Tag: John Shadegg

• MA-Sen: With last night’s Suffolk poll, there really can’t be any doubt any more that the Massachusetts Senate race qualifies as a “Toss Up,” so we’re changing our rating to reflect that. There’s still room for skepticism on whether Scott Brown can in fact pull it out, given not only the difficulty of pinning down a likely voter universe in a rapidly-fluctuating special election, but also the Democrats’ structural advantages on the ground in the Bay State. (The Democrats have the advantage of labor and local machines long-skilled at rousting out voters and getting them to the polls, while it’s questionable whether the Republicans have, given their long neglect of the state, any ground troops to deploy here, or even up-to-date, refined voter databases.) Nevertheless, given what can actually be quantified, right now the polls balance out to more or less a tie, and that’s how we have to treat the race.

The breaking news du jour is that Barack Obama has finally agreed to head up to Massachusetts and stump for Martha Coakley on Sunday. Also, the Coakley campaign is rolling out a second ad for the weekend, to go with their ad showcasing the Vicki Kennedy endorsement; they’re also running a populist-themed ad on Wall Street regulation (specifically, the rather narrow issue of the proposed bonus tax on banks). The ad deluge is being bolstered a League of Conservation Voters ad buy for $350K; on the third-party front, that’s being countered by a pro-Brown ad buy for $500K from Americans for Job Security.

• CA-Sen: Yesterday I was musing about whether ex-Rep. Tom Campbell’s entry into the GOP Senate primary hurt Carly Fiorina or Chuck DeVore more, and we already seem to have an answer. The Campbell camp is touting an internal poll showing them with a sizable lead over both Fiorina and DeVore in the primary: Campbell is at 31, with Fiorina at 15 and DeVore at 12. The few polls of the primary so far have shown Fiorina and DeVore deadlocked in the 20s, so maybe it’s safe to say that Campbell hurts them each equally.

• FL-Sen: Which of these is not like the other? There’s a new multi-candidate GOP fundraising PAC called the U.S. Senate Victory Committee, which benefits seven different Republicans: Kelly Ayotte, Roy Blunt, Jane Norton, Rob Portman, Rob Simmons, Pat Toomey… and Marco Rubio? Six establishment candidates, and one insurgent. Or is Rubio the new establishment?

• PPP (pdf): PPP looks all the way to 2012 as part of their wide-ranging Nevada survey, and finds that John Ensign may weather his whole giving-a-patronage-job-to-the-cuckolded-husband-of-his-mistress thing, if he runs again. Ensign trails Las Vegas mayor (but probable 2010 gubernatorial candidate) only Oscar Goodman 43-41, but leads Rep. Shelly Berkley 49-40 and SoS Ross Miller 47-36. Of course, Berkley and Miller aren’t that well-known yet and would presumably gain ground in an active 2012 race, but again, more food for thought on the idea that Republicans really don’t get the vapors over sex scandals after all, so long as they’re perpetrated by Republicans.

• MN-Gov: The St. Paul Pioneer Press is out with a poll of Minnesota voters (by a pollster I’ve never heard of, Decision Resources Ltd.). The poll seemed most focused on the question of whether there should be public funding of the new Vikings stadium, but it did throw in (almost as an afterthought) something we haven’t seen before: general election head-to-heads in the Governor’s race. The numbers are pretty encouraging for the Democrats: ex-Sen. Mark Dayton leads ex-Sen. Norm Coleman 41-31, and state Rep. Marty Seifert (who, assuming Coleman doesn’t get in, is the likeliest GOP nominee) 41-25. State House speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher beats Coleman 33-31, and Pat Anderson (who dropped out of the race this week) 33-23. There weren’t any numbers for Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak, another strong contender for the Dem nod. And yes, if you’re wondering, this does take into account the potential spoiler role of Minnesota’s Independence Party; IP candidates account for 11 to 13 percent of the vote in each of these trial heats. (H/t alphaaqua.)

