Month: April 2008

Democrat Travis Childers, running for the open seat left behind by now-Senator Roger Wicker, has released his fourth TV ad:

Pay very close attention to the text at the bottom of the ad:

Paid For By the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Childers For Congress

Yup, that’s right — the DCCC is now pouring resources into the first congressional district of Mississippi.  No word yet on the exact sum spent so far (the cap on coordinated expenditures such as this is $42K), but I wouldn’t be surprised if the NRCC scrambles to respond in the next couple of days as they attempt to douse a fire in this R+10 district.

Special election: 4/22; runoff (if necessary): 5/13.

(H/T: Cotton Mouth)

Previous Diaries:

MS-01: New Poll Shows a Dead Heat Between Childers and Davis

MS-01: Does Travis Childers Have a Shot?

Rasmussen (4/10, likely voters):

Mary Landrieu (D-inc): 55%

John Kennedy (R): 39%

(MoE: ±4.5%)

With Landrieu’s favorables at 65%, her solid lead in this poll should be of some concern to Republicans, considering that this is their only conceivable Senate target this year.

(H/T: Jeremiah)

Late Update: It turns out that no such poll exists:

According to one news account of a new poll by Rasmussen Reports, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., had a 39 percent to 55 percent lead over her Republican challenger, state Treasurer John Kennedy. According to another account, that same poll had Kennedy ahead by a statistically insignificant 46 percent to 47 percent. Who was right? As it turns out, no one. The first poll results showing Landrieu ahead were posted on the Rasmussen Web site and then pulled after the firm realized it had confused the results with polling done in the Virginia Senate race, which showed Democrat Mark Warner ahead by that same 39 percent to 55 percent margin. Rasmussen later posted the 46 percent to 47 percent results, and then quickly removed that from its Web site.

A company spokesman confirmed that the first results were wrong, but could not explain what happened with the second posted results. All he would say is that Rasmussen doesn’t have any current polling data in the Louisiana Senate race. For Landrieu campaign staff, the sudden fall from 16 points ahead to one point behind, followed by a “never mind” from Rasmussen, was softened by the release last week of another poll, this one by Southern Media & Opinion. It showed Landrieu running ahead of Kennedy 38 percent to 50 percent.

It looks like Steve Novick is putting the ego back in Oregon:

Democratic Senate candidate Steve Novick says the most qualified candidate in the race besides himself is not one of the other Democrats but independent John Frohnmayer.

Novick, a Portland lawyer and consultant, does say that he would back his chief rival, House Speaker Jeff Merkley, if he wins the nomination. But he told The Oregonian on Thursday that Frohnmayer “would be a better senator than Jeff Merkley.” […]

Novick, Merkley and two other candidates in the Democratic primary, Candy Neville of Eugene and David Loera of Salem, were asked in the weekly newspaper’s joint endorsement interview who in the room they would support if they couldn’t vote for themselves.

Merkley immediately said he would back Novick. But Novick said, “I’d vote for John Frohnmayer.” When he was asked what other Democrat he would support, Novick paused for a long time and said, “I have a hard time answering that.” (emphasis added)

A while back, I wondered what kind of campaign Steve Novick was running.  Now we have our answer.

(H/T: Senate Guru and Progressive American Patriot)

MN Publius and MN Campaign Report have the scoop: State Sen. Terri Bonoff is dropping out and endorsing Iraq War vet and attorney Ashwin Madia for the DFL nomination in the open seat race to replace retiring GOP Rep. Jim Ramstad.

Though the writing had been on the wall for a while, Madia’s out-of-nowhere performance against Bonoff (long perceived the front-runner), has definitely been a stunner.  Madia will move on to take on Republican state Rep. Erik Paulsen in the general.  With a PVI of R+0.5, this seat will be hotly contested by both sides this fall.

It’s not a huge bill, but the DCCC just increased their expenditures in the LA-06 special election by $35,000.  The expenditures include nearly $4,000 in field organizing and an additional $32K media buy.

The new expenditures put the DCCC’s tab in this race to nearly $145,000.  We saw on Thursday that the NRCC is willing to drop some cash on defending this R+6.5 seat — to the tune of $110,000.  It’ll be interesting to see how this escalates as we approach the special election on May 3rd.

A lot has happened in the Democratic Primary for the Senate seat of Kentucky. Already, we have seen Greg Stumbo and Andrew Horne step aside. The consensus now seems to be that Bruce Lunsford should be the nominee for Kentucky’s Senate race. However, it seems another candidate has stepped foward as a true Democratic voice in this race. Now, it seems Greg Fischer is making his move in this race.

First, Greg Fischer has showed that he can raise funds. One of the main reason I believe that Lunsford was recruited was because he could self-fund. However, this story shows that Fischer can self-fund too, and raise seperate funds to boot:

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Greg Fischer says his upcoming campaign finance report will show that he’s collected more than $500,000 from donors in addition to the $510,000 of his own money he has pumped into his bid.

