John Unger is no longer the only Democratic candidate with eyes on Rep. Shelley Moore Capito’s (R-WV02) seat in Congress. A small advertisement in a West Virginia newspaper today strongly hints at the candidacy of Thornton Cooper, a Charleston-area attorney and retired public employee. This should be an interesting race to observe in the coming months.
Month: October 2007
NM-Sen, NM-01: Wilson Will Run for Senate
From The Hill:
Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M) will run for the New Mexico Senate seat that is expected to open up officially later Thursday when Sen. Pete Domenici (R) declares that he will not seek reelection in 2008, according to a source familiar with Wilson’s decision.
A Wilson candidacy could prove to be a great twofer for Democrats: her involvement in the US Attorney scandal provides plenty of baggage to damage her Senate chances, and she leaves behind yet another open House seat ripe for the picking (at a PVI of D+2.4, Kerry won the district by three points in 2004).
And, from a Schumer statement via e-mail:
“New Mexico is a state where Democrats have a long history of winning elections, and with a deep bench of talented Democratic candidates, we look forward to fielding a nominee who will wage a successful campaign. We feel very good about our chances to increase the Democratic majority in the Senate next year.”
Let the games begin.
UPDATE: More reaction from CQ Politics:
New Mexico’s two other House members, Democrat Tom Udall and Republican Steve Pearce, both were said to be mulling bids for the Senate race.Democratic Rep. Mark Udall of Colorado said his cousin, Tom Udall, has “been planning for this moment,” but noted that Richardson remains a key player in the process. Udall was not expected to announce anything Thursday.
Pearce said he wanted to wait “a respectful time” before making a decision. “We should not be jockeying for position, kicking him out the door,” he said.In a statement, Richardson said Domenici had been a “respected and powerful champion for New Mexico’s interests” for more than three decades. Tom Reynolds, a spokesman for his presidential campaign, said Richardson remained “100 percent committed to winning the White House.”
Democratic Lt. Gov. Denise Denish, who has been gearing up to run for governor in 2010 when Richardson would be term-limited out of office, said she would consider the Senate race.
“This reshuffles the whole deck in New Mexico,” she said of Domenici’s retirement.
“I’ve been very focused on running for governor and that’s still where my focus is right now, but I think in fairness I need to listen to some people that are talking to me about the possibility of running for this Senate seat and see what they have to say and see what the possibilities are,” she added.
Former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid also said she was considering a bid for the seat. Madrid lost the 2006 election against Wilson for the 1st Congressional District by fewer than 900 points, and said she expected she would perform better in a statewide contest. “I think that I could run a very credible race,” she said.
MI-09: Peters Calls On Knollenberg to Override SCHIP Veto
Yesterday, George Bush vetoed a bipartisan bill that would provide health insurance to over 10 million low income children. On September 25th, Joe Knollenberg voted against this legislation that would give children the health care they need.
Today, Gary Peters called on Joe Knollenberg to stand up to President Bush, and vote to override the veto in order to protect Michigan’s children.
“This is about protecting the health care of Michigan’s children. Even though Joe Knollenberg has previously voted the wrong way, he needs to understand the critical importance of this issue to his constituents and vote to override President Bush’s veto.”
-Gary Peters
Joe Knollenberg is the 2nd most vulnerable Republican to vote against SCHIP. MI-09 has a PVI of R+0, and Gary Peters has consistently performed above the Democratic base vote in 9th district precincts.
This is not a partisan issue. It is about providing necessary health care for children, and protecting our societies most vulnerable. SCHIP is supported by a vast majority of Governors and a bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress. Republicans in Michigan voting for the bipartisan legislation include Representative Fred Upton (R-MI 6th), Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-MI 3rd), and Representative Candice Miller (R-MI 10th).
As Gary Peters calls on Knollenberg to change his vote, Democrats nationwide are raising awareness about SCHIP. The DCCC has begun radio ads and robo calls within many battleground districts, including Michigan’s 9th.
The calls feature Lisa Matzenbach, a mother of a chronically ill child on SCHIP who lives in the 9th district. The text of the call is available at the Stakeholder.
The DCCC isn’t the only group going on the offensive. According to Swing State Project, Knollenberg is the 2nd most vulnerable Republican to vote against SCHIP. The Hill also notes that Democrats are going on the offensive in protecting children’s health care coverage. Michigan Liberal, MyDD, Talking Points Memo, and Swamp Politics also all criticize Knollenberg’s decision to vote against the interest of Michigan’s children.
