Key departures signal agriculture shakeup for Capitol Hill
MINNEAPOLIS โ The reelection defeat of U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson in Minnesota and some key retirements mean a shakeup is coming for the industry on Capitol Hill, with power likely to shift from the Midwest to the South and the coasts. Both the House and Senate agriculture committees will get new chairs, and there will be a new top Republican on the House panel. Fischbach plans to seek a seat on the Agriculture Committee, but she'll have to draw heavily on her legislative skills to have much of an influence as a freshman in the minority party. Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan is the only one of the top four agriculture committee leaders returning in 2021. Neither Roberts nor Rep. Michael Conaway of Texas, the ranking Republican in the House committee, sought reelection.
'We don't speculate': How AP counts votes and calls races
On election night, state-based analysts and editors in Washington at AP's Decision Desk also use that vote count to โcall races," or declare the winners. HOW AP GATHERS THE VOTESShortly before polls close, roughly 4,000 stringers โ temporary freelancers โ arrive at county election offices. As officials begin to release results, these stringers phone in the raw vote totals to AP colleagues around the country. These include asking whether there are problems in the stringer's county and challenging the details if the results seem suspect. PRECINCT REPORTING CAN BE TRICKY BUSINESSWhen tabulating results, AP publishes the percentage of precincts reporting alongside the vote count.
7 seek to follow Lewis in House, but long-term prospects dim
Seven candidates qualified Friday for the Sept. 29 election, but declining to run is replacement Democratic nominee Nikema Williams, a state senator and chair of the state Democratic Party. They both said they're holding their fire for the Nov. 3 general election, which will decide a full two-year term. The 5th Congressional District includes most of the city of Atlanta, as well as some suburban areas of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties. The district is overwhelmingly Democratic and Lewis rarely faced any serious challenge in his 17 terms. "I will fight tirelessly to earn the support of voters in the 5th Congressional District and would be honored to serve as their voice in Congress in January.