Ever since Missouri citizens voted in favor of Proposition B—the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act—in November, a few politicians have been thumbing their noses at voters and talking about overturning the will of the people. One bill has already been pre-filed to repeal Prop B in its entirety, and others are expected to severely weaken or gut the core provisions of the measure.

There are still a few congressional races to be decided with absentee and provisional votes being counted, but the broader results are in and it's an opportunity to take stock of how animal advocates fared on the ballot. And one of the markers of our progress is to compare how our endorsed candidates did with those of other political adversaries.

Just days after a majority of Missouri voters approved Proposition B to crack down on puppy mill abuses in the nation’s largest puppy mill state and while provisional ballots are still being counted, a few Missouri politicians have pledged to work to overturn the initiative and to substitute their own judgment for the wisdom of the people. There is talk of a flurry of bills to be introduced in January to repeal the law.

It was a big election night for animals, with major victories against the puppy mill industry and agribusiness lobby in Missouri, and against the NRA and trophy hunting lobby in Arizona.

In less than 24 hours, voters will head to their polling precincts and cast their ballots on candidates and issues across the country. There is much at stake for animal protection in tomorrow’s contests, including whether some of our leading animal advocates in Congress will return to Washington in 2011, and whether voters will decide to ban canned hunts and crack down on puppy mill abuses.

This week the Humane Society Legislative Fund launched a TV ad campaign in North Dakota, featuring North Dakota hunters who support Measure 2, a ballot initiative seeking to ban the unfair and unsporting practice of shooting tame deer and elk in fenced enclosures.

The readers of more than 700 newspapers in 20 countries this weekend were given a special treat with their Sunday comics: Patrick McDonnell’s popular MUTTS strip is spreading the word about Missouri’s puppy mills and calling on readers to take action to save dogs.

Missouri’s two largest newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Kansas City Star, today offered resounding endorsements of Proposition B, and urged Missouri citizens to vote Yes on this measure to stop puppy mill abuses by establishing common-sense standards for the care of dogs.

Meet Lucky. Lucky was rescued from a Missouri puppy mill last year. Ellen Lucas, a dog breeder and breed rescue coordinator who bought Lucky from a Missouri dog auction for a token amount of money, says, "When I got him he smelled, was covered in mats, could not eat from a bowl, did not know what a biscuit was, had never seen a toy, had never been on a leash, and had lived in a two-by-two-foot cage his entire one-and-a-half years. He is adorable now and Velcroed to my hip."

The midterm elections are just two weeks away, and there are dozens of competitive races around the country that will have an impact on animal protection. The Humane Society Legislative Fund has endorsed more than 300 candidates in the upcoming contests, and today launched four television ad campaigns supporting congressional champions for the humane treatment of animals in key districts from the Inland Empire to the Great Lakes to the Bayou.