Of course, Greg was encouraged by the numbers:

“Dollar by dollar, voter by voter, momentum is growing stronger in every region of the state. We are confident that our campaign is positioned to defeat Bruce Lunsford on May 20,” Fischer said in a statement. “Voters are beginning to realize I am the real Democrat offering real change.”

http://www.gregfischer.com/ind…

Fischer is going to begin running T.V. in the state soon, about a month before the May 20 primary. I think when Kentucky Democrats get to know him a little better, they are going to like what they see.

Greg has also spoken out for a sane policy in Iraq. He recently took McConnell to task on that issue:

In 2002, Mitch McConnell handed President Bush a blank check for operations in Iraq – a war that was ill-conceived, ill-advised and terribly mismanaged. We have now been in Iraq longer than we were in World War II. To date, there have been more than 4,000 American military casualties. Over 30,000 U.S. soldiers have been injured. By the end of 2007, the war in Iraq cost American taxpayers more than $500 billion. Kentucky’s share of the bill: $3.5 billion – money that could have been invested in our economy, built 358 new elementary schools, provided 593,000 Kentucky students with college scholarships, delivered health care benefits to 970,000 Kentuckians, built miles of new roads and bridges or saved thousands of homeowners from foreclosure.

Today, Mitch McConnell still supports President Bush’s never ending war in Iraq, while continuing to play partisan political games and obstructing every opportunity to reach a bipartisan plan to end the war once and for all in Iraq.

Greg Fischer believes it’s time to bring our soldiers home from Iraq in a swift, safe and responsible manner. Our brave men and women have done everything we have asked of them and are still fighting a courageous fight. They put their lives on the line for us everyday and we owe them and their families an end to this war. Washington has failed them.

Although Greg will fight to begin a responsible draw down of our forces in Iraq and end the war, he knows we need to refocus our efforts in Afghanistan where Al Qaeda and Taliban are experiencing a resurgence.  That’s where Osama Bin Laden and the real war against terrorism is and needs to be fought.

He has endorsed A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq found here:

http://www.responsibleplan.com/

Greg also believes we must respect our returning heros. He endorses the G.I. Bill for the 21st century:

For our returning Veterans, Greg will make it a top priority to ensure that when veterans return home they are treated like the heroes they are. He will work to provide them and their families with benefits designed to meet the needs of today’s soldiers and their families. That is why Greg supports the bipartisan G.I. Bill for the 21st Century.  

The G.I. Bill for the 21st Century would repeal unfair tax burdens on military families and provide Veterans with the benefits they deserve; affordable health care, education and job training, strengthen our support for our men and women in uniform, and improve benefits for our National Guard and Reservists.

Most importantly, it will modernize and enhance the GI Bill Education and Job Training Programs to provide the full cost of tuition and fees, and a living allowance for 36 months of schooling, for those who enlist for four years of active duty military service. They have fought to defend our freedoms. They have fought to defend our families. Our Veterans deserve it.

The G.I. Bill for the 21st Century has been endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), the Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA), the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

http://www.gregfischer.com/ind…

After the disappointments of the early primary season, I think that Greg Fischer as emerging as a serious candidate. He has shown his ability to not only self-fund, but to raise funds as well. Most importantly, he is showing that he can be depended on to fight for a Democratic vision for this country.

I hope Kentuckians and Americans will get behind Greg to defeat Bruce Lunsford, and then Mitch McConnell in the fall. Although he is a political newcomer the last month is showing him to be a serious candidate who can make a serious run at Mitch McConnell. Best of all, he will do it as a Democrat.

Find out more about Greg Fischer here:

http://www.gregfischer.com/

Support Greg Fischer in his fight for Kentucky Democrats here:

http://www.actblue.com/page/go…

We can still have an awesome Senator from Kentucky so please join in the fight for Greg Fischer!!

Check it:

I’m brown like Sherrod and I’m young like Don

And I got more bling than Moseley Braun

In Senator Shaheen I will take pride

And in the Udall Boyz from the West Side

I’m supporting Warner, M., not Warner, J.

And we’ll increase our posse on election day

November ’08 is the time to shine

For stone-cold inauguration in 2009

So put your checks in the mail and don’t be cheap

And wave your hands in the air ’cause you care so deep

Cross posted from West Virginia Blue

From an email:

Wow, what a great start for our campaign for Congress!

As you know, a top-notch Congressional campaign is an all-consuming undertaking for any candidate who is in it to win it. I promise you I have been working as hard as I have ever worked in my life to earn the support I’ve been getting from people like you. Together, we will give West Virginians in the 2nd Congressional District a stronger advocate in Washington. I’ve made visits to nearly all the counties in the broad 2nd District – many of them more than once – and I can tell you that there is a palpable excitement and energy for change. I’ve been meeting and talking with people in fire halls, community centers, senior centers, churches and private homes.

