Tag: NE-Sen

So with eight months to go, I figure it’s time for an updated look at all the 2008 Senate races.  There are 35 seats up for election because of a scenario in Wyoming and Mississippi where both seats are up, due to the passing of Craig Thomas and the resignation of Trent Lott, respectively.  Now obviously, quite a few of the races are considered “safe” for the incumbent.  So I’ll rank these in terms of tiers.  The top tier will be the races where there is a serious challenger to the incumbent (or at least the incumbent’s party, in cases of retirement), where the party holding the seat has a real shot of switching.  The second tier are races that could become top tier races, but are not at this point.  Tier III are ones where a major event would need to happen for the seat to come into play.  And the safe seats?  Well, Mike Gravel has a better shot at winning the presidency than those incumbents have of losing their races.

Note: Some of this may seem repetitive, with information you already know.  That’s because I originally wrote this for the Bruin Democrats, many of whom don’t follow the national races like we do.  Consider this a primer for both newcomers and political junkies alike.

Tier I

1. Virginia: Incredibly popular former Governor Mark Warner (D) is running for this seat that opened up when John Warner (R), no relation, announced his retirement.  Warner left the governorship with a whopping 80% approval rating.  That’s freaking unheard of.  He’ll face another former Governor, Jim Gilmore (R), who some of you may remember tried running for President last year.  Gilmore was known as the governor who helped drive the state into near-bankruptcy with his car tax cut, and Warner as the one who fixed the problem when he took over for Gilmore.  Rasmussen Reports released a poll two weeks ago showing Mark Warner would CRUSH Jim Gilmore, 57%-37%.

2. New Hampshire: John Sununu (R) is about to become 2008’s version of Rick Santorum.  Democrats could run a ham sandwich against him, and it would be a competitive race.  No, really.  But why settle for a ham sandwich when you can run the former governor?  Jeanne Shaheen (D), who Sununu beat in 2002 thanks to some illegal phone-jamming on Election Day for which several GOP operatives went to prison, has led Sununu in almost every single poll taken.  The latest from the University of New Hampshire shows her leading 54%-37%.  Rasmussen shows a closer race, with her leading 49%-41%.  A general rule of thumb: any incumbent polling under 50% in an election poll is in trouble.  Under 40%, and you can start writing their political obituary.  Add to that, the fact New Hampshire strongly went blue in 2006 all over the place, kicking out both Republican Congressmen and flipping over 80 seats in the state House, giving Democrats control of both state legislature for the first time since 1910, and Sununu has to be considered the most endangered incumbent.

3. New Mexico: When Pete Domenici (R) announced he was retiring, it suddenly turned this former Tier III seat into a top tier race.  Rep. Tom Udall (D) announced for this seat shortly thereafter.  Yes, he is part of the famed Udall political family; his father Stewart served as Interior Secretary under JFK, and his uncle Mo was an Arizona Congressman for 30 years, also running for President in 1976.  Stewart Udall was largely responsible for just about all the environmental laws that were passed in the 1960s.  The GOP side will feature a primary fight between Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce.  So the entire New Mexico U.S. House delegation is running for this Senate seat!  Before Udall even entered the race, hypothetical matchups from Research 2000 and SurveyUSA showed him crushing both GOP opponents by over 15 points.  But a more recent Rasmussen poll shows a closer race, though with Udall still hitting the 50% mark in both matchups.  The main New Mexico blog questioned the accuracy of the poll, given their matchup showing Obama tied with McCain, defying the trends you see in other states.

4. Minnesota: Norm Coleman (R) won this seat in 2002 only after Paul Wellstone (D) died just a few weeks before the election.  With two top challengers in comedian Al Franken and lawyer Mike Ciresi, Coleman had a change of heart on Iraq, actually criticizing Bush over his handling of Iraq for the first time in years.  And the polls have been steadily favoring the Democrats, especially Franken.  While earlier polls showed Coleman leading by double digits (though under the 50% mark), both Democrats have been steadily closing the gap.  And in February, three polls came out showing Al Franken either leading Coleman or basically tied: Minnesota Public Radio (Franken 43.2%, Coleman 40%), Rasmussen (Franken 49%, Coleman 46%), and SurveyUSA (Coleman 47%, Franken 46%).  Ciresi doesn’t seem to do as well.  Franken is showing himself to be much more than just a comedian.  In 2007, he raised close to $7 million from over 81,000 people!  The Minnesota SEIU, a decent-sized union, just endorsed Franken too.  In case you’re wondering, there’s no “primary” for the Democrats, but rather the nominee will be picked at the party convention this June among about 1,400 delegates.

