Davis Loses Bid to Become First Black Ala. Guv

(NEWSER) - In the post-Obama political landscape, a young congressman is attempting a feat perhaps more difficult than putting a black man in the White House, writes Robbie Brown in the New York Times. That would be putting a black man in the Alabama governor’s mansion. “Yes, it will be hard,” said Artur Davis, a four-term congressman and a star of last year’s Democratic convention. “But God has blessed us through that which is hard before.” More»

Louisiana governor faced little Democrat opposition

(AP) - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal easily coasted to a second term today, winning in a landslide election after failing to attract any well-known or deep-pocketed opposition. The 40-year-old Republican overwhelmed nine competitors in the open primary, where a candidate wins the race outright if he or she receives more than 50% of the vote. With 99% of precincts reporting, Jindal had received about 66% of the total vote. More»

Robert Bentley's really sorry if he offended non-Christians

(NEWSER) - Robert Bentley is quickly getting the hang of being a politician: Alabama's new governor stuck his foot in it in his first hour in office, and now he's rapidly mastering the art of apologizing. "If anyone from other religions felt disenfranchised by the language, I want to say I am sorry. I am sorry if I offended anyone in any way," Bentley said yesterday. Just after his inauguration, he told a congregation in a Baptist church that "If we don't have the same daddy, we're not brothers and sisters." More»

Robert Bentley causes controversy an hour into governorship

(NEWSER) - Alabama's newly sworn in Republican governor doesn't care if you're black or white, but if you haven't been saved, you're not his brother. "If we don't have the same daddy, we're not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother," Robert Bentley told a crowd at a Baptist church soon after taking the oath of office, the Huffington Post reports. More»

Misspelling of Rich Whitney's name to be corrected

(NEWSER) - A certain “Rich Whitey” is running for governor of Illinois—or so the ballots have it. Thousands of electronic voting machines, including about 500 currently being used for early voting, contain a misspelling of Green Party hopeful Rich Whitney’s last name, the AP reports. “We don't have any idea what affect that has had on voters,” said the party’s leader. Election officials said the mistake is being corrected. More»