Day 49: Election Prayer Focus Hawaii

Hawaii - Aloha State

Motto: Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono (The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness

Capital/Largest City: Honolulu

Leaders

Governor Linda Lingle (R)

Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D)

Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D)

1. Neil Abercrombie (D)
2. Mazie Hirono (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Hawaii.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Hawaii.
*Declare the people of Hawaii are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Hawaii walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Hawaii.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Hawaii.
*Declare protection over the state of Hawaii.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Hawaii.
*Declare Christians in Hawaii get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Hawaii.

First settled by Polynesians sailing from other Pacific islands between A.D. 300 and 600, Hawaii was visited in 1778 by British captain James Cook, who called the group the Sandwich Islands.
Hawaii was a native kingdom throughout most of the 19th century, when the expansion of the sugar industry (pineapple came after 1898) meant increasing U.S. business and political involvement. In 1893, Queen Liliuokalani was deposed, and a year later the Republic of Hawaii was established with Sanford B. Dole as president. Following annexation (1898), Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900.
The Japanese attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, was directly responsible for U.S. entry into World War II.
Hawaii, 2,397 mi west-southwest of San Francisco, is a 1,523-mile chain of islets and eight main islands—Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, other than Midway, are administratively part of Hawaii.
The temperature is mild, and cane sugar, pineapple, and flowers and nursery products are the chief products. Hawaii also grows coffee beans, bananas, and macadamia nuts. The tourist business is Hawaii's largest source of outside income.
Hawaii's highest peak is Mauna Kea (13,796 ft). Mauna Loa (13,679 ft) is the largest volcanic mountain in the world by volume. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108204.html)

Hawaii is the only state of the United States that
*is not geographically located in North America
*is completely surrounded by water
*has a royal palace
*does not have a straight line in its state boundary

*has two official languages recognized in its constitution adopted at the 1978 constitutional convention: English and Hawaiian.

Religion
Christian/351,000 (28.9%)

Buddhist/110,000 (9%)

Jewish/10,000 (0.8%)

Other*/750,000 (61.1%)
Other includes: agnostic or atheist, unaffiliated, Bahá'í, Confucian, Daoist, Druid, Hawaiian religion, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Shinto, Scientologist, Unitarian Universalist, Wiccan, Zoroastrian, etc. Hawaii has the lowest perentage of Christians of any state.

Health

Hawaii's health care system insures over 95% of residents. Under the state's plan, all businesses are required to provide employees who work more than twenty hours per week with health care. Heavy regulation of insurance companies helps keep the cost to employers down. In addition, due in part to the system's emphasis on preventive care, Hawaiians require hospital treatment less frequently than their counterparts in the rest of the United States, while total health care expenses (measured as a percentage of state GDP) are substantially lower. Given these achievements, proponents of universal health care elsewhere in the U.S. have sometimes used Hawaii as a model for proposed federal and state health care plans. Critics, however, claim that Hawaii's success is due at least in part to its mild climate and to its status as a chain of islands whose economy is heavily based on tourism: features that make it more difficult for businesses unhappy with paying the plan's premiums to relocate elsewhere.

Politics

Hawaii has supported Democrats in 10 of the 12 presidential elections in which it has participated with the exception of 1972 and 1984. In 2004, John Kerry won the state’s 4 electoral votes by a margin of 9 percentage points with 54% of the vote. Every county in the state supported the Democratic candidate.

In the 2008 election, Honolulu native Barack Obama, serving as United States Senator from Illinois has received enough delegates to clinch the nomination of the Democratic Party. Obama won the Hawaiian Democratic Caucus on February 19, 2008 with 76% of the vote. Obama is the third Hawaiian-born candidate to seek the nomination of a major party and the first presidential nominee to be from Hawaii.

Economy

The history of Hawaii can be traced through a succession of dominating industries: sandalwood, whaling, sugarcane, pineapple, military, tourism, and education. Since statehood was achieved in 1959, tourism has been the largest industry in Hawaii. Industrial exports from Hawaii include food processing and apparel. These industries play a small role in the Hawaii economy, however, due to the considerable shipping distance to the ports and population of the West Coast of the United States. Food exports include coffee, macadamia nuts, pineapple, livestock, and sugarcane.

Day 48: Election Prayer Focus California

California - Golden State

Motto: Eurika (I have found it!)
Capital City: Sacramento
Largest City: Los Angeles

