IL-14 was bad. LA-06 was worse. But if you're an ass-scratching member of the Boehner caucus, the very real scenario of receiving a back-breaking loss in Mississippi next week is too terrifying to even begin imagining.
That's why the GOP is calling in the cavalry to stop Democrat Travis Childers:
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) presented a multi-faceted plan to retain the Mississippi seat to the House Republican Young Guns group on Tuesday. The plan is designed to get staff on the ground and checks to Davis.
"We need boots on the ground. This is going to be about voter turnout," Westmoreland said. "So it's a matter of having enough people to go door to door, to go to Wal-Mart and Home Depot to get [Davis's] message out."
Westmoreland and several other members have dispatched staff to Mississippi to do just that. Others, like Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), have supported Davis financially.
"One thing that the Young Guns do is engage in races," said McCarthy.
Young Guns? More like City Slickers II.
Or maybe Blazing Saddles.
No, wait -- I've got it: Two Mules For Sister Sara.
This has got to be the 9th or 10th round of polling that the NRCC has commissioned here. (Update: I checked -- it's actually the 8th round.) Interesting that they haven't released the toplines from any of them.
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who had been widely rumored to be interested in running for governor in 2010, said at a staff meeting this morning that he plans to seek re-election when his term is up in two years.
Isakson's spokeswoman Sheridan Watson confirmed this afternoon that the first-term Senator told his staff that he wants to remain in the Senate rather than make his second run at the governor's mansion.
Somewhat surprising, but I'm not sure that this shakes up the 2010 map much at all -- Georgia is becoming an increasingly perilous place for statewide Democratic hopefuls, and there is no obvious frontrunner waiting in the wings to take this race on for Team Blue next cycle.
Here's a further sign that the House Democratic Caucus is taking this open seat race in Mississippi very seriously. The Politico has the scoop:
Democrat Travis Childers is not yet an elected member of Congress, but party leaders are already keeping a seat on the Agriculture Committee warm for him should he be successful in the Mississippi special election on Tuesday.
Should Childers beat Republican Greg Davis, the newest member of Congress would come to Washington as lawmakers finish work on a massive farm, a bill loaded with subsidies for farmers across the country - including those in the rural parts of the state Childers needs most to pick up the GOP seat. Lawmakers wrapped up work on that farm bill on Thursday, but Childers could still get some easy headlines if Congress approves it next week. It might even be one of his first votes if he wins. [...]
A Democratic leadership aide confirmed Thursday that Childers would be appointed to the Agriculture Committee if he wins next week. That news could give him a boost where he needs it most; the Democrat is trying to play the rural parts of the district against the more suburban communities outside Memphis, where Davis resides. Even Republicans have acknowledged their candidate has come from the "wrong" part of the district.
This would be a great gig for Childers, and certainly a boon for Northeast Mississippi.
On another note, we're only $35 short of $3000 for Travis Childers on our Actblue page. Will a hero step forward and put us over the top?
National Republican leaders have "lost all faith" in Rep. Vito Fossella and are poised to begin polling in the 13th CD on potential candidates to take his place on the ballot, despite the fact that he has yet to make a definitive statement about his future political plans.
The poll could start as early as today, according to a Washington GOP source, and will likely include at least two names: Sen. Andrew Lanza and Staten Island DA Dan Donovan.
Another national GOP source said Fossella's fellow House minority members were "shocked" to learn of his "double life," and his admission that he fathered a child out of wedlock with retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, Laura Fay.
While the Democratic field for this seat includes Brooklynites Stephen Harrison and Domenic Recchia, national Democrats may be looking for an upgrade:
Crain's reported this morning that the DCCC has been calling Assemblyman Mike Cusick in hopes of coaxing him into the race. Certain Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are floating Sen. Diane Savino's name.
Cusick hails from Staten, so he's probably the best bet here. Savino's seat is too precious for Senate Democrats, who need two pick-ups this fall in order to take the majority.
I have had a relationship with Laura Fay, with whom I have a three-year-old daughter. My personal failings and imperfections have caused enormous pain to the people I love and I am truly sorry. While I understand that there will be many questions, including those about my political future, making any political decisions right now are furthest from my mind. Over the coming weeks and months, I will to continue to do my job and I will work hard to heal the deep wounds I have caused.
Still no official word yet on whether he will resign or retire, as is widely expected.
Update (James): John Boehner is asking Fossella to make a decision on his political future over the weekend. Will Fossella bother to follow the hapless Boehner's timetable? Remember, Rick Renzi flipped the bird to Boehner when he asked the embattled Arizona incumbent to step down earlier this year.
The NRCC posted an additional expenditure of $21,000 in Mississippi today on direct mail and yet another poll. All told, the NRCC has spent about $50,000 on polling in this district. Sure doesn't bode well for Team Red that they haven't released any toplines from these polls so far.
The DCCC posted another big investment in Mississippi tonight: $195,000. The expenditures include: $130,000 in media buys, $1200 on phonebanking, $46,000 on direct mail, $12,000 on media production, and $6000 on field organizing for Travis Childers.
The new expenditures bring the total party expenditures in this district to a whopping $1,618,690 for the DCCC, and $1,052,296 for the NRCC. I've also been told that Freedom's Crotch Watch has spent an estimated $450,000 in media buys here -- and possibly more, since they haven't been posting their electioneering reports as required by law.
If you want to make a contribution to Travis Childers, tonight is the last best time for your money to make an impact.
In the wake of a red-hot extramarital scandal, the Washington Post's Mary Ann Akers picks up the inside buzz that this term will be Staten Island Republican Vito Fossella's last:
The consensus on Capitol Hill is: Vito is finito.
The clock is ticking on Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) -- or "Vino" Fossella, as the New York tabloids have taken to calling him -- who is battling not just drunken driving charges but much more personally scandalous allegations that could damage his party's prospects in the November congressional elections.
GOP political insiders say Fossella, whose blood-alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit when he was busted at 12:15 a.m. last Thursday, stands little chance of running for reelection at this point, and their Democratic counterparts agree. Buzz on the Hill and around town Wednesday was that Fossella would be announcing sooner rather than later that he won't seek another term in what has quickly become a hotly contested seat for embattled Republicans. Fossella was not voting in the House Wednesday. [...]
GOP aides speaking on the condition of anonymity said they expected Fossella would announce imminently that he won't seek reelection. But Fossella spokesman Craig Donner tells the Sleuth that no announcement or press conference is planned.
The last thing that the GOP needs is an open seat battle in this D+0.8 district. On both a macro and a micro level, this year is shaping up to be a major disaster for the GOP.
