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Ok so US elections aren't all about foreign policy (womp womp) but the team at @ForeignPolicy has been tracking some interesting down ballot races that impact conversations in Washington on national security & foreign policy. Here's a quick thread on those races:
Texas 10th: Michael McCaul defeated Democratic challenger in a (grading on curve) close-ish race. McCaul is top Republican on House Foreign Affairs Committee, which (again grading on curve) had relatively good bipartisan cooperation under McCaul and outgoing D chair Eliot Engel
Texas 22nd: Sri Kulkarni was a foreign service officer who quit in 2017 to run for office after Trump's reaction to Charlottesville protests. He was hoping to flip the seat blue, in part with help of growing # of Asian-American voters in Texas, but lost to GOP candidate Troy Nels
Still, this race and how close it was emblematic of how demographic changes in Texas swinging state from deep-red to at least potential battleground, as @JackDetsch and I reported. Both parties increasingly reaching out to AAPI voters https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/28/2020-election-indian-americans-blue-wave-texas/
Texas 23rd: Many Dems expected to flip this district blue but didn't pan out. It's a massive district that is almost the size of Georgia and comprises ~1/3 of US-Mexico border. US Air Force Intelligence veteran Gina Ortiz Jones lost to GOP candidate Tony Gonzales, a Navy vet
Michigan 8th: Democratic incumbent Elissa Slotkin appears on track to win. Slotkin is one of a raft of national security experts who left the Beltway after Trump's election and run for office. A former CIA officer, she's a big voice in Democratic caucus on natsec issues
More on the national security experts who began running for Congress after Trump's surprise 2016 election from our 2018 story here: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/25/the-wonks-are-running-for-office-obama-trump-clinton-elections-democrats-republicans/
New Jersey 3rd: Rep. Andy Kim is another one of these natsec wonks-turned-Dem candidates. He's a former NSC staffer in the Obama administration and also appears on retain his seat. He's co-chair of the Dem caucus's National Security Task Force
New Jersey 7th: Tom Malinowski was a senior State Dept official in the Obama admin before running for Congress. He's also projected to hold onto his seat. He's played an outsized role in House Dem investigations & oversight of Pompeo's State Department, including Saudi arms sales
Virginia 7th: This race is neck-and-neck, still too close to call. Former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger trying to hold her seat facing challenger Nick Freitas, a US Army vet. Race emblematic of how Virginia could still be a potential battleground in future elections
We'll have more updates throughout the day as more results come in. The full rundown here:
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/04/democrats-win-house-but-lose-some-key-foreign-policy-races/
And our (paywall free) live blog here: https://foreignpolicy.com/projects/america-votes-2020-election-live/
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/04/democrats-win-house-but-lose-some-key-foreign-policy-races/
And our (paywall free) live blog here: https://foreignpolicy.com/projects/america-votes-2020-election-live/
On Lindsey Graham: Graham is seen as a GOP guardian angel of funding for diplomacy & foreign aid. While a steadfast Trump ally, Graham has sharply pushed back against repeated attempts by Trump admin to slash State & USAID funding https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/04/republican-lindsey-graham-keeps-seat-south-carolina-control-senate-uncertain/
Graham is head of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for State, Foreign Operations &Related Programs. Yawn-inducing DC jargony name, but the subcommittee has very influential role on funding for State Dept & foreign aid. Graham's win on this front important if GOP keep Senate
Looks like Dem Abigail Spanberger is declaring victory in Virginia's 7th, after a very tight race against GOP challenger Nick Freitas. This was another heavily natsec-credentialed race: Spanberger is a former CIA officer and Freitas a US Army Special Forces veteran
Back to Senate side: No surprises by GOP Sen. Jim Risch wins reelection in Idaho and Dem Sen. Bob Menendez wins reelection in New Jersey. Depending on how Senate control shakes out, one will be Chairman & the other ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
SFRC has historically been a bipartisan port in the storm amid all the other hyperpartisan committee bickerings on Capitol Hill. But Risch and Menendez have had their fair share of disputes as chairman & ranking member in this past Congress. See for ex: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/07/23/senate-foreign-relations-committee-saudi-arabia-bills-menendez-risch-dispute-congress-middle-east-oversight-khashoggi-yemen-conflict/