Son of 3Q Fundraising Reports Open Thread
Since our last post got buried, let’s put up a new one rounding up the third quarter financial reports for candidates running for House and Senate seats next year. As you know, the deadline for campaigns to file these reports is on the 15th, but some figures have been released already. Let’s take a look at a few. If you know of any others, post ’em in the comments.
Bill Foster (D): ~$200K raised, and a $200K personal loan ($408K total)
Judy Feder (D): $223K raised
Update:
Andrew Rice (D): $310K raised
Very impressive for only 60 days of fundraising in a deep red state. Compare it with Rick Noriega’s $570K in Texas, a much larger state with a deeper Democratic fundraising base. Quite a decent start for Rice.
Al Franken (DFL): $1.89 million
Norm Coleman (R-inc.): $1.7 million
Huge news. Why? Because more than half of Coleman’s cash ($1 million, to be precise) came from a single fundraising event with President Bush. This means that Coleman only raised $700K during the other 91 days in the quarter. Moreover, apart from the fundraiser, Coleman raised less than $8000 a day during the quarter while Franken raised more than TWENTY thousand a day during the quarter.
Mark Udall (D): $1.1 million+ raised; $3.1 million CoH
NJ-02: Will Democrats Score a Top Tier Challenger to LoBiondo?
National Democrats have exactly three targets in New Jersey that they would like to seriously contest: Mike Ferguson (7th District), Jim Saxton (3rd District), and Frank LoBiondo (2nd District). In two of those three races, the DCCC has their preferred candidates: state Rep. Linda Stender is in for a rematch against Ferguson, and state Sen. Jim Adler is taking on Saxton. If state Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew entered the race against Republican incumbent Frank LoBiondo, he would complete the trifecta. The only problem? Van Drew is currently locked in a tooth-and-nail campaign against Republican state Sen. Nicholas Asselta, and he has to win that race first before thinking of another promotion.
Van Drew didn’t do much to quiet the speculation today, as he played it coy on the question of a potential 2008 congressional campaign:
“What I’ve made clear is there’s only one thing on my mind now, and that is winning the State Senate seat in the first legislative district,” said Van Drew. “I have a lot of my plate and that’s all I’m thinking about. And that’s all I’m going to comment.”
That non-committal response is in stark contrast to his campaign’s official line last month:
“He’s not running for Congress. He’s got way too much on his plate right now,” said Allison Murphy, who is managing Van Drew’s campaign to oust Asselta. “I can safely say he’s not running next year, but maybe sometime soon.”
Unsurprisingly, Asselta is slamming Van Drew for the statement.
LoBiondo would be a tough foe to beat. His campaign coffers are flush with over $1.5 million on hand and he has always dominated his district by wide margins. Not in his favor, however, is the following fact about his district: its PVI is D+4. While Kerry actually lost the district by one point in 2004, Gore carried it by a healthy 11 point margin in 2000. Rather than changing demographics, we saw a 9/11 bounce for Bush that was pronounced throughout New Jersey. And, if the Republican presidential nominee is anyone other than Rudy Giuliani, I expect those top-of-the-ticket numbers to return to their 2000 level. If Democrats and progressives hope to expand their caucus, this is exactly the kind of seat they should be targeting.
We’ll just have to wait and see if Van Drew can win his state Senate race this fall before we know who LoBiondo will line up against.
Race Tracker: NJ-02
NM-Sen: Who Should Run?
With the news of Republican Sen. Pete Domenici’s expected retirement announcement tomorrow morning, let’s take a look at all the rumored candidates on the Democratic side to replace him:
State Attorney General and former 1st Congressional District candidate Patricia Madrid
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez
US Rep. Tom Udall
Former US Attorney John Kelly
Lt. Governor Diane Denish
Governor and Presidential candidate Bill Richardson
As the Hotline notes, the biggest wildcard here is Richardson. If he wanted to, he could wait until his Prez bid flames out in the early primary states, as New Mexico has a February 8th filing deadline for the Senate race. He would undoubtedly be the favorite in the primary and general. However, how wise (and realistic) is it to wait for a Richardson entry at the 11th hour?
Chavez doesn’t inspire me, for what it’s worth. I cannot forget this cringeworthy article in which he promised that not only would he not run against Domenici, he’d also vote for him. On top of that, his endorsed candidates in this week’s city council elections all lost handily. Ouch.
