Although legal challenges by President Trump injected uncertainty, the results of the Nov. 3 election were pointing to a victory by Democrat Joe Biden as of Nov. 5.
Biden commended 264 electoral college votes to 214 for Trump on Nov. 5, the Associated Press estimated, but the outcomes of Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania had not been finalized. Two hundred seventy votes in the electoral college will win the presidential election.
In the House of Representatives, Republicans gained a few seats, and Democrats were expected to fall short in their bid to take control of the Senate.
Some analysts said the fact that the Democrats won’t control the Senate could temper the ambitions for a progressive agenda by the Biden administration also make Cabinet appointments more centrist.
On the morning of Nov. 5, the Associated Press had reported that Republicans had gained six seats, with 395 of the 435 seats called and 40 still too close to name a winner.
“If you’re playing a game of poker, you would rather have Biden’s hand than Trump’s,” Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council. While it appears the votes in the key battleground states were coming down in Biden’s favor, Quarles said all the votes have to be counted.
Congress surprises
Perhaps the biggest surprise, Quarles said, is the fact that Republicans outperformed expectations in both the House and the Senate.
“The Republicans have fared very well,” he said. “All of the predictions about a big (Democratic) wave are not really materializing, so that is the big shock right now.”
Quarles said Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins won reelection in a challenging contest.
“All of the polls had her losing big and she really closed hard and did an amazing job,” Quarles said. Collins is supportive of potato growers and the specialty crops industry, he said. “Her knowledge of our industry, and also her seniority on the appropriations committee, is really important.”
A big loss for agriculture, Quarles said, was the defeat of Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn. and chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Peterson had been in office since 1991.
Peterson was a conservative Democrat who worked well with Republicans on farm bill issues and also has had an outstanding collection of staff in his office, Quarles said.
“It is going to be hard to replace that,” Quarles said. “He could tamp down some of the some of the challenges that emerged from an increasingly of left-leaning caucus in the House.”
Replacements for Peterson as House Agriculture Committee chair could be Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., or Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio.
With the retirement of House Agriculture ranking member Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, both parties will have new leadership on the House Agriculture Committee in 2021.
Also retiring is Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Quarles said his likely replacement is Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.,
“With the retirement of Roberts and Conaway, you will have three new chairman and ranking members sitting across the table from each other when they start writing the new farm bill.” The current farm bill expires in 2023.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee is the only one of the “big four” party leaders who will return in 2021.
Outlook
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been well-liked by agriculture leaders, Quarles said. If Biden does win the White House, that will be an important spot to get right.
“Secretary Perdue was a former governor and he knew how the department was supposed to operate, and he has been very, very efficient in implementing a new farm bill,” Quarles said. Perdue also did well in administering COVID-19 relief programs for farmers, Quarles said.
Since he lost his seat in Minnesota, Peterson may be an obvious option for Secretary of Agriculture, said Hunt Shipman, principal and director at Cornerstone Government Affairs, speaking at Produce Marketing Association Virtual Town Hall event on Nov. 4.
Quarles said that Heidi Heitkamp, former Democratic U.S. Senator from North Dakota, would also be a good choice.
“If someone like a Heidi Heitkamp is nominated to be Secretary of Agriculture, it gives a pretty good signal that the Biden administration wants to make a significant outreach to rural America and get that piece of the puzzle right.”
Quarles said one issue to keep an eye on in the next few weeks is the debate over another COVID-19 stimulus bill. In addition, a continuing resolution that keeps the government running will expire Dec. 11.
“Attention is going to turn very rapidly to how do we keep the government running and trying to avoid a government shutdown,” he said.
