Month: April 2008

It’s looking like a rout in Kentucky.  From SurveyUSA (likely voters, 4/12-14, 3/23-30 in parens):

Bruce Lunsford (D): 47% (42%)

Greg Fischer (D): 9% (6%)

David Williams (D): 8% (11%)

James Rice (D): 5% (5%)

Mike Cassaro (D): 5% (4%)

David Wylie (D): 3% (5%)

Ken Stepp (D): 1%

Other: 14% (17%)

Undecided: 8% (8%)

(MoE: ±4.2%)

Primary: 5/20.

(Bumped – promoted by James L.)

Tuesday was the deadline for House and Senate campaigns to file their fundraising reports for the first quarter of 2008. We’ve amassed a list of noteworthy fundraising numbers for House incumbents and challengers. While this list is pretty big, it is not meant to be comprehensive. If we missed anything, please post the numbers in the comments. And remember: these numbers are adjusted for rounding. The second column shows cash-on-hand, and the third shows cycle-to-date fundraising.

Notes:

• NJ filings in italics cover the period from 12/1 through 3/31.
• IL filings in italics cover the period from 1/17 through 3/31, with the exception of IL-14 (2/18-3/31).
• All PA filings cover the period from 1/1 through 4/2.
• All IN & NC filings cover the period from 1/1 through 4/24.
• All numbers are in thousands.

A few quick notes:

• Democratic challengers who out-raised Republican incumbents: Ethan Berkowitz (AK-AL), Joshua Segall (AL-03), Bob Lord (AZ-03), Ed Chau (CA-42), Debbie Cook (CA-46), Annette Taddeo (FL-18), Raul Martinez (FL-21), Suzanne Kosmas (FL-24), Joe Garcia (FL-25), Walt Minnick (ID-01), Mark Schauer (MI-07), Kay Barnes (MO-06), Jim Hunt (MT-AL), Eric Massa (NY-29), Steve Driehaus (OH-01), Vic Wulsin (OH-02), Jane Mitakides (OH-03), Linda Ketner (SC-01) [note: her filing covers the period from 8/1-3/31, but the bulk of her fundraising was done this year], Rob Miller (SC-02), Michael Skelly (TX-07), Tom Perriello (VA-05), Judy Feder (VA-10), Darcy Burner (WA-08).
• Republican challengers who out-raised Democratic incumbents: Deborah Honeycutt (GA-13), Jim Ryun (KS-02), Anne Northup (KY-03).
• GA-12: After barely holding on in 2006, Democrat John Barrow draws a 4th tier challenger with abysmal fundraising ability. Unbelievable.
• Overall, this was a dynamite quarter for House Democrats. Highly-touted GOP candidates like Dean Andal (CA-11), Rick Goddard (GA-08), Steve Greenberg (IL-08) and Lou Barletta (PA-11) are being outpaced by their Democratic opponents, and the list of Dem challengers with burgeoning coffers absolutely dwarfs the GOP’s. It’s no small wonder that the NRCC is turning to self-funding millionaires in their candidate recruitment process this cycle.

This is off-topic from down-ballot races, but I felt compelled to post; the Democratic presidential primary debate in Philadelphia was an embarrassment. Not to our party, mind you, nor to either of our candidates. Rather, it was an embarrassment for the media, and for the entire profession of journalism. The economy is tanking. The war in Iraq continues on as an endless, unmitigated disaster. Next to no one can afford health care. Yet, what questions did these oh-so-esteemed debate moderators throw at Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama? Questions fed to them by the likes of Sean Hannity about Obama's acquaintanceship with a former 60's radical, who is neither a campaign advisor nor a close friend of the senator's.  Questions about whether Clinton believes Obama can win. Questions about Obama's reluctance to wear a flag pin. A flag pin?!?!?!?!  The Bush administration has our country on the ropes and all these media bobbleheads can talk about is a flag pin!?!?!?!?  It's no wonder winning is such an uphill battle for our party; with such idiocy so rampant, I'm amazed that even half the country votes our way!

All the more reason for us to press onward and win these down-ballot seats, where the media spotlight doesn't linger long enough to turn the proceedings into a complete circus.  Progressivism truly has to start from the ground up; in this info-tainment age, it's the only chance we've got!

It looks like the GOP is seriously sweating the special election in Mississippi’s 1st congressional district.  Hot on the heels of a $114K ad buy by the DCCC against GOP candidate Greg Davis, the NRCC has just made an $150K media buy against Democrat Travis Childers.

