerry Brown deserves our heartfelt appreciation for his hard work for the Yes on Proposition 30 campaign these past few months. The percentage of Proposition 30's victory mirrored the percentage of the vote Brown won in 2010 when he defeated in the governor's race the former Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman. Working hand-in-hand with California's teachers, nurses, students of all ages, and the state's labor unions, he rallied the troops, and in doing so helped save from fiscal ruin not only the state's public schools but also the nation's biggest and most important system of public higher education. That's what I call leadership. Thank you Governor Brown.

Last August, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said:

California made a bad choice with an old retread. I cannot believe that you people elected Jerry Brown over Meg Whitman. I don't want to be insulting . . . Jerry Brown? He won the New Jersey presidential primary over Jimmy Carter when I was 14 years old. And now I got to sit at the National Governors' Association with this guy and have him come up to me and say, 'Stop telling people that I want to raise taxes. I'm going to put it on the ballot and let the people decide.' Yeah, that's leadership, isn't it?

Setting aside for a moment Christie's arrogance and ageism, for the record: In 2010 Meg Whitman spent about $160 million of her own cash running against Brown and lost for the same reasons the big spending Republican candidates lost in 2012: The GOP is bereft of useful ideas that might contribute to governance.

(Christie's charge against Brown was Orwellian like when Karl Rove accused the Obama campaign of "suppressing the vote.")

But Christie wasn't done yet, he went on to attack viciously Governor Brown as an "old retread" who was a "master" of "huge spending and huge government." Although I will not question Christie's expertise on all things "huge," his blistering assault on Brown only revealed how mean spirited and arrogant he was before his apparent epiphany about the role of government that Hurricane Sandy hammered into his thick New Joisey skull

Here's why Californians have rejected the Republican Party in their state:

1). Despite the fact that Governor Brown sought to move heaven and earth" to get a balanced budget deal past the stranglehold that the Republican minority had in the State Legislature, the Republican Senators and Assembly members showed a party discipline that Josef Stalin would admire and rejected every one of Brown's generous offers for compromise;

2). Despite the fact that the state of California was experiencing its worst economic crisis since Steinbeck wrote the Grapes of Wrath, Golden State Republicans refused to get off their duffs and offer any constructive suggestions about how to deal with it. They stood by their narrow and extremist anti-tax zealotry even in a time period that called for leadership and pragmatism;

3). Worse still, the Republicans sought to use the fiscal crisis California faced to ram through their political wet dream of crushing labor unions and destroying the state's leading role in protecting the environment;

4). Finally, in 2012 California voters rejected the Republicans' recalcitrance and extremism and voted overwhelmingly to pass Proposition 30, defeat the GOP's anti-union Proposition 32, and elect -- finally, at long last -- the first supermajority in both chambers of the State Legislature since the 1880s.

The bankruptcy of the California Republican Party's ideas, along with its opportunism in seeking political and financial gain from the worst economic collapse the state has experienced in 75 years, led voters to the only logical conclusion: California Republicans are as crazy as anything we see coming out of Mississippi or Alabama and must be sidelined if the state and the nation are going to move into the 21st Century.

Governor Jerry Brown might be a septuagenarian, but his vision and forward thinking are decades younger in spirit and idealism than anything caustic right-wingers like Chris Christie have to offer. Maybe Governor Christie should focus on cleaning up his own hurricane-ravaged state and get his own house in order before he talks smack about our governor again.

Mary Bono Mack, a longtime GOP congresswoman from California, lost her bid for reelection on Friday, the AP reported.

Democrat Raul Ruiz won the election.

Ruiz, a Harvard-educated physician ousted the seven-term GOP Rep. with nearly 7,300 more votes out of the approximately 180,000 cast.

Bono Mack is the widow of former congressman and singer Sony Bono and wife of Florida congressman Connie Mack. Mack also lost his election this year. The congressman had been running for U.S. Senate against Democrat Bill Nelson.

Bono Mack conceded the race on Friday, the Press-Enterprise reports.

“Thank you for giving me the distinct honor of serving in the United States House of Representatives for 14 years,” she said in a statement. “After 25 years of public life in the beautiful desert, it is now time for me to start a new chapter in my life. My family and I are very excited about the prospect.”

Bono Mack joined Congress in 1998 after husband Sonny Bono, who held the seat, was killed in ski accident.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article stated that Connie Mack lost his bid for reelection. The Florida congressman lost his bid for a Senate seat.

Jay Inslee (D) was elected the Governor of Washington, the AP reports.

Inslee's opponent, Republican Rob McKenna, conceded on Friday.

Inslee was a U.S. congressman from Washington until March 2012. He resigned to focus on his gubernatorial campaign. McKenna is the state's Attorney General.

Randy Pepple, McKenna's campaign manager, told reporters that the candidate decided to conceded when it was clear the polls just weren't in his favor. According to Pepple, McKenna had been trailing Insee by about 42,000 votes when he decided to concede.

Here's more on the closely-watched race from the AP:

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna is conceding defeat.

Campaign manager Randy Pepple told reporters Friday night that McKenna called Democrat Jay Inslee to congratulate him. Inslee had steadily held a 51 percent advantage in the race as ballots were counted this week.

The decision brings to end one of the most watched, most expensive gubernatorial races in the country. The two candidates and outside political groups raised and spent some $40 million in the race.

McKenna had portrayed himself as a moderate with a plan to increase funding for education. Inslee had touted his plans to spur job growth by investing in clean energy and other specific sectors.

Both candidates vowed to not raise taxes. Those policies will be put to the test in January, when lawmakers begin negotiations over how to deal with a budget shortfall and the need for more education funding.