After Steve Scalise won the special election this spring with over 75% of the vote, most Democrats wrote off this election for November. That is, until Jim Harlan stepped up to the plate. With a large personal fortune to invest, Harlan has been running one of the DCCC’s “Emerging Races” and one of SSP’s “Races to Watch.”
Things just got a whole lot more interesting. Via e-mail:
Jim asked us to send you some secret campaign information asap, before it hits the papers. I think you will be pleased.
Jim has moved to within 11 points of Steve Scalise after starting from 53 points behind. Now, Scalise is 8 points below 50% – a devastating position for any incumbent but a particularly big problem for Scalise who has only been in office since the Spring of 2008 and only won with 33,000 total votes.
Some quick arithmetic points to a 42-31 race. That’s certainly winnable, especially as Harlan hits Scalise hard on hurricane relief:
Things are looking good in Louisiana.
a rare, really good ad. I hope he’s airing that on televisions all over the place because if he is has no reason but to move up[ in the polls. Knowing Louisiana politics, I doubt people will find the attacks that hard to believe. It definitely helsp to be running as an independent minded businessman, an outsider, clean and ethical. I doubt he can win, but it be nice to hold Scalise to a 55 to sixty percent vote total in a district John McCain’s probably going to rack up at least 75% of the vote in.
Sorry, but I don’t buy that for a second. I’d be stunned if we came any closer than 60-40 in the end. Sounds like we have a good candidate, but just being a Democrat is a kiss of death in that district.
for a democrat to win in LA-01. even if he is a DINO, he’s still much better than any republican that district could elect. and he is keeping scalise tied down, unable to help other republicans in the state. If we win LA-04 or LA-07, we have Harlan to thank.