The new expenditure brings the GOP’s total in this R+10 district to $232,673.

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

Just released by the Kleeb campaign:

(h/t Lisa at NNN.)

Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP

Hat tip to Heath Haussamen

For the second quarter in a row, Tom Udall outraised both Republican candidates — combined.  The $1.3 million he raised in the first quarter was about $350,000 more than the $943,000 the Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce campaigns raised combined.

I wrote his fundraising success in the fourth quarter of 2007 was astonishing.  To do so two quarters in a row is beyond astonishing.  It shows that Udall clearly has more momentum than either Pearce or Wilson.

Wilson topped the Republican side with $517,000, or less than half of Udall’s take, while Pearce raised just $426,000; or slightly more than one third of Udall’s fundraising number.  

Pearce reported spending $433,000 in the first quarter and ended with slightly more than $850,000 cash on hand.  In other words, Pearce had a negative cash flow in the first quarter of 2008 despite raising more money than he did in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Udall has $2.6 million in the bank, half a million dollars more than Wilson has raised total in the campaign.  

Tom Perriello continued his impressive fundraising in rural Virginia last quarter, raising over $340,000 last quarter and now with over $500k Cash on Hand. With this support, Perriello has now been made a top-tier race against the bigoted Virgil Goode by the DCCC.

What is even more impressive is how his money comes from individuals from the entire district (the size of New Jersey), whereas much of Goode’s money comes from PAC’s and corporate lobbyists.

When Perriello initially announced his fundraising numbers, Goode campaign manager Tucker Watkins said that “Goode didn’t try to raise a lot of funds in 2007 because it was an off year for federal elections” and “It’s nothing to brag about that he did better than Virgil in 2007.”

Well Goode has certainly been trying in 2008, but he has failed again to match Perriello’s numbers. That’s despite almost $113,000 coming from PAC’s from DC, TX, NC, MD, CA and other special interests.

The full press release follows:

The first quarter fundraising reports just filed with the Federal Election Commission showed that Democratic challenger Tom Perriello has outraised incumbent Rep. Virgil Goode for the third straight quarter in the race for the fifth congressional district. Based on Perriello’s record-breaking support from across the district, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently added the race to its list of national target races.

“I am really inspired that so many people across the district have made it possible for us to match up against someone who has been doing politics for so many years and has raised over $1.5 million from corporate lobbyists. This year is our best chance to reclaim politics for the people of this district instead of the powerful interests entrenched in Washington,” said Perriello.

In the first quarter of 2008, the Perriello campaign raised more support from inside the district than Congressman Goode raised in all of 2007. Perriello raised over $340,000 in the first quarter of 2008, with 98% of donations coming from individuals. Rep. Goode has raised over $1.5 million from corporate and DC lobbyists during his congressional career, including over $100,000 from oil, gas, and electric utility interest groups.

“People from every corner of the Fifth district are responding to our focus on right and wrong instead of right and left. People clearly want new leaders who care more about fixing problems than finding someone to blame for them. We need jobs for Southside, healthcare for all, and a sustainable solution in Iraq,” said Perriello.

With seven months until Election Day, the Perriello campaign has already raised more than any previous Democratic challenger to Rep. Goode. The campaign has raised over $600,000 and reports over $500,000 cash on hand. Along with its record-breaking fundraising, the Perriello campaign has logged over 1600 volunteer hours. Mr. Perriello has been on the road for the past two weeks, meeting with voters from 14 different counties and municipalities. The campaign has opened offices in Franklin County, Danville, and Charlottesville.

6 Counties in 1 Week:

Monday — Tioga County:   I started out the week with a day long visit to Tioga County with the day’s agenda coordinated by Emily Rizzo.  Emily took me around to several communities in Tioga County including Wellsboro, which included a visit to the Tioga County Courthouse to meet the elected officials, and to Mansfield where we stopped to meet with the staff at the Obama headquarters.  I found Tioga County to be one of the most scenic counties, not only in the 5th district, but in the entire state.

The day ended with a candidate forum that was attended by 10 of the 12 candidates (the 2 missing candidates had people stand in for them) for the 5th district seat.  For the first time at one of these multi-candidate events, I drew the 12th position so I had to sit and wait as every other candidate did their 10 minute presentations.   Here is what the Elmira Star Gazette wrote about my presentation:

“After sitting silent for two hours, Democrat Mark McCracken, a Clearfield County commissioner, finally got his turn to speak.   He said the nation’s $9.4 trillion debt was tragic and that his priority would be getting the federal budget back in order.   “We’re in a deeper hole than we have ever been in before,” he said.    “This is a threat to our national security.   Foreign interests could pull the rug out from under us at any time.”

