• NY-20 (pdf): This morning’s update from the BoE has Scott Murphy’s lead increasing a bit, up to 56 votes. Brace yourself for later today, though, when Saratoga County (Jim Tedisco’s base) is scheduled to report absentees for the first time.
• PA-Sen: Arlen Specter picked up an important backer in the 2010 primary: NRSC chair John Cornyn (who’d, of course, like to limit the number of seats lost on his watch). “As I survey the political landscape of the upcoming 2010 elections, it’s clear we need more candidates that fit their states,” said Cornyn. Although Cornyn doesn’t mention his name, he obviously has in mind a guy who doesn’t fit his state: Pat Toomey, who just happened to officially announce his long-rumored Senate bid yesterday.
• MN-Sen: No surprise here; Norm Coleman, having lost the election yesterday according to a three-judge panel, has filed an appeal with the Minnesota Supreme Court. Election law blogger Rick Hasen looks at yesterday’s opinion and the difficulty Coleman will face in getting it reversed.
• FL-Sen: Marco Rubio reported raising $250,000 in the last month since opening his exploratory committee, a solid start. Meanwhile, Kendrick Meek continued to dominate the labor endorsement front, picking up the nod from the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO.
• IL-10: State senator Susan Garrett says she’ll decide within the month whether or not to challenge Mark Kirk (sounding like she’s trying to wait as long as possible to see if Kirk jumps into the senate race and leaves an open seat). Kirk has turned back a number of serious challenges in the 3rd-most Dem-leaning district still occupied by a Republican (won by Obama with 61% of the vote).
• NV-02: A credible Democratic challenger to Dean Heller has materialized. Douglas County school board president Cindy Trigg plans to announce her candidacy next week. This district, once a Republican stronghold, went for McCain by less than 100 votes.
• ID-01: Walt Minnick just got some fundraising help from an unexpected place. Former two-term GOP senator from Idaho Steve Symms is headlining Minnick’s April 23 breakfast fundraiser.
• NRCC: Campaign Diaries has the full list of all 43 Dems targeted in the GOP’s big radio-spot-and-robocall blitz.
• Where Are They Now?: Tom Feeney: just took a job with noted think-tank the Heritage Foundation, to focus on “community outreach.” Bob Ney: just got the 1-3 pm slot on a conservative talk radio station in Moundsville, WV. Chris Chocola: just made it official, that he will be replacing Pat Toomey as head of the Club for Growth. Vito Fossella: just pled guilty to DWI and will serve four days in Alexandria city jail.
• Red Menace: Spencer Bachus (AL-06) just announced that he is holding in his hand a list of 17 socialists in Congress. We all know about Bernie Sanders; anyone care to hazard a guess who the other 16 are?
Seriously? If that’s all there are in Congress I’m extremely disappointed. I’d expect there to be 50 minimum.
Minnick is a genius. Unlike Cao.
Via dKos:
Brilliant.
got off easy. Two weekends in a nice safe city jail. BFD.
Anyone really believe his story that he decided to switch his plea to guilty due to the killing of that Angels baseball pitcher by a drunk driver last week?
STEVE SYMMS?! Are you kidding me? Wow, that’s a headscratcher. Minnick’s going to need all the help he can get I guess, unless Sali is his opponent again in which case we can all laugh at the CfG’s idiocy again and ignore the race.
those House Democrats that are being targeted by the GOP include some entirely safe incumbents. Either the GOP is betting on some kind of perfect storm happening in 2010, or they are just going nutty.
The only one they are actually running a TV ad against is Zack Space (OH-18). Do they really think he’s the most vulnerable Democrat? He swatted aside a handpicked state senator in an open 2006 race by 24 points and then won re-election against a scandal-free, credible opponent by 20 points last year. The district only favored McCain by 7 points.
They’re also targeting (though with cheaper materials) Charlie Melancon, Tim Bishop, Gerry Connolly, Brad Ellsworth, Stephanie Herseth, Jim Himes, Dan Maffei, Gary Peters, Loretta Sanchez, Joe Sestak, Heath Shuler, Vic Snyder, John Spratt, and Bart Stupak.
Who exactly do they have that could beat incumbents like these? I’d be surprised if any one of them is held under 60% next year.
Surprisingly not included in the target list: Walt Minnick, Bobby Bright, Parker Griffith, Frank Kratovil, Betsy Marke, or Tom Perriello.
They trying to fake us out or something?
Bloody Republican. primaries in PA and FL and good recuits in important districts.
Meek is really dominating this race so far. I like Dan Gelber and think he would make a better Senator and if I lived in Florida I’d vote for him, but his chances sure don’t look good at this point. If Crist gets in the Senate race and Bill McCollum runs for governor and Meek keeps on locking up support I hope Gelber goes for Attorney General instead. It sets him up as the natural next Democratic candidate for governor or Senator depending on what comes up first and will give him a statewide profile. Losing a Senate primary to Meek won’t do anything to help him and that’s exactly where this race is going right now.
http://hotlineoncall.nationalj…
Darn, now I’ll have to scratch my head trying to remember names of party leaders and very liberal members of Congress…
He did say the House, though he did also contradict himself by naming Senator Sanders.
I’m guessing the other 16 include some of the following:
* Speaker Pelosi
* Senate Majority Leader Reid
* Representative Pete Stark, the only atheist in Congress (yes, I know it’s religion, but since when did that stop the phrase “godless communists”?)
* Representative Barney “engage me” Frank (LOL @ that quote)
* Senator Schumer (a perennial target of Republican ire)
Got any more ideas?