Tag: MS-01

The DCCC posted another $17,000 expenditure in Mississippi tonight: $14,000 on field organizing and $3000 on literature.

They also posted spending $20,000 on phonebanking and field organizing for Travis Childers last night.

Curiously, the NRCC hasn’t posted any expenditures here since their big $215,000 dump on Friday night — with the exception of this nugget tonight:

• $4400 on polling

I’m not sure what exactly that is going to accomplish here on the eve of the election.

Total spent:

NRCC: $1,277,545 &nbsp|&nbsp DCCC: $1,840,169

We’ll be bringing you wall-to-wall MS-01 coverage tomorrow, so be sure to check back with us.  Also, if you want to do your part to help get out the vote for Travis Childers, the DCCC has set up a virtual phonebanking center for Travis Childers.  

Let’s do this thing!

Republicans are known for playing possom at the end of a cmapaign. They think it is a good way to gin up their vote, so take with a grain of salt, if you will, a report from Chris Cillizza that Republicans are not feeling good about tomorrow’s special election.

Despite the onslaught of spending, knowledgeable sources on both sides of the aisle insist little has changed in the last 21 days. Childers is believed to have a mid single digit lead over Davis with Republican strategists turning pessimistic about their chances in the last 48 hours or so.

Frankly, I don’t feel very good about a mid-single digit lead from such a red district. Obviously it’s going to all come down to who has the best GOTV machine. The DCCC have been investing heavily on phones and field organizing, so that coupled with other factors just might be the endge we need. Fingers crossed.

From an anonymous tipster:

Step 1: We find the worst play ever written. Step 2: We hire the worst director in town. Step 3: We raise two million dollars…One for me, one for you. There’s a lot of little old ladies out there! Step 4: We hire the worst actors in New York and open on Broadway and before you can say Step 5, we close on Broadway, take our two million and go to Rio.

Before the April 22nd special primary, Democrat Travis Childers picked up the key endorsements of the Tupelo-based Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and the Columbus Commercial Dispatch.  Add another key endorsement to the list for Childers — the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

The Commercial Appeal believes Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis W. Childers of Booneville is the best person to complete the U.S. House term, which expires in early January. […]

Childers, who labels himself a conservative Democrat, has stressed the importance of voting against trade deals that cost American jobs. He is a strong supporter of public education, saying it’s time for the nation, as a whole, to provide schools with the materials and support they need. That is important in a district where only 65 percent of teens graduate from high school and only 10 percent of the population has a college degree.

As for Iraq, Childers believes it is time to bring the troops home “honorably, safely and soon,” while providing them with material support until that happens. He recently told this newspaper’s editorial board that it is time to bring the troops home and spend the money we are sending to Iraq on projects in the United States.

Why not Greg Davis?  Because he’s an unapologetic agent of the Bush Administration’s disastrous policies at home and abroad:

Over the years, however, this editorial board always has looked favorably at candidates who have shown a degree of political independence. Davis has given no indication that he’ll stray far from the Bush administration’s stand on important issues, including the war in Iraq. That fact should not be lost on 1st District voters, especially when opinion polls are showing that the majority of citizens believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Well said.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee threw another $58,671 on the fire in Mississippi tonight.  Here’s the damage:

• $49,000 on media buys
  

• $1500 on phonebanking
  

• $8000 on field organizing

Nothing from the NRCC.

Total spent:

NRCC: $1,273,145 &nbsp|&nbsp DCCC: $1,803,087

Special election: 5/13.

With the clock ticking in Mississippi, the Trent Thompson 72-Hour Program is now in full effect.  I spoke with Trent earlier this afternoon, and he gave me the following updates:

• Trent’s been cris-crossing the district, from Tupelo to Booneville to the Southaven area delivering literature for canvassers, and he’s seen all of five Greg Davis signs — compared to “literally hundreds” for Travis Childers.  Childers is winning the sign wars even in areas closer to Davis’ home turf.
• Trent describes the atmosphere in Booneville, where the Childers campaign HQ is located, as a total “lovefest for Travis”.  Not surprising, given that Childers won 85% of the vote in the area (Prentiss County) on April 22nd.
• Dick Cheney’s comments on visiting south Memphis have rankled people in the Tupelo area.  Childers has been working that story into his recent stump speeches, saying that Memphis doesn’t need another congressman — Mississippi does.
• Childers is up with an ad on African-American radio hitting Davis on his campaign event with Cheney.  Childers will need strong turnout from the black community on Tuesday.