Leaders
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
Senator Barbara Boxer (D)
Senator Diane Feinstein (D)
1. Mike Thompson (D)
2. Wally Herger (R)
3. Dan Lungren (R)
4. John T. Doolittle (R)
5. Doris Matsui (D)
6. Lynn C. Woolsey (D)
7. George Miller (D)
8. Nancy Pelosi (D) Current Speaker of the House
9. Barbara Lee (D)
10. Ellen O. Tauscher (D)
11. Jerry McNerney (D)
12. Jackie Speier (D)
13. Fortney Pete Stark (D)
14. Anna G. Eshoo (D)
15. Michael M. Honda (D)
16. Zoe Lofgren (D)
17. Sam Farr (D)
18. Dennis Cardoza (D)
19. George P. Radanovich (R)
20. Jim Costa (D)
21. Devin Nunes (R)
22. Kevin McCarthy (R)
23. Lois Capps (D)
24. Elton Gallegly (R)
25. Howard P. McKeon (R)
26. David Dreier (R)
27. Brad Sherman (D)
28. Howard L. Berman (D)
29. Adam B. Schiff (D)
30. Henry A. Waxman (D)
31. Xavier Becerra (D)
32. Hilda L. Solis (D)
33. Diane Watson (D)
34. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D)
35. Maxine Waters (D)
36. Jane Harman (D)
37. Laura Richardson (D)
38. Grace F. Napolitano (D)
39. Linda T. Sanchez (D)
40. Ed Royce (R)
41. Jerry Lewis (R)
42. Gary G. Miller (R)
43. Joe Baca (D)
44. Ken Calvert (R)
45. Mary Bono (R)
46. Dana Rohrabacher (R)
47. Loretta Sanchez (D)
48. John Campbell (R)
49. Darrell Issa (R)
50. Brian Bilbray (R)
51. Bob Filner (D)
52. Duncan Hunter (R)
53. Susan Davis (D)

Prayer Points

The State of California has the following initiatives on the ballot that could impact this state and potentially the rest of the nation. Please target these initiatives in prayer.

PROPOSITION 4 - WAITING PERIOD AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION BEFORE TERMINATION OF MINOR’S PREGNANCY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Changes California Constitution to prohibit abortion for unemancipated minor until 48 hours after physician notifies minor’s parent or legal guardian.
Permits notification to certain adult relatives if doctor reports parent to law enforcement or Child Protective Services.
Provides notification exceptions for medical emergency or parental waiver.
Permits courts to waive notice based on clear and convincing evidence of minor’s maturity or best interests.
Mandates reporting requirements, including reports from physicians regarding abortions on minors.
Authorizes damages against physicians for violation.
Requires minor’s consent to abortion, with exceptions.

PROPOSITION 8 - ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME–SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.
(http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_j.htm#2008General)

*Declare revival comes to the state of California.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in California.
*Declare the people of California are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of California walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of California and the state repays its enormous debt.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of California.
*Declare protection over the state of California.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in California.
*Declare Christians in California get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in California.

Although California was sighted by Spanish navigator Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542, its first Spanish mission (at San Diego) was not established until 1769. California became a U.S. territory in 1847 when Mexico surrendered it to John C. Frémont. On Jan. 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill, starting the California Gold Rush and bringing settlers to the state in large numbers. By 1964, California had surpassed New York to become the most populous state. One reason for this may be that more immigrants settle in California than any other state—more than one-third of the nation's total in 1994. Asians and Pacific Islanders led the influx.
Leading industries include agriculture, manufacturing (transportation equipment, machinery, and electronic equipment), biotechnology, aerospace-defense, and tourism. Principal natural resources include timber, petroleum, cement, and natural gas.
Death Valley, in the southeast, is 282 ft below sea level, the lowest point in the nation. Mt. Whitney (14,491 ft) is the highest point in the contiguous 48 states. Lassen Peak is one of two active U.S. volcanoes outside of Alaska and Hawaii; its last eruptions were recorded in 1917.
(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108187.html)

The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) dramatically changed California with a large influx of people and an economic boom. The early 20th century was marked by Los Angeles becoming the center of the entertainment industry, in addition to the growth of a large tourism sector in the state. Along with California's prosperous agricultural industry, other industries include aerospace, petroleum, and computer and information technology. California ranks amongst the ten largest economies in the world, and were it a separate country, it would be 35th among the most populous countries.

Religion
The largest christian denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 10,079,310; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 529,575; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 471,119. Jewish congregations had 994,000 adherents.
The state has the most Roman Catholics of any state and a large Protestant population, a large American Jewish community, and an American Muslim population.
With a Jewish population estimated at more than 550,000, Los Angeles has the second-largest Jewish community in North America.
California also has the largest Muslim community population in the United States, an estimated 3.4 percent of the population, mostly residing in Southern California. According to figures, approximately 100,000 Muslims reside in San Diego.
As the twentieth century came to a close, forty percent of all Buddhists in America resided in Southern California. The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area has become unique in the Buddhist world as the only place where representative organizations of every major school of Buddhism can be found in a single urban center. The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Northern California and Hsi Lai Temple in Southern California are two of the largest Buddhist temples in the Western Hemisphere. It also has a growing Hindu population.
California has more members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Temples than any state except Utah. Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have played important roles in the settlement of California throughout the state's history. For example, a group of a few hundred Mormon converts from the Northeastern United States and Europe arrived at what would become San Francisco in the 1840s aboard the ship Brooklyn, more than doubling the population of the small town. Before being called back to Utah by Brigham Young these settlers helped build up the city of Yerba Buena. A group of Mormons also established the city of San Bernardino in Southern California in 1851. According to the LDS Church 2007 statistics, just over 750,000 Mormons reside in the state of California, attending almost 1400 congregations statewide.
However, a Pew Research Center survey revealed that California is somewhat less religious than the rest of the US: 62 percent of Californians say they are "absolutely certain" of the belief in God, while in the nation 71 percent say so. The survey also revealed 48 percent of Californians say religion is "very important", while the figure for the United States is 56 percent. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California)

