WASHINGTON, DC – Approximately 90% of the Congressional candidates backed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) prevailed in yesterday’s hard-fought elections, as U.S. voters re-elected Barack Obama President and maintained the Democratic majority of the Senate and the Republican majority in the House.

“We congratulate President Obama on his victory, commend Governor Romney for a well run campaign, and thank Armenian American voters who went to the polls today in record numbers to support federal, state, and local candidates who support issues of special concern to our community. We look forward to getting to work right away in engaging with the Obama Administration and the incoming Congress to make progress on the full range of the Armenian American community’s public policy priorities.”

“We were greatly gratified to see such a large percentage of our Congressional endorsees win their races, including powerful advocates such as Senator Bob Menendez, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Representatives Adam Schiff, Ed Royce, Frank Pallone, and many others.”

On the Senate side, 12 out of 15 ANCA endorsed candidates emerged victorious, including senior Senate Foreign Relations Committee member and Armenian Genocide Resolution lead cosponsor Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Return of Churches Resolution lead cosponsor Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and incoming Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT). The only ANCA backed Senate candidates to lose were Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown, Virginia’s George Allen (R), and Nevada’s Shelly Berkley (D).

On the House side, the ANCA endorsed 130 candidates, of which only 12 were reported to have lost their re-election bids, with one race still pending. Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Ed Royce (R-CA) won their elections by wide margins. Rep. Royce was endorsed earlier today by outgoing House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) to become the next Chairman of that powerful committee during the 113th Congress. He may be challenged by another long-time supporter of Armenian American concerns, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ).

The two Armenian American Members of Congress – California Democrats Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier – each won broad support of the electorate. Among the key House races that the ANCA was following throughout the evening included House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Congressional Armenian Genocide Resolution lead cosponsor Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI), Lois Capps (D-CA), Jeff Denham (R-CA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Michael Grimm (R-NY), Janice Hahn (D-CA), Dina Titus (D-NV), David Valadao (R-CA), and Frank Wolf (R-VA). All won their races. In a highly competitive race between two long-time supporters of Armenian American concerns, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) defeated Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA).

Among the House races in which ANCA endorsed candidates were not successful were those involving Illinois Republican Robert Dold and Armenian American candidate Danny Tarkanian from Nevada.

Unprecedented Armenian American Community and Campaign Outreach:

In dozens of states and hundreds of Congressional Districts across the United States in which the ANCA endorsed candidates ran, the ANCA sent hundreds of thousands of customized e-mail messages to Armenian American voters. These messages featured the ANCA grade for each candidate, news about whether the ANCA has endorsed their campaign, and a listing of ANCA records and ratings for their state’s full Congressional delegation.

The ANCA’s final push built upon months of voter registration campaigns and community education and empowerment programs – led with the remarkably successful ANCA Western Region Hye Votes campaign. ANCA regional and local activists volunteered on campaigns and encouraged candidates to fill out the ANCA Candidate Questionnaire.

A key element of this effort, as in years past, has been ANCA Congressional Report Cards, a detailed review and rating of the records of each Congressional incumbent on more than a dozen individual legislative initiatives of special concern to Armenian American voters.

Click here to see the complete ANCA Report Cards from the 112th Congress, visit:

#####Listing of ANCA Endorsed Congressional Candidates and Election Results** Ordered by State, then by Senate and New House Congressional District (per the 2010 Census).
** Names are listed as follows: District, Name, (Party)

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Arizona
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3 Rep. Raul Grijalva (D) – won

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California
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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) – Senate – won
5 Rep. Mike Thompson (D) – won
6 Rep. Doris Matsui (D) – won
7 Rep. Dan Lungren (R) – RACE TOO CLOSE TO CALL
10 Rep. Jeff Denham (R) – won
12 Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) – won
13 Rep. Barbara Lee (D) – won
14 Rep. Jackie Speier (D) – won
15 Rep. Pete Stark (D) – lost
16 Rep. Jim Costa (D) – won
17 Rep. Michael Honda (D) – won
18 Rep. Anna Eshoo (D) – won
19 Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D) – won
21 David Valadao (R) – won
22 Rep. Devin Nunes (R) – won
23 Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R) – won
24 Rep. Lois Capps (D) – won
27 Rep. Judy Chu (D) – won
28 Rep. Adam Schiff (D) – won
29 Tony Cardenas (D) – won
32 Rep. Grace Napolitano (D) – won
33 Rep. Henry Waxman (D) – won
34 Rep. Xavier Becerra (D) – won
35 Rep. Joe Baca (D) – lost
37 Rep. Karen Bass (D) – won
38 Rep. Linda Sanchez (D) – won
39 Rep. Edward Royce (R) – won
40 Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D) – won
42 Rep. Ken Calvert (R) – won
44 Rep. Janice Hahn (D) – won
46 Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D) – won
48 Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R) – won
53 Rep. Susan Davis (D) – won

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Colorado
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1 Rep. Diana DeGette (D) – won
2 Rep. Jared Polis (D) – won
3 Sal Pace (D) – lost
4 Rep. Cory Gardner (R) – won
5 Rep. Douglas Lamborn (R) – won
6 Rep. Mike Coffman (R) – won
7 Rep. Edwin Perlmutter (D) – won

