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   2000-12-08: Jews in Congress


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The Jewish Citizen

Notwithstanding Zimmer and Bloom losses,
Jews to be well represented in Congress

San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage, Dec. 08, 2000

 
Washington (special) -- A pair of Jewish candidates, one Republican and one Democrat, have both narrowly lost their congressional races -- the last elections for the U.S. House of Representatives to be decided by recounts.

Dick Zimmer, a New Jersey Republican who had sought to regain the seat he had given up two years ago to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, acknowledged last week that he had lost again--this time to Democrat Rush Holt. Meanwhile, a recount verified that Democrat Elaine Bloom was defeated for a Florida congressional seat by Republican Clay Shaw.

Depending on what happens to Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn), there will either be 37 or 36 Jews serving in the 107th Congress. If the Democratic presidential ticket of Al Gore and Lieberman is successful in the Florida recount, there will be nine Jewish U.S. Senators. On the other hand, if the Republican ticket of Gov. George Bush and Dick Cheney proves successful, Lieberman will remain one of 10 Jewish U.S. Senators. The House of Representatives, meanwhile, will have 27 Jewish members.

Some statistics: Without including Lieberman or his State of Connecticut, we can report that 15 states will have at least one Jew in their delegation. Seven Jews in Congress will be women. There will be three Republicans among the Jews, one Independent, and 32 Democrats.

With neither Sen. Lieberman nor Connecticut listed, the state delegations, ranked in order of the size of their Jewish contingents, will be as follows:

CALIFORNIA (10) -- U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. U.S. Reps.Howard Berman, Susan Davis, Bob Filner, Jane Harman, Tom Lantos, Adam Schiff, Brad Sherman and Henry Waxman. All the Californians are Democrats.

NEW YORK (8) -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer and Reps. Gary Ackerman, Eliot Engel, Benjamin Gilman, Steve Israel, Nita Lowey, Jerold Nadler and Anthony Weiner. Gilman is a Republican; the rest are Democrats.

WISCONSIN (2) -- U.S. Sens. Russell Feingold and Herb Kohl, both Democrats.

MICHIGAN (2) -- U.S. Sen. Carl Levin and U.S. Rep. Sander Levin. The congressman is three years older than his brother, the senator. Both are Democrats.

VIRGINIA (2) -- U.S. Reps. Eric Cantor, a Republican, and Norman Sisisky, a Democrat.

FLORIDA (2) -- U.S. Reps. Peter Deutsch and Robert Wexler, both Democrats.

MINNESOTA (1) -- U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Democrat.

OREGON (1) -- U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat.

PENNSYLVANIA (1) -- U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican.

ILLINOIS (1) -- U.S. Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky, a Democrat.

MARYLAND (1) -- U.S. Rep. Benjamin Cardin, a Democrat.

MASSACHUSETTS (1) -- U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, a Democrat.

NEVADA (1) -- U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, a Democrat. 

NEW JERSEY (1) -- U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman, a Democrat.

TEXAS (1) -- U.S. Rep. Martin Frost, D-Tex. He was reelected last month as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, making him the third highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives.

VERMONT (1) -- U.S. Rep. Bernard Sanders, an Independent who is a Socialist.
-- Donald H. Harrison