Economy
As of 2007, the gross state product (GSP) is about $1.812 trillion, the largest in the United States. California is responsible for 13 percent of the United States gross domestic product (GDP). As of 2006, California's GDP is larger than all but eight countries in the world. California is facing a $16 billion budget deficit for the 2008-09 budget year.
California is also the home of several significant economic regions, such as Hollywood (entertainment), Southern California (aerospace), the California Central Valley (agriculture), the Silicon Valley and Tech Coast (computers and high tech), and wine producing regions, such as the Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and Southern California's Santa Barbara and Paso Robles areas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California)

Politics
California is known for having a progressive political culture. In 2008, it was the second state in the country to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. In contrast, California had previously been the first state, via Proposition 22 in 2000, to pass a law declaring that only marriage between a man and a woman would be recognized. Yet, domestic partnerships were made available to citizens through a law created by the state legislature. Other contemporary values include California's leadership in renewable energy and climate change, as well as enacting statute to protect abortion rights.
Since 1990, California has generally elected Democratic candidates; however, the state has had little hesitance in electing Republican Governors, though many of its Republican Governors, such as Governor Schwarzenegger, tend to be considered "Moderate Republicans" and tend to be more liberal than the party itself.
Democratic strength is centered in coastal regions of Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area. The Democrats also hold a majority in Sacramento. The Republican strength is greatest in the San Joaquin Valley, which includes the growing cities of Stockton and Modesto. Orange County remains mostly Republican.
Overall, the trend in California politics has been towards the Democratic Party and away from the Republican Party. The trend is most obvious in presidential elections. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California)

Silly Laws
In 1930, the City Council of Ontario passed an ordinance forbidding roosters to crow within the city limits.
In Los Angeles, you cannot bathe two babies in the same tub at the same time.
It is illegal to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood Boulevard at one time.
In California, animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.
In Los Angeles, a man is legally entitled to beat his wife with a leather belt or strap, but the belt can't be wider than 2 inches, unless he has his wife's consent to beat her with a wider strap.
(http://www.main.com/~anns/other/humor/sillylaws.html)

Day 47: Election Prayer Focus Oregon

Oregon - Beaver State

Motto: She flies with her own wings

Capital City: Salem

Largest City: Portland

Leaders

Governor Ted Kulongoski (D)

Senator Gordan Smith (R)

Senator Ron Wyden (D)

1. David Wu (D)
2. Greg Walden (R)
3. Earl Blumenauer (D)
4. Peter A. DeFazio (D)
5. Darlene Hooley (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Oregon.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Oregon.
*Declare the people of Oregon are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Oregon walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Oregon.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Oregon.
*Declare protection over the state of Oregon.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Oregon.
*Declare Christians in Oregon get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Oregon.

Spanish and English sailors are believed to have sighted the Oregon coast in the 1500s and 1600s. Capt. James Cook, seeking the Northwest Passage, charted some of the coastline in 1778. In 1792, Capt. Robert Gray, in the Columbia, discovered the river named after his ship and claimed the area for the U.S.
In 1805 the Lewis and Clark expedition explored the area. John Jacob Astor's fur depot, Astoria, was founded in 1811. Disputes for control of Oregon between American settlers and the Hudson Bay Company were finally resolved in the 1846 Oregon Treaty, in which Great Britain gave up claims to the region.
Oregon has a $3.3 billion lumber and wood products industry, and an $859 million paper and allied manufacturing industry. Its salmon-fishing industry is one of the world's largest.
In agriculture, the state leads in growing peppermint, cover seed crops, blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries, black raspberries, and hazelnuts. It is second in raising hops, red raspberries, prunes, snap beans, and onions.
With the low-cost electric power provided by dams, Oregon has developed steadily as a manufacturing state. Leading manufactured items are lumber and plywood, metalwork, machinery, aluminum, chemicals, paper, food packing, and electronic equipment. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108262.html)

Oregon's largest private employer is Intel, located in the Silicon Forest area in Portland's west side. Nike and Precision Castparts are the only Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the state.

Politics

Oregonians have voted for the Democratic Presidential candidate in every election since 1988. The base of Democratic support is largely concentrated in the urban centers of the Willamette Valley. In both 2000 and 2004, the Democratic Presidential candidate won Oregon, but did so with majorities in only eight of Oregon's 36 counties. The eastern two-thirds of the state beyond the Cascade Mountains often votes Republican; in 2000 and 2004, George W. Bush carried every county east of the Cascades. However, the region's sparse population means that the more populous counties in the Willamette Valley usually carry the day in statewide elections. Oregon's politics are largely similar to those of neighboring Washington, for instance in the contrast between urban and rural issues.

Oregon has the nation's only doctor assisted suicide law, called the "Death with Dignity Law".

