Tag: DSCC

March fundraising reports for the six major party committees:

Note that the DNC figure includes a $2 million transfer from the Obama campaign, which makes their March intake not so impressive compared to the RNC. (Say what you will about Michael Steele, but fundraising does not seem to be suffering too badly under his watch.) Spending tallies for the two Senate committees are also currently unavailable.

Once again the story continues to be the rather portly levels of debt held by the Dem House and Senate committees, which in aggregate are just over three times as large as the combined NRCC/NRSC debts. But the Democratic committees should be able to balance the books sooner rather than later — especially with a major June fundraiser headlined by President Obama on the horizon.

• Committees: Fundraising numbers for the committees for the month of February came out yesterday and today:

The NRSC raised $2.87 million, ending with $1.05 million CoH and $2.7 million in debt (down from $4 million in debt last month).

The DSCC also raised $2.87 million, ending with $3.07 million CoH and $10.9 million in debt.

The NRCC raised $2.03 million, ending with $1.85 million CoH and $6.4 million in debt.

The DCCC won the month, raising $3.5 million, ending with $2.9 million CoH and $15 million in debt.

• MN-Sen: Is there finally a light at the tunnel at the end of the interminable legal battle? Norm Coleman’s attorney said in a radio interview that he’s “done,” and that when the three-judge panel is done reviewing the count, Franken is still likely to be ahead, although he still plans on a “quick appeal.”

• CA-10: More clarity in the field in the upcoming special election: assemblyman Tom Torlakson, who was considered one of the two likely contenders for the seat, won’t run. He was already in the process of running for state superintendent of public instruction, and will continue with that instead. This leaves a clearer path for state senator Mark DeSaulnier, although assemblywoman Joan Buchanan is also interested.

• MI-Gov: Venture capitalist (i.e. rich guy) Rick Snyder is looking to join the crowded GOP field for the 2010 governor’s race. At least six names have been floated for this race or are already running. (D)

• SC-Gov: Inez Tenenbaum, the highest-profile Dem considering the South Carolina governor’s race (she was superintendent of public instruction for two terms and was competitive against Jim DeMint in the 2004 Senate race), has declined to run for governor. State senator Vincent Sheheen is the only Dem in the race so far, although others interested include state house minority leader Harry Ott, state senators Brad Hutto and Robert Ford, and Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod.

• SC-03: Republican state senator Shane Massey is the first to jump into fray to succeed Gresham Barrett, who’s running for the open SC governor’s seat. No Dems have stepped up yet in this dark-red district.

• PA-15: Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan met with Allyson Schwartz in Washington this week to discuss a possible bid against GOP Rep. Charlie Dent. Unfortunately for Democrats, Callahan says he’s “not interested” in the race at this point. And so the search for a viable candidate in this competitive district continues… (J)

To no one’s surprise, Harry Reid has named Bob Menendez to take over stewardship of the DSCC in the wake of Chuck Schumer’s departure. Menendez certainly has a tough act to follow after Schumer’s 13 big wins over the past two cycles, but there are a lot of good opportunities on the table in 2010 that could make it a good year for Bob (and us). Let’s wish him luck.

The DSCC’s full press release is available below (and under the flip):

REID NAMES MENENDEZ DSCC CHAIRMAN FOR 2010 CYCLE

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today named U.S. Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 2010 election cycle.  Menendez will take over the DSCC from Senator Charles Schumer, who led the committee during the last two election cycles.

Senator Reid said: “As an aggressive, focused and committed Democrat and a widely respected Senator, Bob Menendez will be a superb leader of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.  Our Caucus will be well-served by Bob Menendez, whose mastery of policy is matched only by his mastery of politics.  He was a leader in the House, rising to become the third-ranking Democrat there; has already established himself as a leader in the Senate; and will continue to lead us in protecting our incumbents and electing new Democrats in the future. I thank Sen. Schumer for his four years of leadership.  Because of his efforts, Democrats have expanded our majority to its largest in 30 years.  I am confident that Sen. Menendez will build upon this success.”