5. Colorado: Wayne Allard (R) kept his pledge of only serving two terms, and is retiring from the Senate.  Democrats have cleared the path for Rep. Mark Udall here.  He’s Mo Udall’s son, and Tom Udall’s cousin.  On the GOP side, former Rep. Bob Schaffer is the likely nominee.  Colorado has been trending bluer recently, picking up a Senate seat in 2004 (Ken Salazar), and a congressional district and the governor’s office in 2006.  Schaffer had previously lost the GOP primary for that Senate seat back in 2004 to Pete Coors.  At the end of 2007, Udall was sitting on a $3.6 million warchest, with Schaffer trailing by over $2 million.  Money isn’t everything, but damn.  Dick Wadhams (no, really, that’s his name) is taking over Schaffer’s campaign. Wadhams got Allard first elected to the Senate, and became a rising start in the GOP for managing John Thune’s 2004 win over Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota.  But, he was also in charge of managing George Allen’s 2006 re-election bid in Virginia, sending him from a 20-point lead seven months out to defeat.  (Allen revealing his inner racist greatly helped, too.)  However, recent Rasmussen polling shows Schaffer barely edging out Udall, so this race is far from a given pickup.

6. Louisiana: Mary Landrieu (D) is the most endangered Democratic incumbent in 2008.  But how endangered that really is remains to be seen.  She was able to win in 2002, a decidedly strong year for the GOP.  Karl Rove was able to woo state treasurer John Kennedy (no relation to the Kennedy family in Massachusetts) to switch parties to run for re-election to State Treasurer as a Republican last August, and after winning, he announced he would challenge Landrieu for her Senate seat.  Party switching actually seems rather common in Louisiana.  And hundreds of thousands of residents from New Orleans and the surrounding areas never came back to the state after Hurricane Katrina, making it even more red than it used to be.  Bobby Jindal (R) didn’t even need a runoff to win the governor’s race last year, getting over 50% of the vote on the first ballot and performing stronger than expected.  So that doesn’t bode well for Landrieu’s chances.  The good news for her is that she raised over twice as much as Kennedy did in the fourth quarter last year (October – December) and has almost 10 times as cash on hand as he does.

7. Alaska: Ted Stevens (R) is always a candidate for retirement, being 85 years old now, but says he will seek a sixth term.  But Stevens is in some legal trouble, with the FBI having raided his home last June in connection with possible bribes from Veco Corp., where several executives have already pled guilty to bribing his son Ben, who was the former state senate president.  Former Veco CEO Bill Allen admitted some bribe money also went towards Ted Stevens.  Democrats got their top choice when Anchorage mayor Mark Begich announced he was forming an exploratory committee (the first step in running).  His father Nick Begich was a former Congressman, who was killed in a plane crash along with House Majority Leader Hale Boggs (D-LA) in 1972.  A Research 2000 poll from December showed Begich already leading Stevens 47%-41%.

8. Oregon: Gordon Smith (R) has two challengers in lawyer/activist Steve Novick (D) and Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D).  Smith’s approvals from 2007 are not as good as they were in 2006 and before.  We’ll see if that trend continues.  The state party itself is in financial trouble too, facing over a quarter million dollars in debt, and the IRS is calling for some missing payroll taxes.  Rasmussen polling still shows Smith with double digit leads over both Democrats, but he is under the 50% mark.  Interesting to note, Smith is actually a cousin to the two Udalls running for Senate.

9. Maine: Susan Collins (R) doesn’t have the stature that fellow Senator Olympia Snowe (R) has.  Rep. Tom Allen (D) is running to challenge Collins.  But even though Maine is a blue state, he’ll have an uphill climb.  Collins has worked hard to craft her moderate credentials.  The most recent polls all show Collins over the 50% mark, with almost 20-point leads over Allen.  And the Maine newspapers suck.  I mean, really suck.

