Almost all of ANCA-endorsed candidates win U.S. mid-term polls

PanARMENIAN.Net - Months of intensive voter registration efforts and grassroots campaigning contributed to lead to significant Congressional victories for pro-Armenian American issues candidates during mid-term elections Tuesday, Nov 4, with over 95% of Armenian National Committee of America endorsed candidates being elected to office.

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) also welcomed the results of the 2014 General Election, with over 90 percent of its endorsed candidates — both new and old friends – triumphant in their races, the ANCA said.

Top winners in Tuesday’s elections included Bob Dold (R-IL), a former Republican Vice-Chairman of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, who won one of the most closely contested U.S. House races in the country.

“It’s always gratifying for the ANCA to empower Armenian American voters, especially during highly competitive election seasons like this, when our efforts contribute meaningfully to the victory of so many Congressional friends,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “While we’re certainly proud that our nation-wide electoral participation this season hit an all-time high-water mark, we’re already planning to top this unprecedented effort during the coming 2016 election cycle.”

Among other wins in competitive races were those by Congressman Michael Grimm (R-NY), the current Co-Chairman of the Armenian Caucus, who won by 13% in a high profile campaign; and David Valadao (R-CA), the co-author of the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Resolution, with a convincing 18 point victory in a race that was rated a toss-up earlier in the election cycle. Congressman Jim Costa’s (D-CA) race for reelection was still too close to call, as were those contested by three other candidates endorsed by the ANCA: Mike Honda (D-CA), Peter Aguilar (D-CA), and Raul Ruiz (D-CA).

Other high-profile victories by ANCA-endorsed candidates included those by David Brat (R-VA), who will take the Richmond U.S. House seat formerly held by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). U.S. Representative Gary Peters (D-MI), an ANCA-backed candidate, won a seat in the Senate.

Both Americans of Armenian heritage who serve in the U.S. Congress, Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jackie Speier (D-CA), won reelection, with a host of Armenian American state and local candidates following suit, including: Assemblymembers Adrin Nazarian and Katcho Achadjian, who won reelection to the California State Assembly; Assemblymember Katherine Kazarian who won reelection in Rhode Island; Scott Avedisian who was re-elected Mayor of Warwick, RI; and Richelle Noroyan, who secured a seat on the Santa Cruz, CA City Council.

While mid-term elections experienced record low voter turnout, Armenian-American participation was at an all-time high. Leading up to Election Day, the ANCA Western Region through its Hye Votes initiative, organized on the ground voter registration and Get-Out-the-Vote efforts that included a heavy field program, phone banking, direct mail, and voter education and mobilization through various media platforms.

The ANCA-WR hailed the re-election of incumbents and freshman candidates alike to both houses of the California legislature.

In the County of Los Angeles, all but one of the Western Region’s endorsed candidates enjoyed overwhelming support from voters.