• NH-Gov: One other gubernatorial poll has good news for Democrats, and it even comes from Rasmussen. They find incumbent Gov. John Lynch in safe position with 58/38 approvals and, against his no-name opponents, leading social conservative activist Karen Testerman 53-30 and businessman Jack Kimball 51-32.

• OH-Gov: Who knew that John Kasich had the power to transcend the boundaries of space and time? In an effort to court the GOP’s restive base, Kasich said “I think I was in the Tea Party before there was a Tea Party.”

• WY-Gov: One more big-name Republican (by Wyoming’s small standards) is getting into the gubernatorial race, banking on the assumption that incumbent Dem Dave Freudenthal won’t jump through the legal hoops necessary to run for a third term. Auditor Rita Meyer is getting into the race, where potential GOP primary rivals include former US Attorney Matt Mead and state House speaker Colin Simpson.

• AL-05: Rep. Parker Griffith is showing his true colors. The party-switcher has been turning away requests for refunds of contributions that don’t meet the requirements buried in the fine print: he says he can’t refund donations for the 2008 cycle, only the 2010 cycle, because the 2008 contributions were spent long ago.

• AR-02: Rep. Vic Snyder is in pretty dire shape, if a new poll from SurveyUSA is to be believed: he trails Republican candidate and former US Attorney Tim Griffin by a 56-39 margin. You may want to take this poll with a grain of salt, as it was paid for by Firedoglake, who seem to have an axe to grind in the health care reform debate, and the Snyder numbers seem to be less the main point than engaging in strangely-right-wing-sounding message-testing. The good news is that, even after a variety of anti-HCR arguments have been offered (and Nate Silver does a fine job of picking apart the survey), Snyder doesn’t fare much worse (at 58-35); the bad news, though, is that the 56-39 topline question was asked before any of the litany of anti-HCR talking points, suggesting that, HCR or no, we have a major problem in Arkansas.

• AZ-03: Despite Jon Hulburd’s surprising cash haul, he may have bigger company in the Democratic primary to replace recently-retired Republican Rep. John Shadegg. Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon is the subject of speculation; he had briefly considered a 2008 run against Shadegg before ruling it out, saying his post-mayoral future would be in the private sector, but all eyes are on what he does now. (Gordon lives slightly outside the district’s boundaries.) On the GOP side, there’s no clear frontrunner at all. State Rep. Sam Crump has already said he’s running. Possible other candidates include state Treasurer Dean Martin (who would have to drop down from the gubernatorial bid he just launched this week), state Sens. Pamela Gorman and Jim Waring, Phoenix city councilor Peggy Neely, former ASU football star Andrew Walter, and, in a shocker, the co-founder of Taser International Inc., Tom Smith. Former state House speaker Jim Weiers has taken himself out of the running.

• NC-11: Businessman Jeff Miller has reversed course and will run against Democratic Blue Dog Rep. Heath Shuler in the 11th. Miller had been recruited to run, but decided against it; he’ll have to face a primary against Hendersonville mayor Greg Newman, who got in after Miller initially declined.

• OH-15: The Ohio GOP is still searching for an Auditor candidate after Mary Taylor decided to run for Lt. Governor instead of re-election. Former state Sen. Steve Stivers has been asked to run for Auditor, but made clear he’ll be staying in the race in the 15th (where he might actually have better odds, considering how close he came to Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy last time).

Cue the “Dems are doomed! Wave of retirements! Rats jumping ship!” narrative! Another retirement! Oh, wait… another Republican?

Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), who briefly announced his retirement last cycle but then opted to seek another term, will not run for reelection in 2010, a GOP source confirms.

Shadegg becomes the third Republican to announce his retirement in recent weeks. He joins Reps. Henry Brown (R-S.C.) and George Radanovich (R-Calif.).

Shadegg, as you might recall, attempted to retire in 2008 but thought better of it (or was made to think better of it); he faced a solid challenge from Democrat Bob Lord, although he won by double digits in the end. Looks like he decided 2010 was a safer year, in terms of helping the party retain the seat, for him to hit the exit.