Senator Menendez said: “I am humbled by this opportunity, and I fully recognize the responsibility that comes with it. In 2006 and again this year, under the masterful stewardship of Senator Schumer, we have made major gains toward bringing change to our country. We face historic challenges and must continue to move in that new direction. I intend to make sure that we build upon the majority in Senate that allows us to affect the change we need. I want to thank Majority Leader Reid for his terrific leadership and for entrusting me with this position.”

Senator Schumer said: “I want to thank Senator Reid and all of my Democratic colleagues for making the past four years such a success.  Bob Menendez is a great choice.  We worked closely together the past two years, and I am confident he will do a fabulous job.”

Menendez served as vice chairman of the DSCC for the past two years.  He was appointed to the Senate in January 2006 to fill the remainder of Governor Jon Corzine’s term and was elected to a full term in November of that year.  He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 and elected by his colleagues as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus in 2002, making him the highest ranking Hispanic in Congressional history.  With today’s appointment he becomes the first Hispanic in history to lead a Senate or House campaign committee.

The AP:

Sen. Charles Schumer said Monday he is giving up his job running the Senate Democrats’ national campaign efforts after two successful elections.

“We’ve had a great run,” said Schumer, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee since the 2006 campaign, when he helped engineer a 6-seat gain that gave his party a slim 1-vote majority margin.

Chuck had one hell of a run, and it’s a shame to see him go. It looks like New Jersey’s Bob Menendez, a current DSCC vice-chair, will likely take over the reins. Let’s hope he can make some inspired recruiting moves like Chuck was able to do on more than one occasion.

We already know Chris Van Hollen is staying on for another term at the DCCC. But who will head up the counterpart committee, the DSCC?

Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.) says he will remain Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman at least until the outstanding 2008 Senate races are resolved, but still is keeping coy about whether he ultimately intends to pass the gavel to Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.) in January.

Schumer, chased down after a closed-door session with Senate Democrats to determine next year’s leadership lineup, at first declined to comment about his future. But when pressed, the two-time DSCC chairman said he would stay on at the campaign committee post for at least a few more weeks. Three Senate races remain in doubt, including Minnesota, Alaska and Georgia.

“I’m staying in to handle the three more races, and then we’ll decide what to do,” Schumer said.

A reporter had to chase down Schumer? That might be a first – this is a guy who would walk across 100 miles of broken glass barefoot to do a show on a 10-watt radio station out of Elmira. Anyhow, that’s why I like Chuck E. Cheese Schumer, and why I would hope he’d stick around for one more term at the DS.

However, if Menendez is the heir apparent, then it’s either now or wait until 2014 – I don’t think Menendez could or should run the committee while seeking re-election, especially since New Jersey is seldom easy. Still, Menendez is only 54, which is very young for the Senate (he’s among the most junior twenty members). If his destiny is to lead the DSCC, he’ll have ample opportunity to do so before long.

From the Politico:

Hoping to maximize congressional gains,  the DNC is taking out a $10 million line of credit to split equally between the House and Senate campaign committees, according to a top Democrat familiar with the move.

The decision to go into the red for the DCCC and DSCC comes as party operatives see more races coming into play, especially in the House. The goal: To take advantage of what is shaping up to be a Democratic wave by picking up as many seats as possible, giving the party a massive governing majority and making it more difficult for the GOP to recapture power in future cycles.

So where will this money be felt? We didn’t see any major expenditures filed yesterday with the FEC by the D-trip, but I expect tonight will be a lot busier.

Cillizza buries this nugget in his latest post on GOP spending decisions:

(It’s worth noting that a national party committee pulling advertising out of a state isn’t always a bad sign. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has pulled its advertising in the Colorado Senate race, but that is a sign of their confidence of winning, not their acceptance of defeat.)

More money to spend elsewhere.

UPDATE: The Denver Post has more:

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will cease television advertising in Colorado by Tuesday, state Democratic sources say, a signal that the national candidate committee believes Rep. Mark Udall is comfortably ahead of former congressman Bob Schaffer in the race for Colorado’s open U.S. Senate seat.