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon)

Religion
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 348,239; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 104,312; and the Assemblies of God with 49,357.
Of the U.S. states, Oregon has the fourth largest percentage of people identifying themselves as "non-religious", at 21 percent, after Colorado, Washington, and Vermont. However, 75-79% of Oregonians identify themselves as being Christian, and some hold deeply conservative convictions. During much of the 1990s a group of conservative Christians formed the Oregon Citizens Alliance, and unsuccessfully tried to pass legislation to prevent "gay sensitivity training" in public schools and legal benefits for homosexual couples.
Oregon also contains the largest community of Russian Old Believers to be found in the United States. Additionally, Oregon, particularly the Portland metropolitan area, has become known as a center of non-mainstream spirituality. The Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association, reported to be the largest such institution of its kind, is headquartered in Portland, and the popular New Age film What the Bleep Do We Know? was filmed and had its premiere in Portland. There are an estimated 6 to 10 thousand Muslims of various ethnic backgrounds in Oregon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon)

Economy

Oregon is also one of four major world hazelnut growing regions, and produces 95% of the domestic hazelnuts in the United States. While the history of the wine production in Oregon can be traced to before Prohibition, it became a significant industry beginning in the 1970s. In 2005, Oregon ranked third among U.S. states with 303 wineries. Due to regional similarities in climate and soil, the grapes planted in Oregon are often the same varieties found in the French regions of Alsace and Burgundy. In the northeastern region of the state, particularly around Pendleton, both irrigated and dryland wheat is grown. Oregon farmers and ranchers also produce cattle, sheep, dairy products, eggs and poultry.

Vast forests have historically made Oregon one of the nation's major timber production and logging states, but forest fires (such as the Tillamook Burn), over-harvesting, and lawsuits over the proper management of the extensive federal forest holdings have reduced the amount of timber produced.

High technology industries and services have been a major employer since the 1970s.

Oregon is also the home of large corporations in other industries. The world headquarters of Nike, Inc. are located near Beaverton. Medford is home to two of the largest mail order companies in the country: Harry and David Operations Corp. which sells gift items under several brands, and Musician's Friend, an international catalog and Internet retailer of musical instruments and related products.Medford is also home to the national headquarters of the Fortune 1000 company, Lithia Motors. Portland is home to one of the West's largest trade book publishing houses, Graphic Arts Center Publishing.

Oregon has one of the largest salmon-fishing industries in the world, although ocean fisheries have reduced the river fisheries in recent years.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon)

Loony Laws

Wait until Starbucks hears about this one! In Corvallis a woman isn't allowed to drink coffee after 6pm.

In Klamath Falls, Oregon it is still illegal to kick the heads off of rattlesnakes. This law was used when years ago, main street sidewalks were wooden. Rattlesnakes would pop their heads up through knot holes and people would kick at them, creating nasty smells from under those wooden sidewalks.

Day 46: Election Prayer Focus Washington

Washington - The Evergreen State

Motto: "by and by"

Capital City: Olympia

Largest City: Seattle

Leaders

Governor Christine Gregoire (D)

Senator Patty Murray (D)

Senator Maria Cantwell (D)

1. Jay Inslee (D)
2. Rick Larsen (D)
3. Brian Baird (D)
4. Doc Hastings (R)
5. Cathy McMorris (R)
6. Norman D. Dicks (D)
7. Jim McDermott (D)
8. Dave Reichert (R)
9. Adam Smith (D)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Washington.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Washington.
*Declare the people of Washington are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Washington walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Washington.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Washington.
*Declare protection over the state of Washington.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Washington.
*Declare Christians in Washington get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Washington.

As part of the vast Oregon Country, Washington territory was visited by Spanish, American, and British explorers—Bruno Heceta for Spain in 1775, the American Capt. Robert Gray in 1792, and Capt. George Vancouver for Britain in 1792–1794. Lewis and Clark explored the Columbia River region and coastal areas for the U.S. in 1805–1806.
Rival American and British settlers and conflicting territorial claims threatened war in the early 1840s. However, in 1846 the Oregon Treaty set the boundary at the 49th parallel and war was averted.
Washington is a leading lumber producer. Its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa and white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. The state holds first place in apples, lentils, dry edible peas, hops, pears, red raspberries, spearmint oil, and sweet cherries, and ranks high in apricots, asparagus, grapes, peppermint oil, and potatoes. Livestock and livestock products make important contributions to total farm revenue and the commercial fishing catch of salmon, halibut, and bottomfish makes a significant contribution to the state's economy.
Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other transportation equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals, and machinery.
Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, and water storage.
Among the major points of interest: Mt. Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades National Parks. Mount St. Helens, a peak in the Cascade Range, erupted in May 1980. Also of interest are Whitman Mission and Fort Vancouver National Historic Sites; and the Pacific Science Center and the Space Needle, in Seattle. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108286.html)

The state is named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. Residents are called "Washingtonians" (emphasis on the third syllable, pronounced as tone). Washington is often called Washington state or the State of Washington to distinguish it from the District of Columbia (which is usually called Washington, D.C.).

Religion
The religious affiliations of Washington's population are:
Christian – 63%
Protestant – 29%
Lutheran – 6%
Baptist – 6%
Methodist – 4%
Presbyterian – 3%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 10%
Catholic – 20%
Other Christian – 11%
Latter-day Saint – 3%
Other Religions – 5%
Refused – 6%
No religion – 25%
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 716,133; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 178,000; and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 127,854.
As with many other Western states, the percentage of Washington's population identifying themselves as "non-religious" is higher than the national average. The percentage of non-religious people in Washington is the highest of any state.