Right now, all the Dems seem to have on the plate is attorney and former Gary Hart staffer Jon Hulburd, although maybe an open seat will generate some interest higher up on the totem pole (this R+9 seat in middle-class and mostly white northern Phoenix, Republican as long as it has existed, doesn’t seem to have much Democratic bench though). As for a candidate on the GOP side, Shadegg’s Chief of Staff, Sean Noble, may be interested in succeeding his boss.

UPDATE: OK, it sounds like the Dem establishment will be happy to have Jon Hulburd stay in the race: he’s about to report $300,000 raised last quarter, and that’s from donors, not from his own wallet (although apparently he can self-fund too if need be). That might change the assumptions about Shadegg’s motivations, too — not wanting to face another tough race, rather than departing out of confidence. This race will be worth keeping an eye on.

RaceTracker Wiki: AZ-03

• FL-Sen: It looks like the Club for Growth has decided to weigh in on the Florida Senate primary, and they’re doing so with a vengeance, with a TV spot going after Charlie Crist’s embrace of the Obama stimulus package. Crist himself has been trying for the last few days to walk back his stimulus support — despite statements on the record from February saying that if he’d been in the Senate, he’d have voted for it. Crist now says he wasn’t “endorsing” it and just playing along so Florida would get a good share of the bennies. (I’m sorry, but my 5-year-old comes up with more convincing excuses than that.)

• NY-Sen-B: Former Gov. George Pataki is reportedly telling friends he’s not that interested in becoming Senator at age 64, and has his eye set a little higher: a presidential race in 2012. The idea of the wooden, moderate Pataki going up against Huckabee and Palin seems a little far-fetched, but a clue in support of that idea is that Pataki joined the Romneys and T-Paws of the world in calling new Manchester, New Hampshire mayor Ted Gatsas to congratulate him. (In case you aren’t connecting the dots, Manchester’s mayor has an outsized influence on NH’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.)

• AZ-Gov: Appointed incumbent Republican Governor Jan Brewer says she’ll run for a full term in 2010. She already faces several minor primary opponents, and may face off against state Treasurer Dean Martin. Her likely Democratic opponent, AG Terry Goddard, who has had a significant lead over Brewer in recent polls, has to be feeling good about this.

• CA-Gov: Capitol Weekly, via Probolsky Research, takes another look at the primaries in the California gubernatorial race, and find free-spending ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman opening up a lead on her opponents. Whitman leads with 37, against ex-Rep. Tom Cambell at 15 and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner at 6. (Their previous poll, in June, gave a small lead to Campbell at 13, with 10 for Whitman and 8 for Poizner.) On the Dem side, ex-Gov. Jerry Brown led SF Mayor Gavin Newsom 46-19; the sample was completed shortly before Newsom’s dropout last Friday.

• MD-Gov: A poll of the Maryland governor’s race from Clarus Research has a mixed bag for incumbent Dem Martin O’Malley. He defeats ex-Gov. Bob Ehrlich without too much trouble in a head-to-head, 47-40, and he has decent approvals at 48/40. Still, on the re-elect question, 39% want to see him re-elected and 48% would like someone new. That would potentially present an opportunity for the Maryland GOP — if they had someone better than Ehrlich to offer, but he’s really the best they have. (By contrast, Barb Mikulski, who’s also up in 2010, has a 53/36 re-elect.)

• OR-Gov: Moderate Republican state Sen. Frank Morse — who, without Rep. Greg Walden or state Sen. Jason Atkinson in the race, might actually have been the GOP’s best bet — said no thanks to a gubernatorial race despite some previous interest; he’ll run for re-election in 2010. Former Portland Trail Blazers center Chris Dudley has formed an exploratory committee to run in the Republican field, though.

• PA-Gov: Here’s an interesting development in the GOP primary field in Pennsylvania: a very conservative state Rep., Sam Rohrer, is scoping out the race and has formed an exploratory committee. Rohrer isn’t well-known outside of conservative activist circles and his Berks County base, but against the moderate Rep. Jim Gerlach and the generally-conservative but ill-defined AG Tom Corbett, he seems like he could peel off a decent chunk of votes on the far right.

