Congressional Primaries Heat Up

The congressional primary season is heating up, and retirements and ethics problems continue to dominate the headlines.  This week voters in Texas went to the polls to cast primary ballots, while other members of Congress announced they would not seek re-election. The biggest race in Texas was the Republican primary gubernatorial contest between Governor Rick Perry and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, which Perry easily won.  There were few surprises in the congressional primaries and most incumbents in Texas appear to be safe in November's election. In other changes, Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.) and Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) announced they would not seek re-election. New York Congressman and chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) announced he would temporarily step down from the chair while the Ethics Committee reviews some of his past actions. With only 242 days until the November elections, AGC members attending the 91st Annual Convention are reminded to attend the AGC Legislative Issues Luncheon, featuring a full legislative and regulatory issues rundown by AGC's Government Affairs Team, as well as the AGC Political Action Committee Contributions Subcommittee Meeting.