Ag Committees Members Win, Lose and Draw on Election Day

By CnAgri Print

Both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are likely to see several new faces in the 113th Congress, set to be sworn in after the first of the year.

Current Senate Agriculture Committee members Sen. Bob Casey (D.-Pa.) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) won their re-election bids. In other Senate races of note, Deb Fischer, a Republican from Nebraska, and Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota, will join the chamber next year. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) held on to his Senate seat in a close race against current Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.).

On the House side, Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) defeated Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) defeated his Democratic opponent, Christie Vilsack. House Agriculture Committee members Reps. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Bill Owens (D-N.Y.) and Christopher Gibson (R-N.Y.) all held on to their seats, while Reps. Bobby Schilling (R-Ill.) and Joe Baca (D-Calif.) were defeated, and Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) is holding on to a slim lead in a race still too close to call.

Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and House Ag Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) were all reelected.