Swing State Project

This is Griff from Childers For Congress HQ in Booneville. I wanted to let you all know how grateful we are for the generous support we've received from y'all. This thing has turned into a real streetfight.

The fact is that the Republicans seem to have this talent for creating quagmires. . .first Iraq, now Mississippi's 1st CD. Y'all know I can't help this: give the NRCC and the Davis campaign heartburn by donating some more. Add a penny for the internet or put “ssp” somewhere on the form!

Thanks again for all your help. Keep contributing, keep fighting. We can take this district back now!

I am as proud of the Swing State Project community today as I ever have been. Some time late Wednesday, we crashed past our fundraising goal of $2300 for Travis Childers. And as promised, I threw in my $250 matching contribution – though you guys were so generous yesterday that you busted right through my cap! All told, our take for the day was $667 – our biggest single day – for a grand total of $2585 from 57 contributors. I had set next Monday as our deadline, yet we’ve reached this point in little over two days. I am in awe at how deep SSP dug. Truly. You are mensches, all.

Though we’ve blown past our target, I do want to make one final ask. If you haven’t given yet, or if you’ve just dug up $5 out of your sock drawer you didn’t know you had, please consider making a donation. And here’s why:

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the greatest secret weapon yet developed in the War on Republicans, the Trent Thompson 72-Hour Program!

Over the last year, you’ve all gotten to know SSP Contributing Editor Trent Thompson. Trent, as you may be aware, hails from Alabama, and he’s the fellow who helped introduce us to Ron Sparks. While that race didn’t pan out, Trent has been active in helping out with another campaign – yep, Travis Childers’. MS-01 is not far from where Trent goes to school, and he’s volunteered there in his spare time. (He even dragged a carload of his buddies with him one weekend.)

Right now, Trent’s in the midst of exams. His last one is on May 9th. Three minutes after it ends, Trent will be hightailing it across the state line to hook up with the Childers campaign once more. He’ll spend every waking minute from then until election night knocking on doors, making phone calls, handing out lit, driving vans and – because he just can’t help it – charming the local women-folk.

Now, Trent is a skinny bastard, but he does need to eat something. He’ll also need plenty of Jolt Cola and some gas money. We’re hopeful that the Childers campaign will be able to reimburse him – after all, it’s not easy shelling out when you’re a college student. So if you give today, your money will (at least indirectly) be helping to pay the way for a damn fine political operative (and blogger, I might add) to kick some serious GOP ass for an extended long weekend. Okay, so it’s more than 72 hours – but that’s a good thing! Seriously, when it comes to crunch time, Trent Thompson is the kind of guy every campaign wants in their corner. Childers is lucky to have him, and we’re lucky we can help send him.

I promise that this is my very last nag for Travis Childers. We’ve all done our parts, and then some. But let’s do one final burst for Travis – and for Trent. Thank you!

From a new SurveyUSA poll obtained by Roll Call (likely special election voters, 4/27-29):

Don Cazayoux (D): 50

Woody Jenkins (R): 41

(MoE: ±4.5%)

Those are some very encouraging numbers, considering that voters are heading to the polls to decide this race on Saturday.  But here’s the really amazing thing:

Despite enduring two weeks of constant attacks on the air from Republicans and independent conservative groups, Cazayoux had a net favorability rating of plus-15 (43 percent favorable, 28 percent unfavorable and 28 percent neutral or unfamiliar), according to the poll.

Jenkins, who came into the race with much higher name identification but who was known as a controversial figure, had a minus-13 favorability rating (36 percent favorable, 49 percent unfavorable and 14 percent neutral or unfamiliar).

So let’s get this straight: despite $436K spent by the NRCC, $100K by the Club For Growth, $500K by Freedom’s Watch, and another $150K or so by Leonard Grisby on an effort to re-brand Cazayoux as a serial tax raiser and lover of Barack Obama, Cazayoux still has higher favorability ratings than Woody Jenkins.  Remarkable.

Special election: 5/3.

Holy smokes.  This should make the chocolate milk come spurting out of Tom Cole’s nose.

The DCCC just made a huge independent expenditure in Mississippi today, to the tune of $702,642.

The expenditures include $350K on an ad buys hitting GOP candidate Greg Davis, and another $350K on a media buy supporting Democrat Travis Childers.  They’ve also thrown in a grand on phonebanking.

This is really huge.  The DCCC has raised the stakes quite considerably.  In total, they’ve now spent $1.1 million on the race to replace Roger Wicker.  (With $950K or so of that coming after the April 22nd special primary.)  Will the cash-strapped NRCC follow suit?

They probably can’t afford not to.

Special election: 5/13.

PS: We are only $40 short of our $2300 goal for Travis Childers.  Will a hero emerge and put us over the top?  Remember, DavidNYC has pledged to match the first $250 donated today with his own contribution.  Let’s do this thing!