10. Texas: John Cornyn (R) has some pretty anemic poll numbers, and the immigration issue seems to have triggered a change in the Latino community.  State rep. Rick Noriega (D) got a nice boost when wealthy trial attorney Mikal Watts (D) dropped out of the race and threw his support to Noriega, ensuring a united Democratic front against Cornyn in November.  Noriega is also Lt. Col. in the Texas National Guard, served in Afghanistan after 9/11, and was chosen to coordinate relief efforts in Houston after Hurricane Katrina.  Earlier polling shows Texans are largely dissatisfied with Cornyn, and a baseline poll from last September showed Cornyn beating Noriega 51%-35%, with only 40% saying Cornyn deserved re-election.  And that was before Watts dropped out of the Democratic primary.  The Texas GOP seems to be concerned about this race, as they recently demanded Noriega release his military records… to them.  Instead, Noriega released his records to the entire public and denounced their swiftboating tactics at the same time.  Well played, sir.  However, the fundraising numbers are troubling, with Cornyn having outraised Noriega by more than a 4-to-1 margin in the fourth quarter, and Noriega trailed by almost $7 million in cash on hand to end the year.

Tier II

I decided, for the sake of my own sanity, not to try to rank the Tier II and III races.  These are given in alphabetical order, by state.

Kentucky: Even though Mitch McConnell (R) became the Senate Minority Leader, he is a top target of the Democrats.  And with former Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) losing his re-election bid to Steve Beshear (D) 59%-41% last November, that made Kentucky Democrats even more confident.  But then Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo (D) and State Auditor Crit Luallen (D) both declined to run, and netroots favorite Lt. Col. Andrew Horne (D), a Marine who has served in both the Persian Gulf War and the Iraq War, dropped his bid.  Rasmussen had shown both Stumbo and Luallen holding McConnell under the 50% mark, and for the Senate Minority Leader who can bring home the pork, that showed significant dissatisfaction with McConnell in Kentucky.  Now, the Democratic establishment seems to have coalesced around wealthy businessman Bruce Lunsford, who’s lost several primaries before, and ticked off a lot of Democrats by endorsing Fletcher over Ben Chandler (D) for Governor back in 2003 after losing the primary to Chandler.  The blogs are, ah, less than pleased.  We’ve yet to see how Lunsford would match up against McConnell.

Mississippi-B: Roger Wicker (R), appointed by governor Haley Barbour (R) on New Year’s Eve after Trent Lott (R) resigned to become a lobbyist, won’t have all the incumbency power Lott had accumulated over the years.  Wicker was the Congressman from MS-01, so he’s won elected office previously.  But Democrats scored a huge get when former Governor Ronnie Musgrove announced he was running for Senate, and former Rep. Ronnie Shows (D) ended his campaign, deferring to Musgrove.  Some polls have shown this matchup would be close.

Nebraska: With Chuck Hagel (R) retiring, all eyes had turned to former Nebraska Governor and Senator Bob Kerrey (D) to see if he would challenge for this open seat.  But, he announced last October that he wouldn’t run.  But Mike Johanns (R), who was also a former Governor of Nebraska, quit his job as Bush’s Agriculture Secretary to run for the seat.  The netroots were thrilled when rancher and history professor Scott Kleeb (D) threw his hat in the ring.  While Kleeb lost the NE-03 House race in 2006, that district is the most Republican in Nebraska, and Kleeb got a higher-than-expected 45% of the vote.  That’s had a lot of people thinking he would actually win in the other two districts, and thus a statewide race.  Of course, that doesn’t take into account how he’d be running against the former governor of the state.

South Dakota: Tim Johnson (D) is fully back at work after suffering a brain hemorrhage in December 2006.  His illness had made Republicans hesitant to challenge or attack him.  Governor Mike Rounds (R) would be a top challenger, but hasn’t made any indications that he will give up his governorship for the seat.  And when polling shows Johnson may be the most popular Senator in the country, why would he?

