Richard Neal (D-MA2 – (for now – Redistricting) and Nancy Pelosi (D-CA8) Will be Up for Re-election in 2012 – A Public Service Announcement

Both Richard Neal and Nancy Pelosi (along with all members of Congress) will be up for re-election in 2012. In Neal’s case, the fact that Massachusetts has lost a house seat, and redistricting is not yet complete, it is unclear if he will retain his seat as the Massachusetts 2nd District may be merged with another. Although, this is an unlikely scenario, in this opinion, due to both John Olver (D-MA1) and Neal’s clout within the Democrat Party – it would be more sensible for Democrats (who are the majority Major political party within the State, and therefore have a free hand with redistricting – as unenrolled voters, the clear majority, are not a “political party”) to merge the 4th and 10th in order to protect Barney Frank (MA4th).

As of this writing, there are no clear challengers to any of the Congressional House Seats, and this is due to the redistricting. In 2010, all but 2 of the 10 MA Democrats faced a challenge at the ballot, and both Neal and Frank had to spend millions, call in former President Bill Clinton, and locate 30,000 voters in less than 13 hours to insure that they remained in Congress. They were re-elected with the narrowest margins of their careers, however, this fact will most likely not weigh in the decision to eliminate a district, again due to both having held positions within the Democrat Party from 2006 to 2010.
Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA8) former speaker of the House, will be also be up for reelection along with all members of Congress. Pelosi, who also faced a challenge in the CA 8 the district, fared much better than her Massachusetts counterparts in the 2010 rout, which saw the Republican’s with historical gains, ousting many entrenched Democrats as well as a few Republicans. Although faced with a Challenger, the Progressive Pelosi, was in fairly safe territory, as San Francisco, makes up the entire district, and is known as the epicenter of the counter-culture of the 1960’s – little has changed. It remains to be seen if she will face a challenger in 2012; however, as with all members of Congress, at this point, the only members who appear to have “gotten the message” from their constituents are the much maligned (in the press) Tea Party Caucus members. Therefore, as the American Public is fed-up with business as usual (the pre-school sandbox that is Washington), it is likely that both Republicans and Democrats will face the wrath of the American people, it is however, likely that those on the side of fiscal responsibility will win over the more Progressive policies of spend, spend, and spend, creating government jobs, while unemployment has continued to rise under the watch of the current Administration.
As the dust begins to clear and challengers become available, information and biographies will be available on this blog.