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Connecticut
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Rep. Chris Murphy (D) – Senate – won
1 Rep. John Larson (D) – won
2 Rep. Joe Courtney (D) – won
3 Rep. Rosa Delauro (D) – won
4 Rep. Jim Himes (D) – won

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Florida
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12 Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R) – won
18 Rep. Allen West (R) – lost
21 Rep. Ted Deutch (D) – won
24 Rep. Frederica Wilson (D) – won
25 Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R) – won
26 Rep. David Rivera (R) – lost

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Georgia
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11 Patrick Thompson (D) – lost

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Hawaii
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Rep. Mazie Hirono (D) – Senate – won

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Idaho
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1 Rep. Raul Labrador (R) – won

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Illinois
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1 Rep. Bobby Rush (D) – won
2 Rep. Jesse Jackson (D) – won
3 Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D) – won
5 Rep. Mike Quigley (D) – won
6 Rep. Peter Roskam (R) – won
7 Rep. Danny Davis (D) – won
9 Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D) – won
10 Rep. Robert Dold (R) – lost

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Indiana
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1 Rep. Peter Visclosky (D) – won

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Iowa
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1 Rep. Bruce Braley (D) – won

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Maine
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1 Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) – won
2 Rep. Michael Michaud (D) – won

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Maryland
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Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D) – Senate – won
3 Rep. John Sarbanes (D) – won
5 Rep. Steny Hoyer (D) – won
8 Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D) – won

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Massachusetts
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Sen. Scott Brown (R) – Senate – lost
1 Rep. Richard Neal (D) – won
2 Rep. James McGovern (D) – won
3 Rep. Niki Tsongas (D) – won
4 Joseph Kennedy III (D) – won
5 Rep. Edward Markey (D) – won
6 Rep. John Tierney (D) – won
7 Rep. Michael Capuano (D) – won
8 Rep. Stephen Lynch (D) – won
9 Rep. William Keating (D) – won

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Michigan
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Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) – Senate – won
6 Rep. Fred Upton (R) – won
9 Rep. Sander Levin (D) – won
12 Rep. John Dingell (D) – won
13 Rep. John Conyers (D) – won
14 Rep. Gary Peters (D) – won

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Minnesota
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) – Senate – won
1 Rep. Timothy Walz (D) – won
4 Rep. Betty McCollum (D) – won
7 Rep. Collin Peterson (D) – won

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Nebraska
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1 Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R) – won

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Nevada
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Rep. Shelley Berkley (D) – Senate – lost
1 Former Rep. Dina Titus (D) – won
4 Danny Tarkanian (R) – lost

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New Jersey
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Sen. Robert Menendez (D) – Senate – won
1 Rep. Robert Andrews (D) – won
2 Rep. Frank Lobiondo (R) – won
4 Rep. Christopher Smith (R) – won
5 Rep. Scott Garrett (R) – won
6 Rep. Frank Pallone (D) – won
8 Rep. Albio Sires (D) – won
11 Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R) – won
12 Rep. Rush Holt (D) – won

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New Mexico
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Rep. Martin Heinrich (D) – Senate – won

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New York
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1 Rep. Tim Bishop (D) – won
2 Rep. Peter King (R) – won
3 Rep. Steve Israel (D) – won
4 Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D) – won
10 Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D) – won
11 Rep. Michael Grimm (R) – won
12 Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D) – won
13 Rep. Charles Rangel (D) – won
14 Rep. Joseph Crowley (D) – won
16 Rep. Eliot Engel (D) – won
17 Rep. Nita Lowey (D) – won
20 Rep. Paul Tonko (D) – won
24 Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R) – lost
26 Rep. Brian Higgins (D) – won

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Ohio
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Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) – Senate – won
9 Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D) – won
16 Rep. Betty Sue Sutton (D) – lost

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Oregon
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4 Rep. Peter DeFazio (D) – won

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Pennsylvania
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1 Rep. Robert Brady (D) – won
2 Rep. Chaka Fattah (D) – won
3 Rep. Mike Kelly (R) – won
7 Rep. Patrick Meehan (R) – won
8 Kathy Boockvar (D) – lost
13 Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D) – won

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Rhode Island
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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) – Senate
1 Rep. David Cicilline (D) – won
2 Rep. James Langevin (D) – won

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Tennessee
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2 Rep. John Duncan (R) – won

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Texas
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29 Rep. Gene Green (D) – won
35 Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D) – won

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Vermont
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Sen. Bernard Sanders (I) – Senate – won
AL Rep. Peter Welch (D) – won

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Virginia
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Former Sen. George Allen (R) – Senate – lost
4 Rep. Randy Forbes (R) – won
7 Rep. Eric Cantor (R) – won
10 Rep. Frank Wolf (R) – won

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Washington
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1 John Koster (R) – lost
7 Rep. Jim McDermott (D) – won

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Wisconsin
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Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) – Senate – won
1 Rep. Paul Ryan (R) – won

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