Tier III

Alabama: The Democrats’ top hope in Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks announced he was not running, leaving little-known state senator Vivian Figures (D) the only challenger to incumbent Jeff Sessions (R).  But… with the recent 60 Minutes piece on former Alabama governor Don Siegelman (D) being sent to prison on incredibly flimsy charges which Karl Rove may have had a hand in, those of us who’ve been following the story know that the guy who supposedly gave illegal contributions to Siegelman had also done the exact same thing with Sessions.  And it seems Sessions was desperate enough to try and kill the 60 Minutes story before it aired.  So there’s a chance Sessions will get ensnared in this growing scandal, in which case his seat may not be so safe.  But for now, it’s still Tier III.

Idaho: It’s looking like a rematch between Lt. Governor Jim Risch (R) and former Congressman Larry LaRocco (D), who lost the 2006 Lt. Gov. race to Risch by a sizable 58%-39% margin.  While LaRocco finished 2007 with more cash on hand than Risch, he had been raising money for most of 2007, while Risch only jumped in after the Larry Craig airport bathroom… ah… incident.

New Jersey: Frank Lautenberg (D) said he’s running again, but his age is always a concern, as he is already 84 years old right now.  His poll numbers also don’t look that good, but no New Jersey politician’s numbers ever look really good.  But no top-tier challenger has yet stepped up to challenge him.  Anne Estabrook (R) recently plopped $1.6 million of her own money into her campaign, but when she answers questions like this, Lautenberg may not have much to worry about.

North Carolina: Both Governor Mike Easley (D) and state rep. Grier Martin (D) decided not to run for this seat, giving Elizabeth Dole (R) some good news.  The declared Democrats are state senator Kay Hagan and businessman Jim Neal.  The blogosphere seems to be supporting Neal in this race.  FYI, if Jim Neal were to get the Democratic nomination and then beat Dole in the general, he would be the first openly gay Senator in U.S. history.

Oklahoma: James Inhofe (R) looks pretty safe, though interestingly enough, Inhofe has never gotten to 50% approval in the history of SurveyUSA’s polling.  State senator and netroots favorite Andrew Rice (D), who lost his brother in the 9/11 attacks, has declared for this race.

South Carolina: This race is only in Tier III because Lindsey Graham (R) may actually be primaried out of his own party, for his support of Bush’s immigration plan.  The natives are restless.  A party switch is much less likely, but a different senator serving in this seat come 2009 is a distinct possibility.

Tennessee: Well, businessman Mike McWherter (D), son of former Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter (D), announced back in November that he was not going to run for this seat, a blow for Democrats.  But, former Tennessee Democratic Party chair Bob Tuke announced last week that he will run.  It remains to be seen if Tuke can make this a real race against Lamar Alexander (R), who was also a two-term governor of Tennessee and the Secretary of Education under George H.W. Bush.

Democratic safe seats

Arkansas (Mark Pryor)

Delaware (Joe Biden, so safe I forgot to include him last time)

Illinois (Dick Durbin)

Iowa (Tom Harkin)

Massachusetts (John Kerry)

Michigan (Carl Levin)

Montana (Max Baucus)

Rhode Island (Jack Reed)

West Virginia (Jay Rockefeller)

Republican safe seats

Georgia (Saxby Chambliss)

Kansas (Pat Roberts)

Mississippi (Thad Cochran)

Wyoming (Michael Enzi)

Wyoming (John Barrasso)

So there you have it, my personal rankings for the 2008 Senate races, as they stand at the beginning of March.  Things can still change if some candidates jump in or drop out.  But the filing deadline has already passed in some states, so getting our dream candidate in some of these races has already passed.  And we won’t know what the national mood will be 8 months from now.  Still, given that, these are my picks, and I’m sticking with them… until my next update, at least.

Feel free to rip me apart in the comments, telling me I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, how could I possibly put a certain race in Tier II or III when it’s so obviously a top tier race, why I’m being too optimistic in some seat, etc.  Have at it, folks.  🙂

We are so close to reaching our daily goal of $1,500 for Scott! We already have $1,200 – and I know that we can we reach our goal!

We have had people donate $5, $20, $500, etc… Every little bit truely counts, small donors will make the difference in this campaign. Donate whatever you can spare.

This is your campaign, so help US win this race by buying a piece of the campaign today.