In keeping with the populist tone of his campaign, Childers recently wrapped up his “Fed Up While You Fill Up Tour” in Tupelo, where he sold gas for $1.25 a gallon with Rep. Gene Taylor.

The Davis campaign’s response was hilariously absurd:

Davis’ campaign manager Ted Prill denounced the statements as hypocrisy, saying Childers “has been supported almost solely by liberal Democrats in Washington who would allow Fidel Castro to (drill for oil) closer to our shorelines than we can.”

Special election: 5/13.

The NRCC posted a big list of expenditures in Mississippi today, just days before this hotly-contested special election comes to a close on Tuesday:

• $151,000 on an ad buy
  

• $17,500 on media production
  

• $7500 on phonebanking
  

• $35,000 on direct mail
  

• $4400 on polling

The DCCC:

• $63,000 on media buys
  

• $13,500 on literature
  

• $14,500 on media production
  

• $7000 on field organizing

Total spent:

NRCC: $1,273,145 &nbsp|&nbsp DCCC: $1,742,121

Will you do your part to bring this race home on Tuesday?  The DCCC has set up a virtual phonebanking center for Travis Childers.  It’s fun and easy.  Let’s do this thing, people.

Our friend Mitch writes in the comments:

As many of y’all know, one of the sticking points for the good folks of the 1st district is that Greg Davis, in addition to his other shortcomings, is basically the mayor of a Memphis suburb with much more connection to that city than to the rest of Northeast Mississippi.

And Mississippians want to be represented by a, you know, a Mississippian, not an all-but-Memphian.

That’s why Darth Cheney is getting ready to stump for “South Memphis” Mayor Greg Davis:

GALLOW: Monday you are going to be here — on Monday — in the state of Mississippi, and Greg Davis will be there, and you’ll be in Senatobia, Hernando, and that area?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Yes, I think we are going to be. I’m not sure exactly. It’s going to be someplace in the First District. I’m not sure exactly what part of it. South Memphis or —

GALLOW: Don’t worry about it.

We can see why Cheney would be confused. Southaven, just 14 miles away from downtown, sure looks like South Memphis to us. Maybe Greg Davis would be better off running for Congress in Tennessee.

On the web:

Virtual Phonebanking for Travis Childers

The Hill reports that Darth Cheney himself is about to land in Mississippi to scare some votes for slimeball GOP candidate Greg Davis:

Cheney appeared on “The Paul Gallow Show” to support Southaven Mayor Greg Davis (R).

Davis faces Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers (D) on May 13 in a runoff election in the state’s 1st district, a seat formerly held by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

“This seat is a very important one,” Cheney said. “It’s been in conservative hands for a long time, and we’d hate to see the liberals gain control.”

The vice president said holding the seat is crucial because it could tip the scales in close votes on Capitol Hill.

Cheney will be on the ground in Mississippi on Monday for a fundraiser and a GOTV rally with Davis.

It’s time to step up to the battle, folks.  We can’t let the forces of darkness cling on to this one.  To that end, the DCCC has set up a virtual phonebanking center for Travis Childers.  Getting started is as easy as cherry pie.  You’ve donated, you’ve followed the news, you’ve tracked the expenditures, and if your name is Trent Thompson, you’ve canvassed on the ground.  Now’s your chance to help hustle out the vote for Travis Childers.

A win here would utterly crush the spirit of the House GOP caucus and signify and loud and clear appetite for change in Washington.  Let’s do this thing!

Also, be sure to check back with SSP on election day on Tuesday.  We’ll be posting updates and liveblogging the election that evening.

Special election: 5/13.

IL-14 was bad.  LA-06 was worse.  But if you’re an ass-scratching member of the Boehner caucus, the very real scenario of receiving a back-breaking loss in Mississippi next week is too terrifying to even begin imagining.

That’s why the GOP is calling in the cavalry to stop Democrat Travis Childers:

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) presented a multi-faceted plan to retain the Mississippi seat to the House Republican Young Guns group on Tuesday. The plan is designed to get staff on the ground and checks to Davis.

“We need boots on the ground. This is going to be about voter turnout,” Westmoreland said. “So it’s a matter of having enough people to go door to door, to go to Wal-Mart and Home Depot to get [Davis’s] message out.”

Westmoreland and several other members have dispatched staff to Mississippi to do just that. Others, like Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), have supported Davis financially.

“One thing that the Young Guns do is engage in races,” said McCarthy.

Young Guns?  More like City Slickers II.

Or maybe Blazing Saddles.

No, wait — I’ve got it: Two Mules For Sister Sara.