Politics

The state has been thought of as politically divided by the Cascade Mountains, with Western Washington being liberal (particularly the I-5 Corridor) and Eastern Washington being conservative. Lately however, Washington has voted for the Democratic Presidential candidate in every election since 1988. Spokane, the state's second largest city located in Eastern Washington, has been leaning more liberal, with one example being Democrat Maria Cantwell winning by a wide margin in the 2006 senate race against Republican Mike McGavick. Since the population is larger in the west, the Democrats usually fare better statewide. More specifically, the Seattle metro area (especially King County) generally delivers strong Democratic margins, while the outlying areas of Western Washington were nearly tied in both 2000 and 2004.

Washington is the first and only state in the country to have elected women to all three major statewide offices (Governor Chris Gregoire and U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell) at the same time.

Day 45: Election Prayer Focus Idaho

Idaho - The Gem State

Motto: It is forever

Capital/Largest City: Boise

Leaders

Governor C. L. Butch Otter (R)

Senator Larry E. Craig (R)

Senator Mike Crapo (R)

1. Bill Sali (R)
2. Mike Simpson (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Idaho.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Idaho.
*Declare the people of Idaho are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Idaho walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Idaho.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Idaho.
*Declare protection over the state of Idaho.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Idaho.
*Declare Christians in Idaho get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Idaho.

The region was explored by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1805–1806. It was then a part of the Oregon country, held jointly by the United States and Great Britain. Boundary disputes with Great Britain were settled by the Oregon Treaty in 1846, and the first permanent U.S. settlement in Idaho was established by the Mormons at Franklin in 1860.
After gold was discovered at Orofino Creek in 1860, prospectors swarmed into the territory, but they left little more than a number of ghost towns.
In the 1870s, growing white occupation of Indian lands led to a series of battles between U.S. forces and the Nez Percé, Bannock, and Sheepeater tribes.
Mining and lumbering have been important for years. Idaho ranks high among the states in silver, antimony, lead, cobalt, garnet, phosphate rock, vanadium, zinc, and mercury.
Agriculture is a major industry: The state produces about one fourth of the nation's potato crop, as well as wheat, apples, corn, barley, sugar beets, and hops.
The 1990s saw a remarkable growth in the high technology industries, concentrated in the metropolitan Boise area.
With the growth of winter sports, tourism now outranks other industries in revenue. Idaho's many streams and lakes provide fishing, camping, and boating sites. The nation's largest elk herds draw hunters from all over the world, and the famed Sun Valley resort attracts thousands of visitors to its swimming, golfing, and skiing facilities. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108207.html)

The Idaho landscape is rugged with some of the largest unspoiled natural areas in the United States. It is a Rocky Mountain state with abundant natural resources and scenic areas. The state has snow-capped mountain ranges, rapids, vast lakes and steep canyons. The waters of Snake River rush through Hells Canyon, the deepest canyon in the United States. Shoshone Falls plunges down rugged cliffs from a height greater than that of Niagara Falls. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho)

Religion

According to the 15th annual Idaho Public Policy study by the Social Science Research Center at BSU, the ambiguous religious affiliations of Idahoans break down roughly as follows.
Protestant – 29.3%
LDS (Mormon) – 22.8%
Catholic – 14.3%
Christian – 13.6%
None – 12.7%
Other – 7.2%
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 311,425; the Roman Catholic Church with 130,847; the Assemblies of God with 18,745; and the United Methodist Church with 17,683. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho)

Economy

Idaho is an important agricultural state, producing nearly one third of the potatoes grown in the United States.
Important industries in Idaho are food processing, lumber and wood products, machinery, chemical products, paper products, electronics manufacturing, silver and other mining, and tourism. The world's largest factory for barrel cheese, the raw product for processed cheese is located in Gooding, Idaho. It has a capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year of barrel cheese and belongs to the Glanbia group. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL), a government lab for nuclear energy research, is also an important part of the eastern Idaho economy. Idaho also is home to three facilities of Anheuser-Busch which provide a large part of the malt for breweries located across the nation.
Today, the largest industry in Idaho is the science and technology sector. It accounts for over 25% of the State's total revenue and 70%+ of the State's exports (in dollars). Idaho's industrial economy is growing, with high-tech products leading the way. Since the late 1970s, Boise has emerged as a center for semiconductor manufacturing. Boise is the home of Micron Technology Inc., the only U.S. manufacturer of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips. Hewlett-Packard, has operated a large plant in Boise, in southwestern Idaho, since the 1970s, which is devoted primarily to LaserJet printers production. Dell, Inc. operates a major customer support call center in Twin Falls. AMI Semiconductor, whose worldwide headquarter locates in Pocatello, is a widely recognized innovator in state-of-the-art integrated mixed-signal semiconductor products, mixed-signal foundry services and structured digital products. Coldwater Creek, a women's clothing retailer, is headquartered in Sandpoint. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho)