I want to share with you something that Scott wrote on his website that really touched me:

We can either demand more of ourselves and our leaders, or we can settle for more of the same. We can demand new ideas that uphold our finest and oldest traditions, or we can settle for the same failed old policies. We can stand up, together, and have a say about our future or we can put our future in the same old hands that got us where we are today. Others expect apathy. They expect us not to care. They expect us to settle for the same old thing.

They are in for a big surprise this year.

Yes they are. But only if get involved and demand more from our candidates.

Help us elect a real leader in this election – donate today!

Also, check out Scott’s live interview on the local news.

My good friend Ryan Anderson has the story on New Nebraska Network:

I just got off the phone with Scott Kleeb, who is headed East on I-80 towards the fight of his political life: “I’m going to Lincoln tomorrow to file for the United States Senate,” he told me.  “It’s just the first step in what’s going to be a long and hard fought campaign, but I will be taking that first step tomorrow.”

We did it, no….you did it! You got involved in our campaign. From the beginning, this is what Draft Kleeb was about – it was about you, it about us, it was about building a better Nebraska. We set out to do away with the smoke filled room and WE drafted OUR candidate into this race.

But there is so much more to do! Let us affirm that this is our campaign by buying a piece of it today. A donation today will go to helping build a stronger Democratic majority in Washington, and to help rebuild the Democratic Party in Nebraska.

Here is the link to the donations page I have set through ActBlue.

Scott will face a primary challenge from failed Bush nominee Tony Raimondo (who switched parties just weeks before he announced a run for Senate, and a month after ending his Republican campaign for Senate) and the general election fight with Former Governor Mike Johanns.

Now thing about it, how often to we get a chance to beat not one, but TWO Republicans in one race! It can, and will be done – but not without your help.

Click here to buy a piece of this people powered campaign!

Also, take a look at Scott’s amazing new website, his Logo contest, and his Facebook page.

Ryan mentions this in his post, but I will be heading down to Lincoln to live blog Scott’s filing and informing people about how the process works. I will have a post up before I leave around 7 a.m. Central. Thank you all of your help in this campaign!

P.S. Donate!

(from the diaries – promoted by Trent Thompson)

Multiple press accounts confirm now that Scott Kleeb will make an announcement regarding the U.S. Senate race on Monday.

Lincoln Journal Star:

Scott Kleeb appeared poised Wednesday to enter the 2008 Senate race.

Kleeb, the 2006 Democratic congressional nominee in western and central Nebraska, is planning to reveal his political plans on Monday.

His candidacy would set the stage for a high-profile Democratic primary contest with Columbus industrialist Tony Raimondo for the Senate nomination.

The primary is May 13.  

As discussed yesterday, Scott Kleeb told Nebraska TV that he will be meeting with national Democratic Party leaders this next week to gauge his support in D.C. I am assuming, most importantly, that Scott will be meeting with the DSCC leadership. The DSCC will be pledging an unknown amount of money and resources to Scott’s potential Senate candidacy and we need to make sure the Washington support is as big as possible.

The DSCC will undoubtedly gauge Scott’s chances by looking at his support, not just in Nebraska from the Netroots as well. Which is why I ask for your help today.

Draft Kleeb has been sponsoring a pledge drive (PLEDGE for KLEEB) where Kleeb supporters from around the state of Nebraska can pledge their support to our potential candidate. Now we are turning to the netroots for help as well.

Please take the time to head to our PLEDGE DRIVE site and fill out the information. If you can spare it, pledge $5-$10-$15-whatever amount and please pledge some volunteer hours. Even if you live outside of Nebraska you can still play a role in this campaign. Or at the vary least, simply pledge your support – the DSCC needs to know that Scott has the support to win this race. It won’t be easy, but it is possible!

PLEDGE for KLEEB today!

Thank you for your continued support!

From Nebraska TV:

Some traveled a few hours to be here, and others are running for state legislature in their district.

Saturday was about networking and developing a strategy to get Democrats excited about the state presidential caucus coming up, and more awareness in the third district.

“We want the 3rd district to move,” one Democrat announced to the crowd.

Move to reach rural communities and young people whom party members say their district is losing.

