• NC-Sen: If Richard Burr wants to be re-elected, there’s one big problem he’s going to have to overcome: his constituents don’t seem to have any idea who he is. PPP finds that his approval ratings are only 35%. That sounds dire, but he’s actually on the plus-side of the ledger, with 32% disapproval. That leaves 33% who don’t know, which is huge considering that he’s been in office for more than four years now. They also run a head-to-head for Burr against Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (who seems to have no intention to run); Burr wins 43-35.
• CA-10: The field in California’s 10th district to replace Ellen Tauscher in a special election seems to be taking shape. As expected, the district’s two heavyweights, state senator Mark DeSaulnier and assemblyman Tom Torlakson (who recently swapped seats because of term limits), are jockeying for position. (Politico suggests several other possible Dems include assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, and Santa Monica city councilor and Kennedy clan member Bobby Shriver, who’s interested despite currently being about 400 miles outside the district.) While Obama won the district 65-33, the GOP isn’t going down without a fight; their possible candidates include San Ramon mayor Abram Wilson and former 49er Bret Jones.
• CT-Sen: Chris Dodd, who already has enough egg on his face to make a big omelette, got even messier with his admission that he inserted the language that allowed payment of the AIG bonuses. Nevertheless, he told the Hartford Courant today that he’s not retiring and is still in the race for 2010.
• OK-05: Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett, a potential contender for the open seat being vacated by gubernatorial candidate Mary Fallin, was making the rounds on Capitol Hill today. Cornett, who lost in the primary to Fallin in 2006, is still officially undecided on the race. The Club for Growth has already endorsed former state rep. Kevin Calvey. Other possible GOPers in the race include Corporation Commissioners Jeff Cloud and Bob Anthony, state senators Todd Lamb and Glenn Coffee, and state rep. Mike Thompson.
• LA-02: The NRCC isn’t letting go of this one without at least some token efforts; NRCC leaders Pete Sessions and Mike Rogers, along with Charles Boustany, are hosting a lunchtime fundraiser for Joe Cao today.
He really is the epitamy of a backbencher. Of all the freshmen in the Senate only Mel Martinez even comes close to his Burr’s invisibility.
As for LA-02, my guess is they are only putting in a little effort because Cao is an incumbent and they want to be seen helping all of their people, regardless of whether they have any chance of re-election. Heck, they only have 170 something Congressmen left anyway.
http://www.openleft.com/showDi…
If Dodd did back down under pressure from the treasury department and the white house, then I think we still owe him our support, or at least much less flak than he’s getting.
It’s the one Oklahoma district that Obama lost the least ground in (or the only one that he made up some ground in) compared to 2004, isn’t it?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITI…
I don’t think folks understand North Carolina or what happened here in 2008. First of all, the “fundamentals” behind Dole were weak from the start. The two things we threw at her, her effectiveness and her visits to the state are something that Burr has no problem with. He was in the Senate two years less than her yet ranked 24 spots higher in the same rankings. Beyond that, he is much more visible, personable and humble than she was.
I think we can definitely pull it off, but it will take alot more effort than in 2008. We won alot of races simply because of straight ticket voting – check the SBOE website and you can see the breakdowns. I’m not convinced those numbers will be there for us in 2010.