Politics
After the Civil War, many Southern Democrats moved to Idaho Territory. As a result, the early territorial legislatures were solidly Democrat-controlled. In contrast, most of the territorial governors were appointed by Republican Presidents and were Republicans themselves. This led to sometimes bitter clashes between the two parties. In the 1880s, Republicans became more prominent in local politics.
Since statehood, the Republican Party has usually been the dominant party in Idaho, as there was a polar shift in social and political stance between the two parties, when the Democrats became more liberal and the Republicans more conservative. In the 1890s and early 1900s, the Populist Party enjoyed prominence while the Democratic Party maintained a brief dominance in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Since World War II, most statewide elected officials have been Republicans. In modern times, Idaho has been a reliably Republican state in presidential politics as well. It has not supported a Democrat for president since 1964. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho)

Day 44: Election Prayer Focus Nevada

Nevada - Sagebrush State; Silver State; Battleborn State

Motto: All for Our Country

Capital City: Carson City

Largest City: Las Vegas

Leaders

Governor Jim Gibbons (R)

Senator Harry Reid (D)

Senator John Ensign (R)

1. Shelley Berkley (D)
2. Dean Heller (R)
3. Jon C. Porter (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Nevada.
*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Nevada.
*Declare the people of Nevada are open to receive the truth of the Gospel.
*Declare the leaders of Nevada walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Nevada.
*Declare heaven’s strategies come to the leaders of Nevada.
*Declare protection over the state of Nevada.
*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Nevada.
*Declare Christians in Nevada get out and vote according to Biblical principles.
*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Nevada.

Trappers and traders, including Jedediah Smith and Peter Skene Ogden, entered the Nevada area in the 1820s. In 1843–1845, John C. Frémont and Kit Carson explored the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. The U.S. obtained the region in 1848 following the Mexican War, and the first permanent settlement was a Mormon trading post near present-day Genoa.
The driest state in the nation, with an average annual rainfall of only about 7 in., much of Nevada is uninhabited, sagebrush-covered desert. The wettest part of the state receives about 40 in. of precipitation per year, while the driest spot has less than 4 in. per year.
Nevada was made famous by the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the richest known U.S. silver deposit, in 1859, and its mines have produced large quantities of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, mercury, barite, and tungsten. Oil was discovered in 1954. Gold now far exceeds all other minerals in value of production.
In 1931, the state created two industries, divorce and gambling. For many years, Reno and Las Vegas were the “divorce capitals of the nation.” More liberal divorce laws in many states have ended this distinction, but Nevada is still the gambling capital of the U.S. and a leading entertainment center. State gambling taxes account for 34.1% of general fund tax revenues. Although Nevada leads the nation in per capita gambling revenue, it ranks only tenth in total gambling revenue.
The state's leading agricultural industry is cattle and calves. Agricultural crops consist mainly of hay, alfalfa seed, barley, wheat, and potatoes.
Nevada manufactures gaming equipment; lawn and garden irrigation devices; titanium products; seismic and machinery monitoring devices; and specialty printing. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108242.html)

The state's nickname is "The Silver State" due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there. In 1864, Nevada became the 36th state to enter the union, and the phrase "Battle Born" on the state flag reflects the state's entry on the Union side during the American Civil War. Its first settlement was called Mormon Station.
Nevada is the seventh-largest state in area, and geographically covers the Mojave Desert in the south to the Great Basin in the north. About 86% of the state's land is owned by the U.S federal government under various jurisdictions both civilian and military. As of 2006, there were about 2.6 million residents, with over 85% of the population residing in the metropolitan areas around Las Vegas and Reno. The state is well known for its easy marriage and divorce proceedings, legalization of gambling and, in a few counties, legalized brothels.
In 2005, the state issued a specialty license plate via the Nevada Commission on Tourism that lists the name of the state as Nevăda to help with the pronunciation problem. The local pronunciation of the state's name is not /nəˈvæ.də/ (as in the "a" in "father"), but /nəˈvɑ.də/ (as in the "a" in "glad"). Local residents - particularly natives of the state - resent hearing Nevada's name pronounced differently in the national media, a problem that has crystallized with increased coverage of the state following the 2008 Presidential Primary Elections.

Gaming and Labor
Gambling erupted once more following a recession in the early 20th century, helping to build the city of Las Vegas.
Unregulated gambling was common place in the early Nevada mining towns but outlawed in 1909 as part of a nation-wide anti-gaming crusade. Due to subsequent declines in mining output and the decline of the agricultural sector during the Great Depression, Nevada re-legalized gambling on March 19, 1931, with approval from the legislature. At the time, the leading proponents of gambling expected that it would be a short term fix until the state's economic base widened to include less cyclical industries. However, re-outlawing gambling has never been seriously considered since, and the industry has become Nevada's primary source of revenue today.
The Hoover Dam, located outside Las Vegas near Boulder City, was constructed in the years 1932–1935. Thousands of workers from across the country came to build the dam, and providing for their needs in turn required many more workers. The boom in population is likely to have fueled the re-legalization of gambling, alike present-day industry. Both Hoover Dam and later war industries such as the Basic Magnesium Plant first started the growth of the southern area of the state near Las Vegas. Over the last 75 years, Clark County has grown in relation to the Reno area, and today encompasses most of the state's population.