“I see the 3rd district floundering,” Lisa Hannah said, a local Democrat considering running for state legislature.  “The next census we could end up losing our district.”

Lisa Hannah used to be a Republican, but experience with national Democratic leaders and concern for her community changed her mind.

“I see the Democratic party as moving forward.”

She may run for state legislature but her goal now is to network by sharing ideas with fellow Democrats like Kate Sullivan.  She’s running for the 41st district.

“I care for rural populations. They continue to decline,” she said.

Both women show concern for  rural areas, and they share high hopes for Nebraska with everyone else at the meeting, especially with the presidential caucus coming up.

With the possibility of Scott Kleeb running for office, that’s enough to bring these folks to their feet.

“Starting today, we’re on full time,” Kleeb said.

Kleeb says he’ll be very involved in the third district, but says he has not decided if he will run yet.  He’s meeting with party leaders in Washington D.C. next week, and said he’ll make a decision in the next two weeks.  He says family time and raising enough campaign money are big factors in his decision.

First of all, I am delighted to see Democrats getting active in the 3rd District. Using Scott’s 2006 Congressional race as a model, Democrats should be able to make some progress in one of the most conservative districts in the nation.

Second, I am glad to hear that Scott is meeting with party leaders next week. That is a major step in the direction of a U.S. Senate race. We can only hope that said national leaders (I’m betting Chuck Shumer is one of them) pledge to help Scott as so many other activists have done through Draft Kleeb’s Pledge Drive.

So how can we make sure that national Democrats give Scott the resources he needs to win this race? By pledging ourselves! I am convinced that someone at the DSCC looks at this website and probably checks the pledge drive…so we must boost our numbers for Scott!

So what are you waiting for? PLEDGE volunteer hours. PLEDGE contributions. Or just PLEDGE your support to Scott! We have gotten this far together, all we need to do is cross that finish line! PLEDGE for KLEEB today!

The following press release was sent to local media Friday morning:

DECEMBER 7, 2007: DRAFT SCOTT KLEEB FOR U.S. SENATE WELCOMES TONY RAIMONDO TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

OMAHA – Draft Kleeb would like to welcome the newest member of the Democratic Party in Nebraska, Columbus Industrialist Tony Raimondo, with congratulations and open arms.

“The Democratic Party is the party of the people and must welcome all those disenfranchised by the GOP,” said DraftKleeb.com editor Mike Nellis.  “I congratulate Tony for seeing the light so quickly after ending his bid for the Republican Senate nomination.  We can only hope that the Nebraska Democratic Party will spend as much time recruiting other disenfranchised Republicans as they did Mr. Raimondo.”

Draft Kleeb has also seen its fair share of good news this week.  Scott Kleeb released a video on his website (can be seen here) challenging voters to make the Senate race their own, and PLEDGE for KLEEB numbers have reached outstanding levels.  (78 people have pledged 1,782 hours or 222 working days, and over $18,000)

Those pledged include: Nebraska Young Democrats President, Kyle Michaelis; Phelps County Democratic Party Chair, Brian Osborn; NewNebraska.net lead blogger, Ryan Anderson; Executive Director of Panhandle Community Services, Janice Fitts; and Adjunct Instructor at Metro Community College, Joe Cunningham.

“It’s time to take a stand against conventional insider politics.  The Nebraska Republican Party, lead by Senate candidate Mike Johanns, has forgotten that democracy is a test of leadership, not a show of power.  We urge disenfranchised Republicans like Tony Raimondo to take a stand against this kind of politics by stepping forward to PLEDGE for KLEEB.”

Draft Kleeb is an independent organization hoping to convince Scott Kleeb to run for Senate in Nebraska.   It is not authorized by Scott Kleeb, his campaign, any campaign committee, or any political party.

It’s time we take control of our party.  It’s time we make this campaign ours.  We have a chance to do that in 2008 — let’s not pass that up!  You never know when it will happen again.

So what are you waiting for?  PLEDGE for KLEEB and make this campaign yours!

