2012 Elections Bring Broad, Bipartisan Victories for ANCA-Endorsed Candidates

Menendez, Feinstein Win in Senate; Cantor, Grimm, Cicilline Among Key Victories in House

WASHINGTON—Approximately 90 percent of the Congressional candidates backed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) prevailed in the hard-fought elections on Nov. 6, as U.S. voters re-elected Barack Obama President and maintained the Democratic majority of the Senate and the Republican majority in the House.

“We congratulate President Obama on his victory, commend Governor Romney for a well-run campaign, and thank Armenian American voters who went to the polls today in record numbers to support federal, state, and local candidates who support issues of special concern to our community. We look forward to getting to work right away in engaging with the Obama Administration and the incoming Congress to make progress on the full range of the Armenian American community’s public policy priorities.”

“We were greatly gratified to see such a large percentage of our Congressional endorsees win their races, including powerful advocates such as Senator Bob Menendez, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Representatives Adam Schiff, Ed Royce, Frank Pallone, and many others.”

On the Senate side, 12 out of 15 ANCA endorsed candidates emerged victorious, including senior Senate Foreign Relations Committee member and Armenian Genocide Resolution lead cosponsor Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Return of Churches Resolution lead cosponsor Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and incoming Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). The only ANCA backed Senate candidates to lose were Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown, Virginia’s George Allen (R), and Nevada’s Shelly Berkley (D).

On the House side, the ANCA endorsed 130 candidates, of which only 12 were reported to have lost their re-election bids, with one race still pending. Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Ed Royce (R-Calif.) won their elections by wide margins. Rep. Royce was endorsed earlier today by outgoing House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) to become the next Chairman of that powerful committee during the 113th Congress. He may be challenged by another long-time supporter of Armenian American concerns, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.).

The two Armenian American Members of Congress—California Democrats Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier—each won broad support of the electorate. Among the key House races that the ANCA was following throughout the evening included House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Congressional Armenian Genocide Resolution lead cosponsor Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Representatives David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Lois Capps (D-Calif.), Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), Janice Hahn (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), David Valadao (R-Calif.), and Frank Wolf (R-Va.). All won their races. In a highly competitive race between two long-time supporters of Armenian American concerns, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) defeated Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.).

Among the House races in which ANCA endorsed candidates were not successful were those involving Illinois Republican Robert Dold and Armenian American candidate Danny Tarkanian from Nevada.

Unprecedented Armenian American Community and Campaign Outreach

In dozens of states and hundreds of Congressional Districts across the United States in which the ANCA endorsed candidates ran, the ANCA sent hundreds of thousands of customized e-mail messages to Armenian American voters. These messages featured the ANCA grade for each candidate, news about whether the ANCA has endorsed their campaign, and a listing of ANCA records and ratings for their state’s full Congressional delegation.

The ANCA’s final push built upon months of voter registration campaigns and community education and empowerment programs – led with the remarkably successful ANCA Western Region Hye Votes campaign. ANCA regional and local activists volunteered on campaigns and encouraged candidates to fill out the ANCA Candidate Questionnaire.

A key element of this effort, as in years past, has been ANCA Congressional Report Cards, a detailed review and rating of the records of each Congressional incumbent on more than a dozen individual legislative initiatives of special concern to Armenian American voters.