• VT-Gov: Add two more Democratic names to the lengthening list in the governor’s race in Vermont. Former state Senator Matt Dunne officially got in the race, and another state Senator, Peter Shumlin, is planning to announce his bid in several weeks. Dunne lost the Lt. Governor’s race in 2006 to current Republican LG Brian Dubie, who is the only declared Republican candidate to replace retiring Gov. Jim Douglas.

• WI-Gov: Rumors keep flying of the Obama administration leaning on ex-Rep. and Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett to run for Wisconsin governor. WH political director Tom Patrick Gaspard met with Barrett. With Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton having recently and surprisingly dropped her bid, Barrett has a free shot if he wants it.

• AZ-03: Dems seem close to pinning down a candidate to run against Rep. John Shadegg in the Phoenix-based 3rd. Lawyer, businessman, would-be-novelist, and former Gary Hart staffer Jon Hulburd is prepping for the race.

• FL-05: The blood is already flowing down Republican streets in the wake of the NY-23 debacle, even a thousand miles away. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, hardly the first name that comes to mind when you think of moderate Republicans (although she is a Main Street member), is now being challenged by a political newcomer in the GOP primary, Jason Sager. One of Sager’s key talking points is Brown-Waite’s support of Dede Scozzafava, on whose behalf Brown-Waite campaigned last week. And more generally, RNC chair Michael Steele (who one week ago was supporting Scozzafava) is flexing his muscles, telling moderates to “walk a little bit carefully” on health care or “we’ll come after you.”

• FL-08: The NRCC has found a couple willing patsies to go up against Rep. Alan Grayson, whom they’ve been interviewing this week. The two contenders are businessman Bruce O’Donoghue (who owns a traffic-signal business… odd, but I guess somebody has to make them) and first-term state Rep. Eric Eisnaugle. (Carpetbagging real estate developer Armando Gutierrez Jr., radio talk show host Todd Long, who nearly beat then-Rep. Ric Keller in last year’s GOP primary, and three anonymous teabaggers are all in the race, but clearly not striking the NRCC’s fancy.) Attorney Will McBride (whose name you might remember from 2006, when he ran in the GOP primary against Katherine Harris) also talked with the NRCC this week, but just pulled his name from contention today.

• MN-01: Another potential challenger to Rep. Tim Walz popped up: former state Rep. Allen Quist. Quist, who ran in gubernatorial primaries twice in the 1990s, is from the state party’s right wing and is a key Michele Bachmann ally (his wife used to Bachmann’s district director). Republican Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau has also been interested in the race.

• MS-01: After all that work to clear the path for state Sen. Alan Nunnelee in the GOP primary in the 1st, the Republicans may still see a contested primary. Former Eupora mayor Henry Ross is seriously considering the race, and making preparations. This may not result in a pitched rural vs. suburbs battle like the previous primary, though; Eupora (pop. 2,400) is near the district’s southern end, near Columbus. Nunnelee is from the Tupelo area, which is also Democratic Rep. Travis Childers’ base.

• NH-02: Katrina Swett has been slow to get into the field in the Democratic primary for the open seat in the 2nd, letting Anne McLane Kuster raise more than $200K unimpeded and secure the EMILY’s List endorsement. Swett may be ready to make a move, though, as she’s been touting a GQR internal poll giving her a 20-point lead in the primary over Kuster. (The actual polling memo hasn’t been released, though, as far as I know.)

• NY-23: Doug Hoffman already has a key House leadership backer for a 2010 race: Indiana’s Mike Pence endorsed Hoffman.

• PA-06: Looks like we have a real race in the Dem primary in the 6th. State Sen. Andy Dinniman, one of the biggest fish in the district and someone who had considered running himself, endorsed physician Manan Trivedi instead of presumed frontrunner Doug Pike. One advantage that Dinniman sees is that Trivedi hails from Reading in Berks County, the part of the district where Dems have traditionally been the weakest.

