PRESS RELEASE
ARMENPAC, The Armenian-American Political Action Committee
421 E. Airport Freeway, Suite 201
Irving, Texas 75220
Contact: Jason P. Capizzi, Esq.
Tel: (972) 635-5347
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: <;
ARMENPAC ISSUES ITS ENDORSEMENTS IN THE 2006 MIDTERM ELECTIONS
Be sure to visit <; to view your
candidates’ responses to the 2006 ARMENPAC Congressional Candidate
Questionnaire before voting on Election Day
Irving, TX – On Tuesday, November 7, 2006, citizens across the nation will
cast their votes in the United States Congressional midterm elections. One
third of the seats in the United States Senate (i.e., thirty-three (33)
Class 1 seats), and all of the seats in the United States House of
Representatives (i.e., four hundred thirty-five (435) seats) are up for
election. Members of the United States Senate hold six-year terms, and if
elected in the upcoming elections, will serve from January 3, 2007 through
January 3, 2013. Members of the United States House of Representatives hold
two-year terms, and if elected in the upcoming elections, will serve in the
110th Congress from January 3, 2007 through January 3, 2009.
To execute Armenian goals, a legislative body comprised of leaders devoted
to facilitating and supporting initiatives that benefit Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh is imperative. Of equal importance, ARMENPAC requires a strong
foundation of Armenian-American supporters in order to maintain and advance
a beneficial relationship between the United States and the Republics of
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. In order to ensure a bright future for the
people of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, ARMENPAC holds true to the belief
that knowledge is power, setting forth all efforts to educate itself,
congressional candidates, and the Armenian-American community at large.
Through its 2006 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire initiative, ARMENPAC
was the first Armenian-American advocacy organization to educate all federal
candidates who may otherwise be unfamiliar with the pressing issues that are
important to Armenian-Americans, while simultaneously providing them with a
forum to share their opinions on these fundamental issues. In its continued
effort to raise awareness of, and advocate for, policies that help create
peace, security and stability in the Caucasus region, ARMENPAC investigated
the positions of all 1,944 candidates for the United States Senate and the
United States House of Representatives on current issues of importance to
the Armenian-American community. The results of this investigation serve to
empower Armenian-American voters with the fundamental knowledge necessary to
make an informed decision on Election Day. Armenian-American unity, despite
bipartisan political beliefs, is guaranteed to assist the Republics of
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.
Upon review of the positions of the nearly 400 survey respondents, as well
as the established voting records of incumbent candidates, ARMENPAC has made
an informed decision in considering which federal candidates have earned its
endorsement in the upcoming elections. Notably, ARMENPAC received
approximately 209 pledges to join the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues in the United States House of Representatives, of which eight (8)
were from nonmember incumbent candidates, i.e., Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA),
John Barrow (D-GA), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Roscoe Bartlett, Jr. (R-MD),
Timothy Bishop (D-NY), Chris Owens (D-NY), John Carter (R-TX), Tammy Baldwin
(D-WI). "ARMENPAC’s advocacy initiatives, which are yielding positive
results, are integral in building a bipartisan majority in support of
Armenian-American issues, and must be supported by all members of the
Armenian-American community," said ARMENPAC Co-Chairs Annie Totah and Edgar
Hagopian.
ARMENPAC is pleased to endorse the campaigns of the following candidates for
the Unites States Senate: CALIFORNIA: Rick Renzi (R-1); MAIN: Olympia Snow
(R); MARYLAND: Ben Cardin (D); MASSACHUSETTS: Edward Kennedy (D); MICHIGAN:
Debbie Stabenow (D); NEW JERSEY: Robert Menendez (D); NEW YORK: Hillary
Rodham Clinton (D); OHIO: Sherrod Brown (D); PENNSYLVANIA: Rick Santorum
(R); RHODE ISLAND: Lincoln Chafee (R); VIRGINIA: George Allen (R);
WASHINGTON: Maria Cantwell (D); WISCONSIN: Herb Kohl (D).