Nuclear Testing
The Nevada Test Site, 65 miles (105 km) Northwest of the City of Las Vegas, was founded on January 11, 1951 for the testing of nuclear weapons. The site is composed of approximately 1,350 square miles (3,500 km2) of desert and mountainous terrain. Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site began with a one-kiloton of TNT (4 terajoule) bomb dropped on Frenchman Flats on January 27, 1951. The last atmospheric test was conducted on July 17, 1962 and the underground testing of weapons continued until September 23, 1992. The location is known for the highest amount of concentrated nuclear detonated weapons in the U.S. It is also the home of Area 51.
Over 80% of the state's area is owned by the federal government. The primary reason for this is that homesteads were not permitted in large enough sizes to be viable in the arid conditions that prevail throughout desert Nevada. Instead, early settlers would homestead land surrounding a water source, and then graze livestock on the adjacent public land, which is useless for agriculture without access to water (this pattern of ranching still prevails). The deficiencies in the Homestead Act as applied to Nevada were probably due to a lack of understanding of the Nevada environment, although some firebrands (so-called "Sagebrush Rebels") maintain that it was due to pressure from mining interests to keep land out of the hands of common folk.

Religion
Major religious affiliations of the people of Nevada are:
Roman Catholic – 27%
Protestant
Mainline – 11%
Evangelical – 13%
Other Protestant – 2%
Latter-day Saint/ Mormon – 11%
Muslim – 2%
Jewish – 1%
Other Religions – 1%
Unaffiliated – 20%

Politics

Registration is nearly evenly split between the two major parties. According to official statistics, 38.1% of voters are registered Republicans, 41.7% are Democrats and the remaining 20.1% are considered Independents. As a result, Nevada remains a swing state in both state and federal politics.

Nevada Laws

In 1900, Nevada's population was the smallest of all states and was shrinking, as the difficulties of living in a "barren desert" began to outweigh the lure of silver for many early settlers. Historian Lawrence Friedman has explained what happened next:
Nevada, in a burst of ingenuity, built an economy by exploiting its sovereignty. Its strategy was to legalize all sorts of things that were illegal in California ... after easy divorce came easy marriage and casino gambling.
Even prostitution is legal in Nevada (under the form of licensed brothels) in most rural counties (it is however illegal in Clark County, which contains Las Vegas, in Washoe County, which contains Reno, in Carson City, and in two other counties).

Nevada's early reputation as a "divorce haven" arose from the fact that, prior to the no-fault divorce revolution in the 1970s, divorces were quite difficult to obtain in the United States. Already having legalized gambling and prostitution, Nevada continued the trend of boosting its profile by adopting one of the most liberal divorce statutes in the nation.

Day 43: Election Prayer Focus Utah

Utah - Beehive State

Motto: Industry

Capital/Largest City: Salt Lake City

Leaders

Governor John Huntsman, Jr. (R)

Senator Robert F. Bennett (R)

Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R)

1. Rob Bishop (R)
2. Jim Matheson (D)
3. Chris Cannon (R)

Prayer Points

*Declare revival comes to the state of Utah.

*Declare signs and wonders follow the preaching of the Word in Utah.

*Declare the people of Utah are open to the truth of the Gospel.

*Declare divine strategies come to Christian leaders to effectively evangelize the people of Utah.

*Declare the leaders of Utah walk in wisdom and the fear of the Lord.

*Declare prosperity comes to the state of Utah.

*Declare protection over the state of Utah.

*Declare protection over the National Guard, military personnel, and military bases in Utah.

*Declare Christians in Utah get out and vote for the party platfom that lines up with the Word of God.

*Declare an accurate accounting of the vote in Utah.

*Declare an expansion of Christian media in Utah.

The region was first explored for Spain by Franciscan friars Escalante and Dominguez in 1776. In 1824 the famous American frontiersman Jim Bridger discovered the Great Salt Lake.
Fleeing religious persecution in the East and Midwest, the Mormons arrived in 1847 and began to build Salt Lake City. The U.S. acquired the Utah region in the treaty ending the Mexican War in 1848, and the first transcontinental railroad was completed with the driving of a golden spike at Promontory Summit in 1869.
Mormon difficulties with the federal government about polygamy did not end until the Mormon Church renounced the practice in 1890, six years before Utah became a state.
Rich in natural resources, Utah has long been a leading producer of copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc, and molybdenum. Oil has also become a major product. Utah shares rich oil shale deposits with Colorado and Wyoming. Utah also has large deposits of low sulphur coal.
The state's top agricultural commodities include cattle and calves, dairy products, hay, greenhouse and nursery products, and hogs.
Utah's traditional industries of agriculture and mining are complemented by increased tourism and growing aerospace, biomedical, and computer-related businesses. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108279.html)

Utah is known for being one of the most religiously homogeneous states in the Union, with approximately 58 percent of its adult inhabitants claiming membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church or the LDS Church), which greatly influences Utah culture and daily life. It is also known for geological diversity ranging from snowcapped mountains to well-watered river valleys to rugged, stony deserts and open plains.
The state is a center of transportation, information technology and research, government services and mining as well as a major tourist destination for outdoor recreation. St. Georg, Utah was the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000–2005 with Utah being the sixth fastest growing state overall in 2006.