• Turnout: If you’re wondering what the crux of what happened on Tuesday is, it boils down to terrible turnout. (And it’s pretty clear that higher turnout benefits Democrats, as younger and/or non-white voters who tend to be less likely voters are more likely to vote Democratic.) In Virginia (where the outcome seemed clear long ago), turnout was the lowest in 40 years, including a 10% falloff in key black precincts. And in New Jersey, turnout was also a record low for the state, even though the race was a tossup — indicating a lack of enthusiasm for either candidate. If you want to dig into exit polls for a post-mortem, the New York Times has them available for New York, New Jersey, and Virginia.

• 2010: The White House (or at least David Axelrod) wants to nationalize the 2010 elections, as a means of fixing the Dems’ turnout problems from this week. Expect to see Obama front and center in the run-up to next year’s elections.

• Illinois Filings: With Illinois’s first-in-the-nation filing deadline for 2010 having passed, as usual, our filings guru Benawu is on the scene with a recap in the diaries; check it out.

We began this bizarre tale with the news that one of GOP Rep. John Shadegg’s campaign credit cards was discovered on the floor in an Arizona Democratic Party office. The Shadegg campaign responded that the credit card slipped out of the pocket of a volunteer who purchased an Obama bumper sticker. The only problem? The Arizona Democratic Party has no record of the “volunteer” in question (who is actually Ryan Anderson, Shadegg’s deputy campaign manager and ex-lobbyist) purchasing a sticker. But they do have a record of the fake name and address that Anderson used on his disclosure form. Once again, here is the full press release from the Arizona Democratic Party:

Shadegg campaign staffer lied about identity in Democratic office

Democrats are demanding that Rep. John Shadegg fire his deputy campaign manager after learning that he accessed a Democratic Party office using a fake name and fake address.

Party officials believe that Ryan Anderson, who has claimed that he was at the party office to purchase a bumper sticker, provided the fake name and address. Anderson was only discovered because he left the Shadegg campaign’s credit card in the Democratic party’s office.

Records show that a person with the name “Bryan Anderson” filled out a contribution form, which is a legal document that the Arizona Democratic Party uses to report contributions to elections officials. The purchase of a bumper sticker is a contribution.

“Bryan Anderson’s” address is a near-match to Ryan Anderson’s. Every number in the street line of the address is one digit off. Democrats will not release Anderson’s home address.

Anderson, a veteran Republican operative, previously worked at a major Republican lobbying firm in Phoenix. He also worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

“It appears as though this was an orchestrated attempt by Ryan Anderson to lie about his identity,” said Emily DeRose, spokeswoman for the Arizona Democratic Party. “Why would Anderson need to lie if he was just there to buy a bumper sticker? Why would a Republican campaign operative go to a Democratic office to buy bumper stickers when they’re online? This story just doesn’t hold water.”

We posted earlier about the bizarre case of Arizona GOP Rep. John Shadegg’s campaign credit card being discovered on the floor of the Arizona Democratic Party’s headquarters. Shadegg’s campaign rushed out an email in response saying that a “volunteer” accidentally dropped the card while paying for an Obama bumper sticker (on a total whim). That seemed like a pretty odd explanation (to be generous), but the Arizona Democratic Party just rushed out this release exposing a few holes in that story. Once again, here is the release in full:

Lost and Found, Part Two: The TRUTH About John Shadegg’s Campaign Credit Card

John Shadegg’s campaign isn’t being honest.

MYTH: According to both John Shadegg’s campaign manager and spokeswoman, a campaign “volunteer” accidently dropped John Shadegg’s campaign credit card at an Arizona Democratic Party office while purchasing a bumper sticker. (AP, 10/20/08; PolitickerAZ, 10/20/08)

FACT: Shadegg’s so-called “volunteer,” Ryan Anderson, is actually Shadegg’s deputy campaign manager. (Yellow Sheet Report, 9/10/08)

MYTH: Shadegg’s campaign “volunteer” entered the Democratic office to purchase a bumper sticker. (AP, 10/20/08; PolitickerAZ, 10/20/08)

FACT: Shadegg’s deputy campaign manager did not purchase a bumper sticker. The Democratic Party requires that individuals fill out contribution forms when they buy bumper stickers, but has no record of a purchase by Ryan Anderson.

