MAVOCKE--There will be many new faces this coming January when Congress returns after the holiday break.
But nine members of the Senate will be saying good bye.
Five Conservative senators, two Nationalists, one Democratic-Reformist and one Independent all lost their seats in last week's general election.
The casualties include conservative firebrand Nancy Lindselli of East Deschire, whose election ended on a knife's-edge with her NAT opponent, Allison Sweeten, prevailing narrowly.
Conservatives Dana Stokahn and Victoria Albright of Marchenay, Greg Baxter of Trinton, and Alyssa Jones of Damoign were also kicked out of the Senate by voters in their respective states. In each race, liberal Nationalists won their seats.
Veteran politician Jan Vanderhoogen of Ansleigha, a Nationalist, conceded to his Conservative opponent, former Sen. Luke Gymbal, earlier this week, after days of recounts that did little to move the race in Vanderhoogen's favor.
The other NAT loss: Matt Hoffbourn of Remmington, a moderate who lost to popular former Sen. Jared Lanman (C).
Julie Wynmyer, a Democratic-Reformist from Carova, lost in a three-way race to former CNS Sen. Dan Wainwright. Wynmyer had been criticized by both major parties for her wavering allegiance to their agendas.
And Independent Brian Altamont of Damoign was booted out of the Senate, after leaving the NAT caucus due to disagreements with NAT Senate leadership. Former Sen. Debbie Madronas (N) went on to claim Altamont's seat, narrowly defeating Democratic-Reformist Assemblywoman Jessica Blaine 44% to 42%.
Altamont came in a distant third, earning an anemic 12% of the vote.
In all, out of the 22 senators up for re-election, nine were defeated.
One race is still uncertain, as Trinton Sen. Bruce Kellney (N) faces a run-off election with Conservative Randy Kalamaza on Dec. 18.
This cycle's casualties were problematic for both major parties, but the Conservative party took the brunt of the damage. Not only did five CNS senators lose their seats, many other races previously thought to lean toward the CNS resulted in narrow wins for Nationalists.
Conservatives came up short in two races in Wellington, three in POG, one in Onakiah, and one in South Ceona.
Even popular Biereland Sen. Jhana Schueler, whom many saw as unbeatable, garnered just over 55% of the vote against her little known NAT opponent, Ben Attenbriar.
Nationalists had a few losses of their own, however.
The party was poised to pick up the seat of Armana Sen. Dana Glow (C), who was considered highly vulnerable. Yet Glow ended up beating liberal Assemblyman Serap Figaori (N) by a 52% to 48% margin.
Conservative incumbent Jan Van Peel of Roddenclanshire also held on to her seat, despite a wide-sweeping NAT wave along the mid-coast region.
And Nationalist Eliza Andover came close to winning her seat in North Ceona, but former Parkins mayor Pete Deetch pushed past her, 50.4% to 49.6%.
In left-leaning Kalnier, popular liberal Sen. Paul LeBouse, considered safe by most political pundits, received a scare when his Conservative opponent Steve Mickelson, a tax attorney and businessman, came close to winning, pulling in an astonishing 49% of the vote, a high percentage, especially considering the anti-CNS wave that swept most of the country.
This election's results just go to show that no incumbent can take their seat for granted.
"We lost some wonderful senators this go-around, and that's very, very disappointing," Sen. Jon Ralston (C-Ansleigha) told the GBC. "But we also have some great new members that will be joining our ranks. It's a bitter-sweet moment. But ultimately, elections come in cycles. One party wins a majority one cycle, and then one or two elections later, the pendulum swings the other way in favor of the other party. Unfortunately, this time around was not in our favor."
Ralston chaired the Conservative Senate Campaign Committee (CSCC), the arm of the Conservative party that works to recruit and elect CNS candidates. Ralston's role was no easy task in a year that proved especially detrimental to his party.
Ralston's NAT counterpart, Sen. John Yannes of Onakiah, who chairs the Nationalist Senate Campaign Organization (NSCO), also lamented missed opportunities, but he was overjoyed by the party's huge gains.
"We did lose a few races that we should've won. You always lose a few. That's just the nature of the beast. Overall, the NAT made tremendous gains. We knocked out five Conservatives and another incumbent, and we won many close races, and that has resulted in us getting a majority and a mandate from the Grassadellian people," Yannes said.
Departing senators will not leave their offices until the first Monday of the new year, which is January 7, 2013. New members will also be sworn in that day.