Over and over West Virginians tell me they have become disillusioned by years of Bush-Cheney policies that simply don’t reflect the needs of rural America in general, and working West Virginians in particular. It is your views, your ideas, your concerns – and your support – that continue to energize me and drive my campaign forward.

I wanted to take a moment to update you on the progress of our campaign to restore West Virginia values to the 2nd Congressional seat in Congress. The all-important FEC first quarter reporting period ended on March 31. Our filing will show that the campaign has collected just over $330,000 in contributions from people like you.

The first quarter reporting number is a critical barometer of a campaign’s vitality. We are setting very high expectations for our campaign, and so far we are meeting and exceeding them. We had six fundraising events around the state in the first quarter, including one that was hosted jointly by Senator Byrd, Senator Rockefeller, Congressman Rahall and Congressman Mollohan. I am so proud to have their support, which has provided such a boost to the campaign and to peoples’ confidence that Democrats are working hard to regain the seat. People from across the entire state have been mailing contributions to our campaign headquarters and donating with their credit cards on our website.

In addition to the support of the entire West Virginia Democratic delegation, the Anne Barth for Congress campaign has also received endorsements from a variety of organizations, including the West Virginia AFL-CIO, United Mine Workers, United Auto Workers, Communications Workers of America, the Southwestern District Labor Council, United Steelworkers, Teamsters, the West Virginia Education Association, the West Virginia Sheriff’s Association and the American Federation of Government Employees.

These organizations are a vital part of our communities, and I am honored to have them as friends and supporters. We expect more endorsements from organizations to be made public soon – and we’ll keep you posted.

Through all of this busy campaigning I have received a lot of good press, in small town weeklies, larger daily newspapers, and regional television stations. I have also appeared on radio stations across the district to get my message out, and continue to enjoy building relationships with members of our state media that the voters rely on in their communities to keep themselves informed and up-to-date on the issues.I was especially gratified to receive the endorsement this week of the state’s largest daily newspaper, the Charleston Gazette.

I have also participated in several Meet the Candidate events around the district, as well as forums and debates, with my primary opponents at West Virginia Wesleyan in Buckhannon and the Young Democrats Convention in Charleston. I enjoy these exchanges and look forward to debates with them at the Jefferson County League of Women Voters event on April 17 and the Berkeley County Democratic Association event on April 21.

Though I have many years of experience in the political realm, being a candidate is a new experience for me. I continue to learn more as I travel and meet with constituents. While serving in Sen. Byrd’s office for 21 years, I never lived in Washington, I always continued to live and work in the 2nd Congressional District, and that is one reason I am running – I understand the needs and concerns of the people of my home district. And I have learned from my experiences on Sen. Byrd’s staff how to get results for the people of West Virginia in Washington.

With your continued support and involvement, we can win in May – and again in November. Please stay in touch with our campaign, visit our website for updates at AnneBarthforCongress.com, volunteer when you can and make a contribution if you are able.

Change is coming for the people of West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, and together we are driving that momentum for change.

Thank you for your support and encouragement – and please keep in touch.

Barth is off to a tremendous start, especially considering she got into the quarter late. That’s got to be making Bush Republican Shelley Moore Capito nervous.

Jake Stump has the story in the Daily Mail:

Her campaign finances outpace those of her primary opponents. One of them, former South Charleston mayor Richie Robb, raised $2,475 from January to April, and has $10,835 cash on-hand, according to his latest filing with the Federal Election Commission.

A financial report for a third candidate, Thornton Cooper, was not available.

Political observers expected Barth, who entered the race after state Sen. John Unger dropped out right before the filing deadline, to have a tough time raising money because of her late start.

Incumbent Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., had $643,865 cash on-hand as of Jan. 1.

snip

“We have very high expectations for ourselves as a campaign, and we are meeting those marks,” said Ned Rose, chairman of the Barth campaign. “Our fellow West Virginians are also expressing their high expectations for Anne by contributing so generously. I can assure them all one thing — nobody will outwork Anne Barth. She is a tireless campaigner and a dynamic individual.”

The interesting thing will be whether campaign donors who’ve backed Capito in the past will continue to give, or if they’ll see she’s a lost cause. My guess is she’ll receive some contributions, but keep in mind she angered many of her fellow Republicans in 2006 by not contributing to other races. In fact, she was still holding fundraisers the weekend before the last election, a sure sign she was worried about Mike Callaghan. She ended up buying herself a landslide because Callaghan, among other flaws with his campaign, had run out of money and was unable to answer a last minute barrage of misleading attack ads from Capito. In addition to having a very focused campaign style, Barth is going to have enough money to go toe-to-toe against Capito at the end.