by Joe Murray If you like hotly contested political races, you're going to love living in Wisconsin in 2004. The Badger State will likely be a key battleground for both parties in next year's presidential election. In November 2000, Democrat Al Gore narrowly defeated Republican George W. Bush by 5,708 votes. In fact, the 2000 election was the first time since 1964 that Wisconsin did not vote for the presidential winner. For those looking for proof that Wisconsin will be a winnable state for both parties, a quick review of past elections and current realities suggest another close race at the top-of-the-ticket next year.
Early Primary With ten candidates running for the nomination, Wisconsin will be showered with campaign visits, media attention and hundreds of television and radio ads. Wisconsin's February 17th primary comes after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, and before the mega-state California and New York primaries. If different candidates win Iowa and New Hampshire, the Wisconsin primary will likely become a "must win" election for one or more of the candidates. Democratic Campaign Ads In July, the DNC spent about $20,000 on ads run in Madison that criticized Bush on his Iraq policy. DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe, when asked why he made the decision to target unprecedented early advertising in Wisconsin said, "Well, Madison, Wisconsin kicks off the 2004 presidential cycle. This is the first cycle of ads. Wisconsin is obviously a target state for the Democrats, so we thought we'd go to the state that obviously has tremendous importance." And former Vermont Governor Howard Dean fired the first advertising salvo by airing his campaign ads in Wisconsin in late August and early September. At the same time he began his advertising, Dean hired full-time campaign coordinators in Wisconsin as well. Bush Visits States Bush has visited most often since taking office:
Because Wisconsin will play a crucial role in the Democratic primary, and Bush isn't expected to draw primary opposition, Wisconsinites can expect even more visits from Bush and his team before and after the February 17th primary. As noted by Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University, "These are states which for a variety of reasons are competitive, have relatively high turnouts and have a fairly large percentage of people who are nominally Democrats but, if the candidate and conditions are right, will vote Republican." Get ready, here they come! Return to On-Line Publications
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
by Michael Theo
Like most businesses and families, Realtors are facing dramatically higher health insurance costs. However, unlike many other businesses, including many small businesses, Realtors face an even greater problem because health insurance coverage for independent contractors is becoming increasingly impossible to find. The twin problems of cost and availability is making health insurance one of the key business issues for Realtors in Wisconsin and across the country.
In response, the WRA is investigating legislative solutions to help make affordable health insurance coverage for all Realtors a reality in Wisconsin. Several options are now being researched for possible legislation later this session. One potentially viable approach under consideration would be to allow the members of certain qualifying trade associations (including the WRA) to participate in Wisconsin's existing small business insurance pool. Such an approach would require a narrow definition of those who qualify so insurers can sufficiently rate the pool within acceptable risks.
If such an approach is adopted, it could provide Realtors with guaranteed coverage, a prohibition on excluding individuals with poor health, provide limited guarantee of renewability and place reasonable restrictions on annual rate increases.
Regardless of the specifics of this legislation, the WRA will work
closely with the Doyle administration, the legislature and Wisconsin's
insurance industry to craft a bill that is not only good for
REALTORSŪ, but one that can pass the Legislature and be signed into
law.
For more information, contact Michael Theo at
mtheo@wra.org.
Home |
Education |
Products &
Services |
Public
Affairs |
Legal Services |
REALTORŪ
Resources |
Find A REALTORŪ
Copyright 1998 - 2008 Wisconsin REALTORSŪ
Association. All rights reserved. |