Clay not concerned by possible rival

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - Democratic Congressman William Lacy Clay says he’s unconcerned about a possible primary challenge in 2012.

New Congressional maps approved earlier this month over Governor Jay Nixon’s veto put Clay and fellow Democrat Russ Carnahan in the same district.

Carnahan appears to be leaning toward running in the new Second District, but has not ruled out a primary challenge to Clay.

Clay says primaries are part of the political process.

“I’ve run six times and I’ve been primaried six times. I put my record up against whomever. And that’s for the people, because they ultimately make the decision,” Clay said.

He says he’s focused more on introducing himself to new constituents in south St. Louis city.

Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio

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Carnahan has no plans

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - U-S Congressman Russ Carnahan says he still has not decided what political office he'll pursue next year.

The St. Louis Democrat's 3rd congressional district will be eliminated based on redistricting maps approved by Missouri lawmakers. Today/Wednesday, Carnahan was asked by reporters if 2nd District congressman Todd Akin's announcement this week that he'll run for the Senate makes his decision easier….

"There is an open 2nd congressional seat that has a large number of my current constituents in it, so we're obviously taking a serious look at that, Carnahan said. "And I know there are other folks that are also taking a serious look at having the court review the maps that have been passed by the legislature."

The second-highest ranking Democrat in the House, Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland, was in St. Louis Wednesday to help raise money for Carnahan's reelection campaign.

Bill Raack, St. Louis Public Radio

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VA under fire for oversights at medical centers

Officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs apologized Tuesday for “failures of leadership” that led to questions about the cleanliness of instruments at two Veterans Affairs dental clinics, including the one in St. Louis.

The Undersecretary for Health, Robert Petzel, told members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee some employees have failed to follow the department’s sterilization standards, which he calls the top in the country.

He says people in charge of oversight have been disciplined.

“We have proposed removal in a number of instances, and almost invariably the individual has resigned or retired. We have also reprimanded individuals, suspensions, and letters of counseling,” Petzel said.

The answer was not enough for some lawmakers at the hearing. Missouri Democrat Russ Carnahan, who requested the hearing along with a colleague from Ohio, noted that government concerns about sterilization practices go back as far as 2007.

Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio

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JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - A new Missouri congressional map goes to the governor's desk after it was passed in the House and Senate Wednesday.

The new map would eliminate St. Louis Democratic Representative Russ Carnahan's district.

St. Louis Democratic Senator Robin Wright-Jones refused to sign off on the new map because it only leaves Democrats with two districts.

"I believe that Missouri has been a 50/50 state in its voting patterns and a 6-2 just was not reflective of our real mindset," Wright-Jones said.

Republican Speaker of the House Steven Tilley says the map has enough republican support to override a veto from the governor.

Danielle McCarthy, Missouri Digital News

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Missouri House recommends axing Carnahan's district

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - The Missouri House Redistricting Committee passed a map that would eliminate Democrat Russ Carnahan's congressional seat in St. Louis.

Republican committee chairman John Diehl proposed the map that looks very similar to the one passed in the Senate on Monday.

"Everybody's criticizing it, but nobody can show you anything better. So it's probably a pretty good map," Diehl said. "And I think the fact that the Senate and the Democrats came up with a map that's only about two percent different than this one ... I think tells you we are probably pretty close to the right answer."

Democratic Representatives Penny Hubbard and Jamilah Nasheed from St. Louis both served on the committee and voted for the new map.

Even though St. Louis lost a district, Nasheed says it will strengthen the city.

"It should be one, because the city of St. Louis is polarized right now. I think now is the time to be able to do away with the polarization in the city of St. Louis and I think this will help," Nasheed said

The only "no" vote came from Crystal City Democrat Ron Casey, who's from the congressional district that's going away.

Diehl's map will now go to the House floor.

Brian Bondus, Missouri Digital News

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Senate redistricting plan would dissolve Carnahan's seat

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - A Senate Committee unanimously passed a redistricting plan Monday as Missouri anticipates the loss of one Congressional seat.

Under the new plan, all of Missouri's districts will grow in population.

The committee's chair Senator Scott Rupp says the loss of a congressional seat will cause some districts to grow more than others.

"Every single district had to gain population due to the loss of the congressional seat. Now, some districts had to gain far more population. For example, the city of St. Louis in the first district had to gain a hundred and sixty one thousand people," Rupp said.

The House has also proposed a plan that would account for the lost seat, following the 2010 census. Both the House and Senate plans would combine the two districts in St. Louis City into one, a seat that is currently held by Democrat Russ Carnahan.

The Senate committee's plan will now be brought before the Senate.

Kadee Brosseau, Missouri Digital News

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Russ Carnahan points to "obvious inconsistency" in foreign policy

Congressman Russ Carnahan says the United States needs to be careful that its involvement in enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya does not expand into another Middle Eastern war.

The Missouri Democrat says he’s pleased that President Obama has tried to limit the role of the U-S military in Libya, and that international allies are also involved.

"But I still have serious concerns, and so do a lot of the people I talk to in terms of the cost of a third war in the Middle East, on top of what we’re already doing, and the costs on our soldiers and their families," Carnahan said.

Carnahan also says the decision to get involved in Libya but not other countries where protesters were also killed points to an “obvious inconsistency” in American foreign policy.

Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio

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Redistricting does not favor Russ Carnahan

Image courtesy of Missouri Secretary of State.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Due to a slower rate of population growth than other states, Missouri will lose one of its nine Congressional seats. All indications point to the elimination of the 3rd Congressional District, currently held by Democrat Russ Carnahan.

The 3rd District covers southern St. Louis, parts of southern St. Louis county, and Jefferson and Ste. Genevieve Counties.

The Republican-controlled General Assembly will redraw the Congressional districts, and it is highly unlikely that the GOP will exclude one of their own party members, according to Southeast Missouri State University political science professor Jeremy Walling.

Carnahan is one of three Democratic Missouri Congressmen. The other two are Emanuel Cleaver from Kansas City in the 5th District and Lacy Clay from St. Louis in the 1st District. Eliminating Carnahan’s seat would results in clearly drawn partisan lines amongst Missouri’s districts, Walling says.

"The Republicans aren’t going to be too sad about ensuring that the Missouri 1st and 5th Districts stay Democrat because they are going to be Democrat anyway," Walling said. "So I can see them wanting to split up the Russ Carnahan district and divvy those votes up and make the Missouri 1st an even stronger Democrat district in the process."

The result would be eight congressional districts with well-entrenched incumbents. The only exception would be freshman representative Vicky Hartzler’s seat in western Missouri, which Walling says may come in to play.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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