The DSCC instead will put its resources into competitive races elsewhere as the party tries to secure the filibuster-proof 60-seat majority.

Udall’s campaign isn’t particularly happy with the move, however.

“It doesn’t help,” Udall spokesman Tara Trujillo said of the national Senate committee’s decision. “We think that outside GOP groups will see this as an opportunity to launch more mean-spirited attack ads against Mark.”

September fundraising numbers for the four party committees:

Note that these figures do not include recent loans obtained by the DCCC ($15 million) and the NRCC ($8 million). I would expect their Senate counterparts to take out loans as well.

While we don’t yet know the details of the NRSC and the DSCC’s spending this month, the DCCC has made about $19.6 million worth of independent expenditures so far in October according to our IE tracker. By contrast, the NRCC has only spent about $6 million on IEs so far in October.

I hate to sound like I’m starting to do a victory dance about five yards shy of the end zone, but for practical purposes, the presidential race is all but over. (John King from CNN just reported that the McCain campaign has more or less ruled out the possibility of winning Colorado along with Iowa and New Mexico, which is tantamount to ruling out the possibility of winning the election. King reports Team McCain’s considers its last hope to be a triple-bank-shot approach of holding all the other battleground states and somehow picking up Pennsylvania.)

That doesn’t absolve anyone of doing the hard work of GOTVing, of course; it just should lead to some discussion of what we might do with the Obama campaign’s gigantic financial bounty. Considering that I write for Swing State Project, you might assume (correctly) that I would call for some of that money to be released to be spent on downballot races. The Obama campaign has seemingly read my mind, as he seems serious about not just bringing with him the 60-seat Senate and progressive-heavy House that he’ll need to enact his agenda, but even building at the state legislature level.

The Washington Post is reporting, in an aside in a piece of Obama’s advertising plans, that some of the campaign’s money may go to the DSCC and DCCC:

The campaign has raised so much money that it is considering passing some along to Democratic Party committees to try to help grow the party’s majorities in Congress, according to a campaign source.

Marc Ambinder also reports that the DNC may be moving money to state legislative races (as much as $20 million), especially in key contests like the New York Senate, Ohio House, and Texas House. This is, to my mind, extremely important, as expanding state legislative majorities serves to build the Democratic bench and Democratic brand, and will help establish as much Democratic control as possible over the 2010 redistricting process… one more example of how both Obama and Dean are playing 3-D chess after decades of Democratic committees playing tic-tac-toe. (H/t Kos.)

Which brings me to one more item on my wish list: that Obama himself, in the last week of the campaign, hold some rallies in Mississippi and Georgia, even if it means passing up the chance to try to nail down, say, the EVs of Indiana or West Virginia. Part of that, of course, stems from the need to call attention to and bolster enthusiasm for the campaigns of Ronnie Musgrove and Jim Martin, either of whom could be that Senate Seat #60. But there’s also the sheer symbolic power of it: the nation’s first African-American president marching confidently into the reddest corners of the Deep South, and making his last stand there.

From the Atlanta-Journal Constitution:

By late Tuesday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had bought about $500,000 worth of advertising time on at least five metro Atlanta television stations for spots to support Democratic senate candidate Jim Martin in his uphill battle against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Moultrie. The spots begin running today. […]

As of late Tuesday afternoon, Atlanta’s five network affiliates: WSB, WXIA, WAGA and WGCL and WATL had not received copies of the ad, which is slated to run Wednesday morning. The ad will run largely during news broadcasts and in prime time, during such popular programs as “Dancing with the Stars,” “House” and NFL Sunday pre-game show.

The size of DSCC order is substantial. At $514,950, it is much larger than any weekly TV ad buy made by Martin since of the start of his campaign. The ad is scheduled to run 369 times by next week.

There’s no word yet on whether the DSCC is airing ads in Georgia’s other media markets (although metro Atlanta is certainly the biggest), but this is certainly a good start and an encouraging sign for Jim Martin. If we hope to win this race, all of us will need to kick it up a notch.

(Hat-tip: Ectoras)

Update: Here’s the ad: