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10 Freshmen to Keep an Eye On

Class of 2010 is full of characters

By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 5, 2011 7:47 AM CST

(Newser) – There will be plenty of fresh faces in Washington today. But which ones matter most? The Washington Post selects 10 freshman legislators to keep an eye on:

  • Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH: One of Sarah Palin's "mama grizzlies," Ayotte defeated a Tea Partier to become the only woman elected to the Senate last year.
  • Sen. Marco Rubio, R -Fla.: The GOP needs some fresh faces and Latino outreach; Rubio has a chance to be its new rock star.
  • Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI: The former mayor of Providence—and the country's first openly gay mayor of a capital city—has a rep for cracking down on corruption. He succeeds Patrick Kennedy.

  • Rep. Michael Grimm, R-NY: Yep, a NYC Republican. Grimm is a former FBI agent who posed undercover on Wall Street. Nickname: Mikey Suits, for his fashion sense.
  • Rep. Allen West, R-Fla.: For those worried about the dearth of Florida wingnuts after Alan Grayson lost reelection, West is a Tea Party darling who's given to calling himself a "right-wing extremist," and the president "the dumbest person walking around right now."
  • Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga.: One of a wave of Southern GOPers who unseated Blue Dogs, Scott's fellow freshmen picked him as class president.
For the complete list, click here.


Rep.-elect Allen West, R-Fla., a retired Army Lt. Col., walks through the Capitol Visitor's Center on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010, as Congressional freshmen orientation began.
Rep.-elect Allen West, R-Fla., a retired Army Lt. Col., walks through the Capitol Visitor's Center on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010, as Congressional freshmen orientation began.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
In this Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010 file picture, Rep.-elect Tim Scott, R-SC, left, leaves a Republican news conference. From left: Scott, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, House Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep.-elect Kristi Noem, R-SD.
In this Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010 file picture, Rep.-elect Tim Scott, R-SC, left, leaves a Republican news conference. From left: Scott, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, Rep....   (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)
Rep.-elect Kristi Noem, R-SD, speaks during a Republican news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010.
Rep.-elect Kristi Noem, R-SD, speaks during a Republican news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010.   (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)
Austin Scott, Republican candidate for Georgia's 8th Congressional District seat, casts his vote as son Wells looks on in Ashburn, Ga., Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010.
Austin Scott, Republican candidate for Georgia's 8th Congressional District seat, casts his vote as son Wells looks on in Ashburn, Ga., Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010.   (AP Photo/Ric Feld)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 5 comments
JonmarkP
Jan 5, 2011 1:28 PM CST
But don't just keep an eye on these Republicans, new to feeding at the public trough , keep you hand over your wallet, too.
Fascist_Jack
Jan 5, 2011 8:16 AM CST
In summary: The Republicans have fresh new talent and the Democrats don't. This is due to the fact that Conservatives, on average, are more involved in politics than your average Liberal. Your average Liberal is not a highly self motivated political animal. He or she only gets fired up about politics when someone like Obama starts an "MTV Rock the Vote campaign." Of course, you do have fanatical Liberals, that are in politics 24/7, but they are out matched by we Conservatives. Also, we Conservatives have shown that we do not have political loyalties, but rather a loyalty in ideas. This is demonstrated in the fact that we have voted out so many career Republicans in 2010.

 
Congress • US Congress • Allen West • Marco Rubio • David Cicilline • Kelly Ayotte • freshmen • Kristi Noem • 112th Congress • Austin Scott • Michael Grimm

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