This has been a great week for the Draft Kleeb movement.  A New Nebraska is just on the horizon, but we can not stop yet…

PLEDGE for KLEEB numbers so far…

70 people have pledged…

…1,551 hours (194+ working days)

…$12,920 to date

The heavy hand of Washington is trying to shape Nebraska politics on both sides of the aisle, and we need you to help us show them who’s really in charge of our democracy!  Help us reach 75 people, 200 working days (eight hours) in 24 hours and take a stand against conventional Washington politics.

That only takes 5 people to put this campaign on their shoulders.

As Scott recently said, this is “our choice – and a choice we have to make together!”

This campaign is about you and will be succesful if you step forward and hoist this campaign on your shoulders!

So what are you waiting for?  PLEDGE for KLEEB today!

In case you haven’t seen it yet, today’s big news is that Scott Kleeb posted a video on his website laying down a challenge to voters and activists to make this race their own.  Click here to see the video.

While Scott stops short of an announcement, he certainly puts gasoline on the Senate race fire.  Making our DraftKleeb.com movement ever more important.  Already, Nebraskans from across our great state have stood up for this campaign by pledging volunteer hours and donations.  Many have choosen to put what I call a “down payment” on this campaign by donating as little as $5 through our ActBlue page.  

I thank everyone who has stepped forward for a New Nebraska, but I now come to you asking for more.

Your help has been instrumental to our campaign.  We have fought against traditional party politics since the beginning.  Mike Johanns and Tony Raimondo, lifelong Republican, symbolize the same old politics we have come to know and loathe.  My friends this is truely people powered politics which is why I ask you today to become a DraftKleeb.com people powered lobbyist.

What is a people powered lobbyist you ask?  It is you!  It is someone who is tired of conventional politics and wants to put real leadership in Washington.  But is also someone who takes action.  Here is what you can do:

If you haven’t already, PLEDGE for KLEEB.  Let Scott know you are ready to hoist this campaign on your shoulders by pledging your time and contributions to his eventual Senate campaign.

Next, put that down payment on Scott’s campaign.  It is unfortunate how important money is in politics, but we are going to have raise money from the grassroots up in this campaign.  That starts with you.

But your role as a DraftKleeb.com people powered lobbyist goes far beyond just volunteer hours and donations.  I ask you to become an extension of this campaign.  As Scott said in his video, this is “our choice — and a choice we have to make together!”  This means we must become the campaign.  Talk to your friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers, ect… and get them to pledge for Scott Kleeb. Lead them to the websites, tell them how Scott is the future of Nebraska politics, and empower them to take action in this campaign as you have. But most importantly, tell them that is their campaign, tell them is your campaign, tell them that people power can defeat conventional party politics everyday of the week and twice on Sundays!

Paul Wellstone once said, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for!”  It’s time we live up to that grand credo and stand up for democracy in Nebraska.

THIS IS YOUR CAMPAIGN!  THIS IS OUR CAMPAIGN!  AND OUR TIME IS NOW!

Sent out to media outlets this morning:

November 30th, 2007: 52 people step forward and PLEDGE for KLEEB

Over 150 working days, $12,000 pledges



OMAHA — On Friday November 23rd, 2007 Draft Scott Kleeb for U.S. Senate launched PLEDGE for KLEEB, a program that allowed voters and activists to pledge support for Democrat Scott Kleeb should he enter the 2008 U.S . Senate race in Nebraska.  Interested parties were encourage to pledge 8 volunteer hours or one working day.  Pledged contributions were also encouraged.

As of Friday November 30th, 2007, 52 people have pledged over 150 working days and over $12,000 to an eventual Kleeb for Senate campaign.

“I am delighted by the reception PLEDGE for KLEEB has seen from voters throughout the state,” said Mike Nellis, editor of DraftKleeb.com.  “52 people doesn’t sound like much but candidates would kill to have that many volunteers this early in a campaign.”

Those pledged include: President of Nebraska Young Democrats, Kyle Michaelis; Phelps County Chair, Brian Osborn; and one self described, “life-long Republican.”



“The numbers are strong, and the people are motivated to preserve Democracy in the state of Nebraska.  But we aren’t going to stop here.  PLEDGE for KLEEB will continue to show Scott Kleeb that he has the support to win the Senate race, and build him an infrastructure upon which to launch his campaign.”

If you haven’t done so already, PLEDGE for KLEEB!