Morman Settlement

Following the assassination of Joseph Smith, Jr., in Carthage, Illinois, in 1844, the more than 11,000 Latter-Day Saints remaining in Nauvoo, IL struggled in conflict with neighbors until Brigham Young, the President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, emerged as the leader of the largest portion.
Brigham Young and the first band of Mormon pioneers came to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Over the next 22 years, more than 70,000 pioneers crossed the plains and settled in Utah. For the first few years, Brigham Young and the thousands of early settlers of Salt Lake City struggled to survive. The barren desert land was deemed by the Mormons as desirable as a place they could practice their religion without interference.
It is not widely known that Utah was the source of many pioneer settlements located elsewhere in the West. From the beginning, Salt Lake City was seen as only the hub of a "far-flung commonwealth" of Mormon settlements. Fed by a constant supply of church converts coming from the East and around the world, Church leaders often assigned groups of church members to establish settlements throughout the West. Beginning with settlements along Utah's Wasatch front (Salt Lake City, then Bountiful and Weber Valley, then Provo and Utah Valley), irrigation enabled the establishment of fairly large pioneer populations in an area that Jim Bridger had advised Young would be inhospitable for the cultivation of crops because of frost. Throughout the remainder of the 1800s, Mormon pioneers called by Brigham Young would leave Salt Lake City and establish hundreds of other settlements in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, California, Canada, and Mexico. At the time, Young had an expansionist's view of the territory he and the Mormon pioneers were settling, calling it Deseret - which church founder Smith had taught meant "honeybee" - hence the beehive which can still be found on the Utah flag, and the state's motto, "Industry."

Religion
A majority of the state's residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly referred to as the Mormons or the LDS Church. As of 2007, the percentage of Utahns that are counted as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is 60.7 percent of the state's population. The Salt Lake Tribune has projected that Latter-day Saints may no longer be a majority in the state, not just the case in Salt Lake City, as early as 2030, though the LDS Church refuted the Tribune's findings by publicly reporting its end-of-year 2007 statistics in January 2008 that 1.8 million (or 72 percent of total Utahns) are recorded on its rolls.
The LDS Church's doctrine's has historically had a strong regional influence and as historically law makers have been church members, the effect has contributed to the state's restrictiveness towards alcohol and gambling. Another doctrine effect can be seen in its high birth rate (25 percent higher than the national average; the highest for a state in the U.S.). The Mormons in Utah tend to have conservative views when it comes to most political issues and the majority of voter-age Utahns are unaffiliated voters (60%) who vote overwhelmingly Republican.
The self identified religious affiliations of adults (note that numbers below do not include children, a possible cause of the disparity with the percentage identified above, though it does include non-lds mormons) living in Utah are:
Latter day saints/Mormon 58%
Unaffiliated 16%
Catholic 10%
Evangelicals 7%
Mainline Protestants 6%
Black Protestant Churches 1%
Don't know or Refused to specify 1%
Totals are rounded. Jehovah's Witness, Orthodox, Other Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and other world religions each make up less than .5%. Other faiths total 1%.

Early suffrage
Utah granted full voting rights to women in 1870, 26 years before becoming a state. Among all U.S. states, only Wyoming granted suffrage to women earlier. However, in 1887 the Edmunds-Tucker Act was passed by Congress in an effort to curtail excessive Mormon influence in the territorial government. One of the provisions of the Act was the repeal of suffrage; full suffrage was not returned until Utah was admitted to the Union in 1896. To this day, Utah is one of the 15 states that has not ratified the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment.

Politics

Utah votes predominately Republican. Self-identified Latter-day Saints are more likely to vote for Republican ticket than non-Mormons, and Utah is one of the most Republican states in the nation. Utah is much more conservative than the United States as a whole, particularly on social issues. Compared to other Republican-dominated states in the Mountain West such as Wyoming, Utah politics have a more moralistic and less libertarian character.

Miscellaneous

Due to its high total birth rate (highest of any state in the U.S.), Utah has the youngest population of any state.

Utah ranks 47th in teenage pregnancy, last in percentage of births out of wedlock, last in number of abortions per capita, and last in percentage of teen pregnancies terminated in abortion. Statistics relating to pregnancies and abortions may be artificially low from teenagers going out of state for abortions because of parental notification requirements.

Utah has the lowest child povertyrate in the country, despite its young demographics.

According to Internal Revenue Service tax returns, Utahns rank first among all U.S. states in the proportion of income given to charity by the wealthy.

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Utah has the highest rate of volunteerism.

Jell-O is the official snack food of Utah, giving rise to the term the Jell-O Belt

.
According to the National Restaurant Association, Utah has the lowest rate of restaurants per capita, with 4,691 restaurants at a rate of 1.90 restaurants per person.

According to Walmart, Utah has the fewest number of Walmart stores per capita at .081 per 100,000 people.

High School Musical 3 was filmed in Salt Lake City at East High School.

Home of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.