ARMENPAC is pleased to endorse the campaigns of the following candidates for
the Unites States House of Representatives: ARIZONA: Rick Renzi (R-1), Raul
Grijalva (D-7); CALIFORNIA: Mike Thompson (D-1), Doris Matsui (D-5), Lynn
Woolsey (D-6), George Miller (D-7), Nancy Pelosi (D-8), Barbara Lee (D-9),
Ellen Tauscher (D-10), Fortney Pete Stark (D-13), Anna Eshoo (D-14), Michael
Honda (D-15), Zoe Lofgren (D-16), Dennis Cardoza (D-18), George Radanovich
(R-19), Jim Costa (D-20), Devin Nunes (R-21), William Thomas (R-22), Lois
Capps (D-23), Elton Gallegly (R-24), Howard McKeon (R-25), David Dreier
(R-26), Brad Sherman (D-27), Howard Berman (D-28), Adam Schiff (D-29), Henry
Waxman (D-30), Xavier Becerra (D-31), Hilda Solis (D-32), Diane Watson
(D-33), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-34), Grace Napolitano (D-38), Linda Sanchez
(D-39), Edward Royce (R-40), Gary Miller (R-42), Joseph Baca (D-43), Loretta
Sanchez (D-47), Darrell Issa (R-49), Bob Filner (D-51), Duncan Hunter
(R-52), Susan Davis (D-53); COLORADO: Mark Udall (D-2); CONNECTICUT: John
Larson (D-1), Robert Simmons (R-2), Rosa DeLauro (D-3), Christopher Shays
(R-4), Nancy Johnson (R-5); DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Eleanor Norton (D-DL);
FLORIDA: Michael Bilirakis (R-9), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-18), Lincoln
Diaz-Balart (R-21), Clay Shaw (R-22), Tom Feeney (R-24); GEORGIA: Sanford
Bishop, Jr. (D-2), John Barrow (D-12); ILLINOIS: Bobby Rush (D-1), Jesse
Jackson (D-2), Dan Lipinski (D-3), Luis Gutierrez (D-4), Danny Davis (D-7),
Janice Schakowsky (D-9), Mark Steven Kirk (R-10), Jerry Weller (R-11), Jerry
Costello (D-12), John Shimkus (R-19); INDIANA: Peter Visclosky (D-1), Mark
Souder (R-3); KANSAS: Jerry Moran (R-1), Dennis Moore (D-3), Todd Tiahrt
(R-4); KENTUCKY: Ben Chandler (D-6); LOUISIANA: Bobby Jindal (R-1); MAINE:
Thomas Allen (D-1); MARYLAND: John Sarbanes (D-3), Albert Russell Wynn
(D-4), Steny Hoyer (D-5), Roscoe Bartlett, Jr. (R-6), Christopher Van Hollen
(D-8); MASSACHUSETTS: John Olver (D-1), Richard Neal (D-2), James McGovern
(D-3), Barney Frank (D-4), Martin Meehan (D-5), John Tierney (D-6), Edward
Markey (D-7), Michael Capuano (D-8), Stephen Lynch (D-9), William Delahunt
(D-10); MICHIGAN: Vernon Ehlers (R-3), Dave Camp (R-4), Dale Kildee (D-5),
Fred Upton (R-6), Michael Rogers (R-8), Joe Knollenberg (R-9), Candice
Miller (R-10), Thaddeus McCotter (R-11), Sander Levin (D-12), Carolyn
Kilpatrick (D-13), John Conyers (D-14), John Dingell (D-15); MINNESOTA: Gil
Gutknecht (R-1), Betty McCollum (D-4), Mark Kennedy (R-6), Collin Peterson
(D-7); NEVADA: Shelley Berkley (D-1), Jon Porter (R-3); NEW HAMPSHIRE: Jeb
Bradley (R-1), Charles Bass (R-2); NEW JERSEY: Robert Andrews (D-1), Frank
LoBiondo (R-2), Jim Saxton (R-3), Christopher Smith (R-4), Scott Garrett
(R-5), Frank Pallone (D-6), Mike Ferguson (R-7), Bill Pascrell (D-8), Steven
Rothman (D-9), Donald Payne (D-10), Rush Holt (D-12), Albio Sires (D-13);
NEW YORK: Timothy H. Bishop (D-1), Steve Israel (D-2), Carolyn McCarthy
(D-4), Gary Ackerman (D-5), Joseph Crowley (D-7), Anthony Weiner (D-9),
Chris Owens (D-11), Nydia Velazquez (D-12), Carolyn Maloney (D-14), Charles
Rangel (D-15), Eliot Engel (D-17), Nita Lowey (D-18), Michael McNulty
(D-21), Maurice Hinchey (D-22); OHIO: Ted Strickland (D-6), Marcy Kaptur
(D-9), Dennis Kucinich (D-10), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-11), Steven
LaTourette (R-14); OREGON: Earl Blumenauer (D-3), Darlene Hooley (D-5);
PENNSYLVANIA: Chaka Fattah (D-2), Phil English (R-3), Melissa Hart (R-4),
Jim Gerlach (R-6), Curt Weldon (R-7), Michael Fitzpatrick (R-8), Allyson
Schwartz (D-13), Michael Doyle (D-14), Charles Dent (R-15), Joseph Pitts
(R-16), Tim Holden (D-17); RHODE ISLAND: Patrick Kennedy (D-1), James
Langevin (D-2); SOUTH CAROLINA: Joe Wilson (R-2); SOUTH DAKOTA: Stephanie
Herseth (D-At Large); TEXAS: Kenny Marchant (R-24), Lloyd Doggett (D-25),
Eddie Johnson (D-30), John Carter (R-31); VIRGINIA: Eric Cantor (R-7), James
Moran (D-8); WASHINGTON: Jim McDermott (D-7), Adam Smith (D-9); WISCONSIN:
Paul Ryan (R-1), Tammy Baldwin (D-2).
"It is imperative to the success of ARMENPAC’s advocacy efforts that every
eligible member of the Armenian-American community exercises his/her right
to vote. The right to vote is a primary aspect of democratic governments,
and ARMENPAC urges all Armenian-American’s visit
<; before doing so on November 7, 2006 to review
their candidates’ responses to the 2006 ARMENPAC Congressional Candidate
Questionnaire," said ARMENPAC Co-Chairs Annie Totah and Edgar Hagopian.
ARMENPAC is an independent, bipartisan political action committee with a
nationwide membership. ARMENPAC raises awareness of, and advocates for,
policies that help create peace, security and stability in the Caucasus
region, while providing financial support to federal officeholders,
candidates, political action committees and organizations that actively
support issues of importance to Armenian-Americans. For more information
and how to join ARMENPAC, please call (877) 286-1046 or visit
<; .
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