STATEMENT: “John Shadegg’s campaign is being dishonest,” said Maria Weeg, Executive Director of the Arizona Democratic Party. “Shadegg’s deputy campaign manager entered our office, likely to spy on supporters of Bob Lord’s campaign for change and attempt to obtain confidential information on Lord’s strategy. Congressman John Shadegg should make clear whether he condones his campaign’s behavior and whether he will continue to employ the individuals responsible for spying on the people of Arizona.”

NEW QUESTIONS:      

1) Why would an employee of both John Shadegg’s congressional office and his campaign provide a “volunteer” with the campaign’s credit card?

2) Why did John Shadegg’s campaign claim that Ryan Anderson is a “volunteer” when in fact he is Shadegg’s deputy campaign manager?

3) Why would John Shadegg’s deputy campaign manager purchase a Democratic bumper sticker?

4) Did John Shadegg’s deputy campaign manager access any information in the office or remove any materials – and, if so, will he return this information and materials?

5) Does Congressman John Shadegg condone his campaign’s behavior and will he continue to employ the individuals responsible for spying on the people of Arizona?

This is just surreal. The Arizona Democratic Party issued the following statement this afternoon. Due to the extreme bizarreness of this development, I’m reprinting the release in full:

Lost and Found: John Shadegg’s campaign credit card discovered at Democratic office

A credit card for John Shadegg’s campaign was found this weekend under the front desk of a Democratic Party office.

The card is issued to a senior Shadegg campaign operative, lists Shadegg’s re-election organization and was found near Democratic campaign materials.

The Democratic Party notified Shadegg’s campaign office that the card has been found. The party has also filed a report with the Tempe Police Department and with the credit card company.

“It’s extremely disturbing that a senior campaign operative for Republican John Shadegg would leave a credit card under a desk at one of our offices,” said Maria Weeg, Executive Director of the Arizona Democratic Party. “We let Congressman Shadegg know we found his credit card and requested Shadegg promptly explain what a member of his staff was doing in our office and how his campaign credit card arrived in our office.”

Congressman Shadegg has a responsibility to personally answer the following questions:

1)         How did his campaign credit card arrive in a Democratic Party office?

2)         What was a member of his congressional and campaign staff doing in the office?

3)         Did his staff member access any information in the office or remove any materials – and, if so, will he return this information and materials?

UPDATE: Mystery solved, I guess:

Update from Shadegg campign.  Email from campaign to Arizona Democratic Party.

Maria,

Thank you very much for bringing this to my attention.

I’m just learning about this, sorry about the delay in getting back to you.

I have learned that it was a credit card issued to xxxxxx who gave it to a volunteer, xxxxxx, who was in the Tempe area and he saw the Obama office and went in to get a bumper sticker. Apparently it fell out of his pocket when he paid for the bumper sticker.

We cancelled the card last night when we realized it was lost.

Thank you for turning it over to the police.

As barium says in the comments, it looks like even Shadegg’s volunteers prefer Obama over McCain!

LATE UPDATE: Not so fast — it turns out that this “volunteer” was Shadegg’s deputy campaign manager!

To my surprise, it looks like John Shadegg has been busy observing the Day of Atonement:

U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) has sent a letter of apology to a veteran upset over the use of his image in a Shadegg campaign ad.

“I have never supported you and I never will,” said Constantine O’Neill, a World War II veteran and former POW, at a press conference from the campaign headquarters of  Bob Lord, Shadegg’s Democratic opponent in the 3rd Congressional District. “I could never support someone who doesn’t represent my values or the values of veterans.”

O’Neill said the same in a letter to Shadegg, in which he demanded the ad be pulled and an apology be issued.

