Yarmuth Beats Northup Easily
Democrat John Yarmuth won a second term in Congress yesterday, easily defeating Republican challenger Anne Northup in their rematch over Louisville's 3rd District.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial vote totals showed Yarmuth with 59 percent of the vote and Northup with 41.
An exuberant Yarmuth, who celebrated his 61st birthday yesterday, thanked supporters at the Marriott Louisville Downtown.
"This is shaping up to be one of my best birthdays ever," said Yarmuth, who won by a much wider margin than in 2006, when he ousted Northup by about 6,000 votes.
Northup, 60, had held the seat for 10 years.
It is the third straight loss for Northup, a former teacher who also served 10 years in the state legislature.
Last year, she ran unsuccessfully in Kentucky's Republican gubernatorial primary.
Last night, speaking from the Republican rally at the Galt House, Northup wished Yarmuth well and thanked her supporters..
"I thank you for your years of commitment to this community," she said.
In an interview afterward, Northup said she wasn't sure what she would do next but she hoped to "stay involved" in public life.
"I can't see sitting on a beach reading a book," she said.
Al Cross, a University of Kentucky journalism professor and former Courier-Journal political reporter, said he wouldn't rule out another race by Northup.
"Three losses in a row is very tough to overcome, but I can't rule out a comeback," said Cross, who served as a commentator on last night's KET election coverage.
However, Phil Laemmle, a retired University of Louisville political science professor, said he believes Northup's political career is finished.
"I just can't see it," he said. "The brand is damaged."
Northup blamed the unpopularity of the Iraq war for costing her the 2006 election. Yarmuth countered that the war remains unpopular and in addition, voters are deeply worried about the economic crisis that developed under the Republican administration of President Bush.
The Northup-Yarmuth race offered voters a sharp contrast throughout the campaign.
Northup portrayed herself as a conservative Republican in support of lower taxes and less government -- deriding Yarmuth as a liberal Democrat out of touch with his constituents.
Yarmuth agrees he is a liberal Democrat but argues he has spent the past two years getting in touch with the 700,000 or so residents of Jefferson County and has come to know many of them well.
"I spent an awful lot of time listening to voters and my constituents,'' Yarmuth said in an interview before the election. "It's the best way to do your job.''
And he worked to tie Northup to Bush, saying she supported him on nearly every issue, including the Iraq war, while in Congress.
Seeking to make the recent federal bailout of the financial industry a campaign issue, Northup swiftly attacked Yarmuth for voting for it -- in their debates and in a TV ad assailing him for rewarding "greedy Wall Street CEOs.''
But Yarmuth defended the decision, saying he was convinced by an outpouring of concerns from his district that businesses might be forced to close and lay off workers.
The issue never seemed to gain traction and also put Northup at odds with Kentucky's senior senator, Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader and an architect of the bailout bill.
Northup also sought to portray herself as "champion'' of projects such as a new veterans' hospital and the proposal to build two Ohio River bridges.
But Yarmuth also supports those projects and pledged to work for them as well as others, including ways to retool Louisville's Ford Motor Co. plants to make more fuel-efficient vehicles.
But his main goal, he said last night, is "to get our government on the side of working families.''
"This is a country that has got to work for everybody,'' he said.
11/4/08
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