Jason Says Vote, Alaska!

Candidates: 

• Senator Mark Begich (D): first elected to the U.S. Senate - 2008. Prior to that he was the Mayor of Anchorage (2003-2009) Senator's campaign website.
• Dan Sullivan (R): Alaska Commissioner of Natural Resources (2011-2013).  Prior to that he was Alaska's Acting Attorney General (2009-2010) and Assistant U.S. Secretary of State (2006-2009). Senate campaign site. 

Jason's Bottom Line:

• This election is a whole lot tougher to handicap for you - as Mr. Sullivan has never been a Member of the U.S. Congress (or the state legislature), so he does not have a voting record to look at. What I can say is that Senator Begich has been a strong voice for Alaskan interests (even when he had to stand up to the Democratic leadership). He and Senator Murkowski (R-AK) have a great working relationship and have partnered on many issues over the course of this Congress.
• Mark Begich is a bi-partisan Senator who has been a dogged supporter of Alaskans in the U.S. Senate. He's not perfect on every issue - but he fits the people of Alaska well. At least we know where he stands on the issues, even if we don't always agree.
• Dan Sullivan started out as a conservative, but not Tea Party, candidate who was able to best a Tea Party Republican in the primary. Since that victory, he has moved significantly to the right to try to earn the support of the Tea Party - recently securing the endorsement of the Tea Party Express. By in large, it seems that Sullivan is doing his best to ignore the issues and tie Begich to President Obama without revealing any issue positions.

Jason Says Vote, Colorado!

Let me just start by saying that this one is very personal to me. Having campaigned for candidates up and down the ballot in Colorado in 2010, I have a special place in my heart for The Centennial State.

Candidates: 

• Senator Mark Udall (D): first elected to the U.S. Senate - 2008. Prior to that he was a Member of the Colorado State House (1996-1998), and a U.S. Representative (1999-2009). Senator's campaign website.
• Congressman Cory Gardner (R): first elected to the U.S. House - 2010. Prior to that he was a staffer for U.S. Senator Wayne Allard from Colorado (2002-2005), a Member of the Colorado State House (2005-2010), and U.S. Representative (2011-present). Senate campaign site.

Jason's Bottom Line:

• This election comes down to whether or not the people of Colorado are going to be fooled by pretty new wrapping paper on Representative Cory Gardner, a far-right fringe candidate. 
• Mark Udall is Colorado. He believes in strengthening the middle class, making college more affordable, protecting our rights, and encouraging responsible solutions to everything from balancing the budget to saving the environment. 
• Gardner, on the other hand, is a "Hard-Core Conservative" who has an 85% approval rating from the Tea Party; voted to privatize Medicare, raise the eligibility age, and gut federal Medicaid safeguards; and voted to shut down the government - while Colorado families suffered from devastating floods - cutting off valuable (and direly needed) disaster relief. 

Jason Says Vote: Introduction

I'm hoping that this will encourage those in my generation to vote in the November 4, 2014 election. 

This is going to be a very important election year - and control of the US Senate hangs in the balance. As such, I will look at important issues to our generation and where the major US Senate candidates stand. I'm not going to do every state, but I'm going to focus on those where youth turn-out WILL determine the election. Just because your state isn't listed, doesn't mean that there aren't important elections. This year 36 states (and 3 Territories) elect their Governors, every US House Seat is on the ballot, as well as seats in state legislatures, and local elections. Voting is a mandatory for every single one of us if our positions on important issues are going to be taken seriously.

If we sit on the sideline this year - then politicians who are hostile to the things we want and need will take over. We can't be a generation that only votes in the Presidential years, we must be a generation that stands up for our values in every single election. It's the only way that we will ensure that our future is bright.

The issues that I'm going to cover are...

• Access to Affordable Health Care

• Education and Student Debt

• Pay Equity, Workplace Protections, and Expanding the Middle Class

• Reproductive Rights and Women's Health Care

• Marriage Equality

• Bipartisanship and Willingness to Work Across Party Lines