May is going to be an exciting month for political junkies. We’ve got a cornucopia of races to watch this month: two special elections, and a number of competitive House, Senate and Gubernatorial primaries.
Let’s take a look at the month ahead:
May 3: This Saturday, Louisiana voters will head to the polls in two congressional special elections:
- LA-06: Democratic state Rep. Don Cazayoux will square off with “newspaper editor” Woody Jenkins to fill the open seat of ex-Rep. Richard Baker. In this hotly contested race, Democrats have been blessed with the better candidate, stellar fundraising, and favorable polls. However, the NRCC and their allies have dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads painting Cazayoux as a serial tax raiser and a Barack Obama disciple.
We’ll find out on Saturday night if any of these attacks have made an impact. The most recent poll, though, shows Cazayoux with a nine point lead. SSP will be liveblogging the results, so be sure to check with us then. There will also be a special election to replace Bobby Jindal in LA-01, but this one should be a solid lock for the GOP.
May 6: While the eyes of the nation will be fixed on the Indiana and North Carolina presidential primaries, voters in these states will also be deciding a number of other hotly-contested primaries:
May 13: Another huge day for political watchers, with hot races in Mississippi and Nebraska.
- MS-01: The big event. Democratic Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers has waged a startlingly strong campaign for the open seat left behind earlier this year when Roger Wicker was appointed to the Senate. Despite running in an R+10 district and being at a financial disadvantage, Childers edged GOP candidate and Southaven Mayor Greg Davis by a 49%-46% margin in the April 22 special primary election. Davis and the NRCC have fought back hard, trying to tie Childers to Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama. But the DCCC is playing to win, and they’ve invested a whopping $1.1 million in this race. This one should be close.
- NE-Sen (D): Here’s something rare — a Democratic primary for a statewide office in Nebraska. Businessman and former Republican Tony Raimondo will compete with former congressional candidate Scott Kleeb for the Democratic nod against the Republican front-runner, Mike Johanns.
- NE-02 (D): GOP Rep. Lee Terry had a surprisingly close re-election campaign in 2006, winning his district by less than 10 points against political neophyte Jim Esch. Now, Esch is back for a rematch, but will first meet with Iraq War vet Richard Carter for the Democratic nomination. Between Esch’s name recognition and Carter’s weak fundraising, Esch is in a good position to win here.
May 20: There are four primaries in Kentucky and Oregon worth keeping an eye on.
There you have it. May will be a month chock full of races worth watching. SSP will aim to liveblog as many of these races as we can when the results come in.