Here’s an excerpt from O’Neill’s letter (PDF):

I’m writing to you to demand that you take down your most recent TV commercial in which you use a photo of me and several other World War II POWs cropped together with a photo of you depicting that we support you.

The opposite couldn’t be more true.

At age 20, I joined the National Guard in 1939. then fought in the Army Infantry during five separate beach landings in World War II. I was captured in Italy as a war prisoner and taken to spend 22 months in a German prison camp. When they finally left me 10 fend for myself and find my American troops, at 87 lbs., I staggered my way for days and found a French hospital where I spent months recuperating.

Now I’m 89 years old and my wife Mary and I have been married for 63 years. We’ve lived through a lot. But when I saw a picture of myself in one of your ads, Mr. Shadegg, I began to cry because I was so angry.

I never have supported you and I never will – I could never support someone who doesn’t represent my values or the values of veterans. I have fought all my life but you never once have fought for me. Now you are exploiting me and my fellow POWs. You never asked my permission to use me in a photo, nor would I have given it to you.

To say this was a well-deserved laceration doesn’t begin to describe it. You know, if this were a few years ago, you almost wonder whether the GOP troglodytes would have descended into Swift Boat mode. Now it seems that they’re too scared to use such odious tactics. Good.

If you’ve been following SSP’s Independent Expenditure Tracker over the past couple of months, you’re well aware that most of the DCCC’s expenditures have been made in some of the more obviously top tier races. Starting to break that trend, the DCCC has just posted a $91,500 media buy against GOP Rep. John Shadegg in Arizona:

Shadegg, an ultra-conservative congresscritter representing an R+6 northern Phoenix district, announced his retirement back in February only to reverse course after his GOP colleagues begged him to stay. Still, it’s been pretty clear that his heart just isn’t in it anymore. With a tougher race than he perhaps had anticipated back in February, perhaps Shadegg will regret going through the hassle and not taking that swanky private sector job.

This news comes as a bit of a downer for us.  Apparently, the GOP arm-twisted John Shadegg into un-retiring, according to this article from the Arizona Republic.

Too bad.  On the up-side, I guess we’ll be able to portray him as someone who is not committed to serving in Congress, since he had to be begged to stay on.

I’m starting to lose count:

Saying he never intended to be a professional politician, Rep. John Shadegg announced Monday that he will not seek re-election to an eighth term in Congress.

Just weeks ago, Shadegg spoke confidently about his ability to win another term from the 3rd Congressional District, and he had raised nearly $500,000 for re-election in the fourth quarter.

On Monday, however, he said his decision was a personal one and was not spurred by concerns over his health or fear that he could lose his seat in November.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a number of months, though I’ve held it close to my vest,” Shadegg, 58, told The Republic on Monday. “I’ve just reached the conclusion I’d like to do something else with my life other than be in the minority in the U.S. House of Representatives.” (Emphasis added.)

I love it when they finally admit the truth. And Shadegg’s reason for bailing applies equally for every GOP member of Congress. In other words, I doubt he’ll be the last to retire.

This district has a PVI of R+5.9. Tough sledding, but we have a strong candidate in Bob Lord, who has already raised over $600K and still has half-a-mil on hand. And with any luck, we’ll see a bloody GOP primary. The AZ Republic says:

As of Monday night, no Republican challenger had stepped up, but several names have been mentioned, including: Shadegg chief of staff Sean Noble, Arizona House Speaker Jim Weiers, state Sen. Jim Waring, Corporation Commissioner Kris Mayes and Scottsdale attorney Jordan Rose.

Arizona’s primary is very late – not until Sept. 2nd. So a drawn-out fight could put the GOP at a big disadvantage.

P.S. Caped Composer caught this one right away when it broke.

UPDATE: Local Dems are rallying around Lord:

Emily Bittner, communications director for the Arizona Democratic Party, said the party would support Lord over other Democrats.

“The party is strongly behind Bob Lord,” said Maria Weeg, executive director of the party.

On top of that, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon (D) said he would not run, and 2006 Senate candidate Jim Pederson (whose name was also in the mix) has now endorsed Lord.