USApp Managing Editor, Chris Gilson, looks at the week in U.S. state blogging. Click here for our weekly roundup of national blogs.

Northeast

On Wednesday, New Hampshire’s NHJournal writes that in the wake of the first televised debate between Senator Jeanne Shaheen and her Republican midterm challenger, Scott Brown, both sides have accused the other of lying. The GOP says that Shaheen lied about her opposition to a nuclear plant, while the Shaheen camp says that Brown lied in his denial of ever voting to help U.S. companies outsource American jobs overseas.

Many commentators across the country regard Vermont’s recent gubernatorial debate as a national joke, writes Green Mountain Daily this week. They say that while there were some funny moments in the debate which featured seven candidates, they are proud that Vermont has an inclusive election process which allows any concerned citizen to run for high office, and gives them a chance to be heard.

Heading south to Massachusetts, Outside the Beltway writes this week that Democrat Marha Coakley looks likely to fail in another election bid in the state. They say after losing the state’s Senate race in 2010 to Scott Brown, she is now down by nine points against her Republican challenger for the state’s Governorship, Charlie Baker.

This week WPRI.com looks at Rhode Island’s tight gubernatorial race. They say that this week groups with no previous history in the state have dropped over $800,000 on TV ads attacking the top two candidates, Democrat Gina Raimondo and Republican Allan Fung. They say that this is nearly as much cash as Fung had on hand until now, and more than two times Raimondo’s.

Going west to the Empire State, State of Politics writes this week that Democratic Governor, Andrew Cuomo has picked up another GOP endorsement, this time from Anthony Picente, a Republican County Executive. They say that the endorsement is based on Cuomo’s help strengthening the state’s tourism and yoghurt industries.

On Monday this week, Save Jersey writes that this year’s midterm election may be the most important for New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie. They write that as Chairman of the Republican Governor’s Association, and given his likely 2016 presidential ambitions, Christie needs to prove that he can win for the party in blue states.

South

On Monday, Fitsnews writes that a North Carolina Congressional candidate, Jim Clyburn, has compared gay couples to ‘Gremlins’ in a Facebook post. They say that the Democrat is virtually unbeatable due to the gerrymandering of his ‘dirt poor’ district. 

Georgia’s Senate race had a number of interesting developments this week. On Friday, National Review’s The Campaign Spot writes that a poll has put Republican David Purdue ahead of Democrat Michelle Nunn by 2 points. They say that while the poll is good news for the GOP, the five previous polls had Nunn narrowly ahead. The race is likely to go to a runoff if neither of the candidates reaches the 50 percent threshold on November 4th, which looks increasingly likely due to the influence of a Libertarian candidate in the race.

In Alabama this week, Yellowhammer reports that the state’s House Speaker, Mike Hubbard, has been indicted on corruption charges stemming from an ongoing Grand Jury investigation. The charges include using his position in the GOP for personal gain, voting for legislation with a conflict of interest and using state equipment and his office for personal gain.

Heading south to the Sunshine State, Daily Kos writes this week that Florida Governor Rick Scott may have had a death row inmate’s execution delayed to accommodate a fundraiser for the state’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi. They say that Scott, who is in a close re-election race against former Governor Charlie Crist, dodged questions over the matter at a debate this week. Staying in Florida, Roll Call’s At the Races reports on Thursday that a case challenging the state’s congressional map is set to head to the Supreme Court next year. They write that the case unfolded over the summer after a coalition charged that the state’s congressional map violated the state’s Fair District amendments.

This week Burnt Orange Report has a helpful guide to voting in Texas, including the voter ID law that was found to be unconstitutional by a District Judge, a ruling that was then overturned by the Supreme Court. In an effort to push back against the ‘confusing design’ of the state’s voter ID regulation, they give an overview of what a Texan needs to be able to vote.

Midwest

This week in Ohio, Plunderbund writes that the state’s Republican Governor, John Kasich, has recently reaffirmed his belief that Obamacare is not working, and that it needs to be repealed and replaced. They say that at the same time, Kasich stated that he liked the expansion of Medicaid – which is tied to Obamacare.

Moving up to Michigan, on Friday, eclectablog writes that the state’s Governor, Republican Rick Snyder, has not taken $1 billion out of the state’s K-12 education program, he has taken billions since he took office.  They say that when Governor Snyder talks about how his budget has money for education, he is lying, and actually sucking money out of the system to diver to ‘his business pals’. Staying in Michigan, The Atlantic reports this week that one fifth of the population of Detroit may lose their homes because they owe thousands in property taxes to the city.

In Wisconsin, Republican Governor, Scott Walker is facing a difficult reelection fight. On Friday, PoliticusUSA writes that he is on the ropes against his challenger, as both former President Bill Clinton, and, President Obama, are coming to the state to support his challenger, Mary Burke.

This week, Daily Kos gives a running tally of the denials of leaks made by offices in St Louis in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown in August in Ferguson, Missouri. These leaks include Brown’s autopsy report, and testimony from the Grand Jury.

The past two weeks have seen increased interest in South Dakota’s Senate race, with the Independent candidate, Larry Pressler, seemingly gaining ground against GOP candidate, Mike Rounds, for a time. Caffeinated Politics writes that we can stop wondering about the election, as a Rounds is now up by 24 points against his Democratic challenger, Rick Weiland and 32 over Pressler. They say the sudden threat of losing the state is likely to have galvanized Republican voters, generating more volunteers.

West and Pacific 

On Friday, Montana’s Cowgirl Blog updates a developing story this week in the state. She writes that researchers at Stanford University and Dartmouth College have sent 100,000 fake ‘voter guides’ into Montana with the look and feel of official state guides. They say that while Stanford claims that the study is an innocent one, there are a few strange circumstances that need answers, such as whether or not the university researchers got outside funds for the research.

Heading south to Wyoming, Wyofile writes on Tuesday that while gay men and women now have the freedom to marry the person that they love in the state, the fight isn’t over. They write that marriage inequality does not mean that their neighbors, fellow church members or complete strangers will suddenly openly accept them.

In Colorado this week, The Spot is surprised to see a new TV ad from Senator Mark Udall that features him smiling. Over the course of the campaign Udalls dourness has been discussed alongside his GOP challenger Cory Gardner’s ‘perpetual smile’. Remaining in the Centennial State, Daily Kos writes on Friday that the state is actually a 100 percent vote by mail state. The fact that people do not have to go to the polls, and can send their ballots via the mail makes predicting the final result much harder. The polls currently have Udall narrowly trailing in the Senate race.

Heading west to the Golden State, Hit & Run writes that executives from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System are puzzled why people are upset with them after they began declaring that public employees bonuses were part of their base pay in order to avoid a reform that sought to prevent ‘pension spiking’ by requiring pensions to be calculated from base pay, and not bonuses. Staying in California, Fox & Hounds looks at whether the state’s Democrats will be able to keep their supermajority in the state legislature.   

Featured image: Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley answers questions from the media at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial Groundbreaking in South Boston. (Photo: Sydney Altschuler / Governor’s Office) (Flickr, CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0)

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Note:  This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of USApp– American Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics.

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