SENATE RESULTS CAUSE FOR REJOICING

By Carol Tobias
NRL PAC Director

What a night! On Tuesday, November 5, pro-lifers around the country once again saw the results of their hard work. Voters loudly and clearly stated they want pro-life representation in Washington.

Of the 10 new members of the Senate, 8 are pro-life. Thanks to good candidates and extraordinary work by grassroots pro-lifers, Senate seats in Missouri, Minnesota, and Georgia held by pro-abortionists switched into pro-life hands.

Moreover, five vacant seats previously held by pro-life senators were retained by pro-life candidates. In addition, 11 pro-life senators were re-elected.

All in all the Movement did a superior job of not only fending off challenges to incumbents and retaining seats left open by retirement, but also in electing pro-lifers in seats previously held by pro-abortionists. They did this in some cases where the "experts" insisted it was close to impossible.

In Missouri, former pro-life Congressman Jim Talent (R) defeated pro-abortion Sen. Jean Carnahan (D). Carnahan's husband was killed in a plane crash just prior to the 2000 elections, but out of respect for him Missouri voters elected him to the seat. The vacancy was then filled by Mrs. Carnahan.

Carnahan received more than one million dollars from EMILY's List contributors, but that wasn't enough to put her over the top. In one of the most competitive races, Talent defeated Carnahan 50%-49% in what technically was a special election. Talent will serve the remaining four years of the term.

How important was the abortion issue? Decisive? A Fox News election day poll in Missouri asked voters which one issue mattered most in deciding their vote for senator. Abortion was the second highest-ranked issue; 17% of the voters said that abortion mattered most. Of those 17%, 80% voted for Talent to a mere 19% for Carnahan. That overwhelming superiority netted Talent a 10% increment over Carnahan. Pro-lifers in Missouri can definitively say their votes elected a new senator. 1

Minnesota saw a tragic replay of Missouri when Senator Paul Wellstone (D) died in a plane crash just 13 days prior to the 2002 election. Democrats replaced Wellstone on the ballot with former Vice President Walter Mondale, who had served in the Senate in the 1970s and had a solid pro-abortion voting record.

Mondale was defeated by pro-life former St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman (R) 50%-48%. With such a clear cut distinction between the candidates, Fox News included abortion as one of the issues that people could choose as the one issue that mattered most in determining their vote.

Abortion was the third highest issue, with 14% of the voters saying it mattered most. Coleman received 81% of that vote, compared to 17% for Mondale, giving Coleman a huge 9% pro-life increment.

In one of the biggest upsets of the election cycle, pro-life Georgia Congressman Saxby Chambliss (R) defeated pro-abortion Senator Max Cleland (D) 53%-46%. Chambliss has been in the House of Representatives since 1994 and has compiled a solid pro-life voting record. Cleland was elected to the Senate in 1996 and has a solid pro-abortion voting record, even voting against a ban on partial-birth abortions.

Georgia is the third state in which Fox News found abortion to be one of the top issues for voters. Nine percent of the voters selected abortion. Chambliss received 73% of that vote, compared to 22% for Cleland; Chambliss gained a 5% increment.

North Carolina elected its first pro-life woman to the Senate when voters selected Elizabeth Dole (R), former president of the American Red Cross and former cabinet member for both Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Dole defeated pro-abortion Erskine Bowles (D), former chief of staff for President Clinton, 54%-45%. She will replace retiring pro-life champion Jesse Helms (R).

Tennessee, South Carolina, and Texas had pro-life senators retiring; all three states saw pro-life candidates defeat pro-abortion opponents.

With 54% of the vote, pro-life former Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander (R) won the seat of retiring pro-life Senator Fred Thompson. In South Carolina, pro-life Rep. Lindsey Graham (R) won the seat previously held by of retiring pro-life Senator Strom Thurmond, garnering 54%. Pro-life Texas Attorney General John Cornyn (R) will replace retiring pro-life Senator Phil Gramm, winning 55% of the vote and defeating pro-abortion ex-Dallas mayor Ron Kirk (D).

In New Hampshire, pro-life Rep. John Sununu (R) defeated pro-life Senator Bob Smith (R) in the Republican primary. Sununu went on to defeat pro-abortion Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) for that Senate seat, winning 51%-47%. Shaheen had been one of the top candidates for EMILY's List and NARAL.

Pro-life Colorado Senator Wayne Allard (R) beat back a strong challenge from pro-abortion attorney Tom Strickland (D), whom Allard had defeated in 1996. In a tight race this year, Allard won 51% of the vote to Strickland's 45%.

Unfortunately, pro-life Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.) was defeated by Democrat Mark Pryor 54%-46%. Pryor ran as "personally opposed" to abortion but after interviewing Pryor one Arkansas reporter concluded that Pryor will do nothing to stop abortion.

Another extremely close race took place in South Dakota. Pro-life Congressman John Thune (R) narrowly lost to pro-abortion Senator Tim Johnson (D). After the final vote total came in, Thune had lost by just 524 votes.

The Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) announced that it would spend $2 million in key Senate races to help elect "pro-choice" candidates. PPAF President Gloria Feldt announced the campaign, saying "It's the Senate, Stupid." She added, "The U.S. Senate is our last defense against the Bush administration's anti-choice agenda. We are fighting hard to keep pro-choice senators in control."

Fortunately for the babies, their efforts failed miserably.

NARAL was intensely involved in most of the Senate races as well, spending $200,000 on TV just in New Hampshire.

In the first two weeks of October, NARAL spent more than $1 million in Colorado on behalf of Senator Allard's opponent, Tom Strickland, including television, direct mail, and phone banks.

However, the pro-abortion advertising by NARAL, as well as Strickland, appeared to backfire as the Rocky Mountain News quoted Allard's pollster saying that, as Strickland and NARAL continued to hammer away on abortion, the ads solidified Allard's support among more "moderate" Republican women.

EMILY's List, an organization that helps to elect pro-abortion women, lost all three of the Senate races it was involved with--Chellie Pingree in Maine, Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire and Jean Carnahan in Missouri.

Because of the hard work of pro-life volunteers, the next Senate Majority Leader will be pro-life and the chairmanship of several important Senate committees will now be under the direction of pro-life senators. Congratulations and thank you to all for your tireless efforts!

1. To calculate the pro-life increment, begin with the 17% who said abortion was their main issue. Multiply that times the 80% that Talent received and you get 13.6% (17% x 80%). To determine Carnahan's vote, multiply the 17% who said abortion was their main issue times the 19% that Carnahan received of it and you get 3.2% (17% x 19%). The difference--13.6% minus 3.2%--gives you the 10% pro-life increment/advantage for Talent.