Jonathan Singer wants Udall. How about you? Who should run? Who will run?
Update: While we’re at it, let’s look at the GOP’s bench in the state: Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce. Given that Wilson is tarred by the same scandal that dogged Domenici for most of the year, she can no longer be considered a formidable candidate. Given that the GOP bench is pretty much her and Pearce, that’s disastrous. Who else could run for them? Former US Attorney David Iglesias? Or is he too disgusted with DC Republicans to even join their team anymore?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Race Tracker: NM-Sen
NM-Sen: Domenici Expected to Retire
Chris Cilliza has the bombshell:
Veteran Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) is expected to announce tomorrow that he will retire from the Senate in 2008, according to several informed sources, a decision that further complicates an already difficult playing field for Republicans next November.
If this proves true, Republicans have been handed a major disaster in their efforts to retain Senate seats in 2008. While Domenici's popularity has sagged dramatically from its formerly sky-high levels, few Democrats in the state had an appetite to challenge him. With the field clear, let's just say that developer Don Wiviott, the highest profile Democrat to enter the race so far (and that's not saying much) will find himself facing a top shelf candidate in the primary very soon.
Race Tracker Wiki: NM-Sen
TX-10 – Does Mike McCaul Agree With His Brother-in-Law?
The junior Congressman From Clear Channel has been notably silent during the uproar over rightwing talk show host Rush Limbaugh’s attack on U.S. troops who oppose the White House’s misadventure in Iraq as “phony soldiers.”
Now Rep. McCaul’s brother-in-law, the CEO of the company that broadcast Limbaugh’s diatribe, is defending the indefensible.
“It would be unfair for me to assume his statements were intended to personally indict combat soldiers,” said Mr. Clear Channel, as quoted in part by Fox News.
It’s time for Mike McCaul to come out of hiding and tell us whether he stands with Rush Limbaugh and his in-laws — which include the Chairman, the CEO, and the President of Clear Channel — or with the brave men and women who are defending Limbaugh’s right to broadcast such irresponsible statements.
Sincerely,
Dan Grant
MT-Sen: Baucus Raps Bush Over S-CHIP
Max Baucus is up with an early ad highlighting his efforts to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and criticizing President Bush for his expected veto of the legislation:
The Montana Republican party has issued a laughable response:
The state GOP noted SCHIP has the support of many Republicans in the state, including U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg.“This is an important issue for Montana,” said state Republican Party Executive Director Chris Wilcox. “I think it’s unfortunate that Baucus decided to politicize the issue.”
Wilcox said Baucus should be working with the Bush administration to advance SCHIP, rather than spending time making television advertisements.
Really? I think it’s unfortunate that Bush has no interest in supporting this bipartisan legislation to expand badly needed health coverage to children across the country. Perhaps the Montana GOP would be better served to direct their criticism towards the President, who (along with the crumb-bums in the House who are sustaining his veto threat) is the sole roadblock in the way of advancing social justice for kids.
(H/T: Left in the West)
CO-04: Field Now Clear For Markey
Eric Eidsness, the Republican-turned-Independent-turned Democrat who scored 11% of the vote on the third party line against Republican incumbent Marilyn Musgrave in 2006, has dropped out of the Democratic primary:
“The hand writing is on the wall and I see it is not my time to be elected to national office to represent (Colorado’s 4th Congressional District),” Eidsness said in a prepared statement. “While my populist message appeals to a broad range of voters, particularly in the more rural areas, I do not have the support I will need here in Larimer County to win the Democratic nomination.”
Eidsness’ announcement comes hot on the heels of ’06 Democratic candidate Angie Paccione’s decision to drop out. With Eidsness and Paccione out, the field is now clear for Betsy Markey.
Contrary to what Chris Cillizza may believe, I would not rank Colorado’s 4th in the top ten competitive House races of 2008. Part of that may be the lack of a top tier challenger (it remains to be seen whether Markey can bring the noise, even if she has credible connections), but Musgrave’s chances are helped by her decision to tone down her obsession with socially regressive causes (publicly, at least), and the tilt-red nature of the district (Bush won it by 17 points in 2004). That’s not to say that I don’t think this race will be competitive, or that the potential for a Markey upset isn’t there, but I feel that our clearest shot at this district passed us by last November.
(H/T: ColoradoPols)