But nine members of the Senate will be saying good bye.
Five Conservative senators, two Nationalists, one Democratic-Reformist and one Independent all lost their seats in last week's general election.
The casualties include conservative firebrand Nancy Lindselli of East Deschire, whose election ended on a knife's-edge with her NAT opponent, Allison Sweeten, prevailing narrowly.
Conservatives Dana Stokahn and Victoria Albright of Marchenay, Greg Baxter of Trinton, and Alyssa Jones of Damoign were also kicked out of the Senate by voters in their respective states. In each race, liberal Nationalists won their seats.
Veteran politician Jan Vanderhoogen of Ansleigha, a Nationalist, conceded to his Conservative opponent, former Sen. Luke Gymbal, earlier this week, after days of recounts that did little to move the race in Vanderhoogen's favor.
The other NAT loss: Matt Hoffbourn of Remmington, a moderate who lost to popular former Sen. Jared Lanman (C).
Julie Wynmyer, a Democratic-Reformist from Carova, lost in a three-way race to former CNS Sen. Dan Wainwright. Wynmyer had been criticized by both major parties for her wavering allegiance to their agendas.
And Independent Brian Altamont of Damoign was booted out of the Senate, after leaving the NAT caucus due to disagreements with NAT Senate leadership. Former Sen. Debbie Madronas (N) went on to claim Altamont's seat, narrowly defeating Democratic-Reformist Assemblywoman Jessica Blaine 44% to 42%.
Altamont came in a distant third, earning an anemic 12% of the vote.
In all, out of the 22 senators up for re-election, nine were defeated.
One race is still uncertain, as Trinton Sen. Bruce Kellney (N) faces a run-off election with Conservative Randy Kalamaza on Dec. 18.
This cycle's casualties were problematic for both major parties, but the Conservative party took the brunt of the damage. Not only did five CNS senators lose their seats, many other races previously thought to lean toward the CNS resulted in narrow wins for Nationalists.
Conservatives came up short in two races in Wellington, three in POG, one in Onakiah, and one in South Ceona.
Even popular Biereland Sen. Jhana Schueler, whom many saw as unbeatable, garnered just over 55% of the vote against her little known NAT opponent, Ben Attenbriar.
Nationalists had a few losses of their own, however.
The party was poised to pick up the seat of Armana Sen. Dana Glow (C), who was considered highly vulnerable. Yet Glow ended up beating liberal Assemblyman Serap Figaori (N) by a 52% to 48% margin.
Conservative incumbent Jan Van Peel of Roddenclanshire also held on to her seat, despite a wide-sweeping NAT wave along the mid-coast region.
And Nationalist Eliza Andover came close to winning her seat in North Ceona, but former Parkins mayor Pete Deetch pushed past her, 50.4% to 49.6%.
In left-leaning Kalnier, popular liberal Sen. Paul LeBouse, considered safe by most political pundits, received a scare when his Conservative opponent Steve Mickelson, a tax attorney and businessman, came close to winning, pulling in an astonishing 49% of the vote, a high percentage, especially considering the anti-CNS wave that swept most of the country.
This election's results just go to show that no incumbent can take their seat for granted.
"We lost some wonderful senators this go-around, and that's very, very disappointing," Sen. Jon Ralston (C-Ansleigha) told the GBC. "But we also have some great new members that will be joining our ranks. It's a bitter-sweet moment. But ultimately, elections come in cycles. One party wins a majority one cycle, and then one or two elections later, the pendulum swings the other way in favor of the other party. Unfortunately, this time around was not in our favor."
Ralston chaired the Conservative Senate Campaign Committee (CSCC), the arm of the Conservative party that works to recruit and elect CNS candidates. Ralston's role was no easy task in a year that proved especially detrimental to his party.
Ralston's NAT counterpart, Sen. John Yannes of Onakiah, who chairs the Nationalist Senate Campaign Organization (NSCO), also lamented missed opportunities, but he was overjoyed by the party's huge gains.
"We did lose a few races that we should've won. You always lose a few. That's just the nature of the beast. Overall, the NAT made tremendous gains. We knocked out five Conservatives and another incumbent, and we won many close races, and that has resulted in us getting a majority and a mandate from the Grassadellian people," Yannes said.
Departing senators will not leave their offices until the first Monday of the new year, which is January 7, 2013. New members will also be sworn in that day.
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