Andrew Rice, state senator from Oklahoma and Jim Inhofe’s sole opponent for U.S. Senate this year, will be on Daily Kos today at 4:30 pm Central (5:30 Eastern/2:30 Pacific) to liveblog about his US Senate race.  He’ll focus on the problems created by a combination of record gas prices and record oil company profits, but all questions will be welcome!

Check here at 4:30 Central today to speak with Sen. Rice:

http://senator-andrew-rice.dai…

Thanks –

Karina Henderson

Rice for US Senate

PS – If you want to find out more about Andrew, go to http://www.andrewforoklahoma.com.  And if you’d like to make a contribution now (so you’re not having to nav away from the liveblog later), how about donating to our “Turn Oklahoma Green” page on ActBlue?  Click here – http://www.actblue.com/page/tu…

UPDATE [4/30 @ 5:00pm Central]: Sen. Rice is liveblogging now – go to http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

With Gordon Smith’s seat in the U.S. Senate as vulnerable as it is, it’s important to put our support behind a strong Democratic candidate.  Jeff Merkley has my backing, and more interestingly, he has the backing of Max Cleland, as well as a host of others.  Cleland was campaigning in Oregon with Merkley yesterday, doing his part to ensure that we put the best possible candidate up against Gordon Smith in November.  Now it’s time for us to do our part.  Tomorrow on May 1, we want to raise at least $5,000 online for the Jeff Merkley campaign.  Please be ready to do your part.

Oregon is fortunate to have two strong progressive candidates, and I’ve put my support behind Jeff Merkley, because he has such a great background and a great track record as a legislator.  Before he joined the Oregon House of Representatives in 1998, he worked at the Office of the Secretary of Defense as a Presidential Management Fellow, which provided him with direct experience in national security matters.

In addition to this experience, Merkley has consistently fought for working families, as executive director of Portland Habitat for Humanity and as a legislator.  After Merkley helped orchestrate a Democratic majority in the Oregon House, he served as Speaker in one of the most progressive sessions that the Oregon Legislature has had in years.

Fortunately, you don’t just need to take my word for Merkley’s qualifications.  At a couple of events over the last two days I was able to hear what Max Cleland thought of Jeff Merkley.  What really struck me was Cleland’s genuine enthusiasm for Merkley as a candidate.  He kept referring to him as “the real deal.”  Cleland cited Merkley’s knowldge of national security issues, his work providing homes for those in need, his efforts to put Democrats back in the majority in the Oregon House, and his leadership as Speaker.  Put this great experience together with Merkley’s positions on the issues, and we have a stellar candidate for Oregon’s seat in the United States Senate.

Don’t forget to show your support for Jeff Merkley tomorrow, May 1.

Crossposted at DailyKos.

This is just rich:

Putting their friendship above party, Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) will headline a fundraiser today for one of the Democrats’ top targets this cycle, Republican Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska).

Inouye, who chairs the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, on which Stevens is the ranking member, is the “special guest” at the noon event at 101 Constitution Ave. NW. According to the invitation, the lunch is organized by a several high-profile lobbyists, including Stevens’ former top aide, Lisa Sutherland. The fundraiser seeks $1,000 in contributions from individuals and $5,000 from political action committees to aid Stevens’ bid for an eighth term this fall.

Stevens, of course, is facing the toughest re-election battle of his career against Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, so this kind of betrayal is all the more harmful.  

But this isn’t the first time that such behavior has landed Inouye in hot water.  Remember his endorsement of Joe Lieberman’s independent candidacy in 2006?

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye has backed away from his support of Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman in his controversial run for re-election as an independent.

Inouye drew criticism in the local Democratic Party when he said he would continue backing Lieberman even after he lost the Aug. 15 Democratic primary in Connecticut to Ned Lamont.

Party rules require loyalty to the Democratic nominee, and several Hawai’i Democrats have faced disciplinary action in the past for backing third-party candidates over the party’s choice.

Is it time to make Sen. Inouye re-take his Democratic loyalty oath?

(Update: On reflection, I softened the title of this post a bit.  Like Trapper John, I have a lot of respect for Inouye’s service to his country, but I’m enormously disappointed and frustrated with his decision to interfere with one of the Democratic Party’s hottest Senate pick-up opportunities this cycle.)

(H/T: TPM)

Here’s the deal: We’re extremely close to our goal of raising $2300 for Travis Childers, as you can see by looking at the thermometer to the right. We know many of you have already dug deep to chip in. But if you haven’t given yet – or you’re thinking about giving again – here’s a big added incentive:

I will personally double the next $250 worth of contributions – but for one day only.

That means if you give $25, it’ll be worth $50 to Travis Childers; $50 and it’s a hundred. At the end of the day, I’ll look at our haul and match it in the appropriate amount. But this offer is good only for today, so give now! Childers needs you.

Previous posts:

Childers the Populist

What a Childers Win Means for Iraq

SSP Endorses Travis Childers

Introducing Travis Childers