“Congress also needs to address energy costs and supplies…We missed a wake-up call in the ’70s,” he said. “We really need to get an energy plan in place. We need to be looking at alternate energy sources.    This is our second wake-up call. We’d better take it.”

Tuesday — Clarion County:   Tuesday evening, Kelly and I made the trip to Clarion County for the Spring Democratic Banquet.  Like Democrats all over the region, the folks in Clarion are excited about our party’s prospects for 2008.

Wednesday — Elk and Mifflin Counties:  Wednesday morning brought a trip to St.Marys for a candidate forum in front of members of the Allegheny Hardwoods Utilization Group AHUG.  The members of AHUG quizzed 11 of the 12 candidates on where we stood in regards to the lumber and timber business that is so important to the economy in north central Pennsylvania.

Wednesday evening brought a trip to Lewistown to appear at a candidate forum sponsored by the Mifflin County Farm Bureau.  It was decided that the 3 Democratic candidates would have our own portion of the forum since the Republican candidates would be arriving later due to party event also being held in Lewistown.

Thursday — Clearfield County:   The DuBois Democratic Committee sponsored a forum for the 3 Democratic candidates at the Penn State DuBois Campus.  PCN was on hand to record the forum which they will run several times over the next few days.  

I have to congratulate the people who put the event together.  It was a unique format which included the standard Q & A, followed by a 1 on 1 session with a moderator, then questions from the audience and ended with 5 minute closing statements from each candidate.  The format was different from any event we’ve participated in thus far and was a good challenge for me personally and I think for the other 2 candidates as well.

Friday — Centre County:  Friday evening Kelly and I traveled to the Tussey Mountain Lodge to attend the Centre County Democrats Spring Banquet.  This event turned into a celebration of the extraordinary gains in voter registration the Democratic party has made in central Pennsylvania.  Centre County led the way with the excitement for Sen. Obama’s candidacy leading to a huge wave of young people registering Democratic.  But, the excitement doesn’t end in Centre County as my home county of Clearfield and Rick Vilello’s home county of Clinton also turned “BLUE”!   Hmmm, with everything going the Democratic way, maybe a Democrat can win the 5th district after all.

Saturday — Clearfield County: I spent the day working on behalf of the Obama campaign doing some door to door canvassing at the invitation of Jody Grumblatt.  Jody has been putting her heart and soul into campaigning on behalf of Sen. Obama.  She was even out on the Clearfield Courthouse Plaza on a cold day a few weeks back registering voters.

Sunday — Clearfield County:  Kelly, Amanda and I went to the DuBois Democratic Committee spaghetti dinner.  Many campaigns were on hand for this well attended annual event.  

Auditor General Jack Wagner was the main speaker with Jay Paterno on hand to speak for the Obama campaign.    Rick Vilello and I each spoke to the crowd to make our case for votes on April 22nd.

Maybe the Wrong McCracken in on the Ballot:  Kelly had a very lucky week.    She won 4 tickets to a Pirate baseball game at the Clarion County Dinner and really cleaned up at the spaghetti dinner in DuBois winning 2 gift baskets.  

Amanda was really excited with the one gift basket that had a porcelain doll that she really liked.

We’re heading into the last full week of the primary campaign and there are a lot of miles left to travel.    Please be sure to remind your family and friends to vote on April 22nd.  Of course, a mention to vote for the 5th district candidate listed in the #1 position on the ballot would be appreciated.

Mark B. McCracken

Your Candidate for Congress

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This diary is cross-posted at McCracken’s campaign blog, PA’s Blue Fifth

Mark McCracken for Congress

ActBlue page

Crumb-bum Don Young just posted his first quarter fundraising report, and the numbers aren’t pretty for the embattled incumbent Republican.

In the first three months of 2008, Young raised $131,575 — a sum that wasn’t nearly enough to meet his net expenditures of $443,238.  His once-burgeoning cash-on-hand is now sitting at $604,268.  Will Young have the resources he needs to fend off very competitive primary and general election challenges?

Young’s tab included a long list of legal fees, including $212,752 paid to Akin Gump, $1100 to Holmes Weddle, $24,520 to Tobin O’Connor, and $15,020 to John W. Wolfe.  That’s a lot of scrilla, especially when you consider that Young began 2007 with $1.86 million cash-on-hand, a number that has dwindled in large part due to legal fees such as these.