April 4, 2012

2012 Election Impact on the Minnesota

and Wisconsin Agricultural Industry

Wisconsin Delegation- Kohl retiring, Johnson up in 2016- Ryan -68%;Baldwin running for Senate; Kind-

50%; Moore - 69%;Sensenbrenner- 69%; Petri-71%; Duffy-52%; and Ribble 55%

- Baldwin’s open seat, Dem’s think Duffy and Ribble are beatable

Minnesota Delegation- Klobuchar favored, Franken up in 2014- Walz,-49%; Kline-63%; Paulsen- 59%;

McCollum- 59%; Ellison- 68%; Bachman- 53%; Peterson-55%; and Cravaack- 48%- Walz and Cravaack races expected to be

competitive

Results for Our Delegations

- Familiar looking group - Impact on Coop Network will be who controls

the Senate and the White House- How do you view your member of

Congress?

2012 House/Senate Elections• House:

– All 435 seats– Only a limited number of races will be truly competitive.

– (242 Republicans, 191 Democrats)

• Senate:– Republicans: 9 Seats to defend

• NV and MA are the only two races that appear to be competitive.– Democrats: 25 Seats to defend

• Running for Re-election & Competitive: FL, MO, MT, NJ, OH, WV• Open & Competitive: CT, HI, NE, NM, VA, WI

House Elections•The following lists categorize those races currently believed to be competitive• 56 Republican seats and 41 Democratic seats

Mood of the country

- Record low approval of Congress

- 17% believe country is on the right track

- Do incumbents suffer?

Last Presidential Election - Voted for change (Obama)

Resulted in Health Care and Climate Change legislation

- Stimulus spending - Democrat’s took control of the government

- Ag on the defensive (EPA, Climate Change)

2010 Election - Rise of the Tea Party- Republican’s take the House on a limited government message- Cut Spending- Republican’s gain in the Senate

Presidential Election- Obama vs. ?- Issues

-Economy

- Size of government

- Social Issues

Impact of 2012 Election Agricultural Policy

-Who controls the House and Senate

- Who controls the White House

- Lame Duck legislative agenda

Who Could be the New Ag Players

- House- Limited Changes

- Senate- New Committee Chairs

- White House – Second Term

What’s on your mind?