Some great news for Democrats coming out of Nebraska today. (How often do you hear that?) The Omaha World Herald is reporting the NDCC has convinced their prefered candidate, Omaha city councilman Pete Festersen, to challenge Rep. Lee Terry (NE-2) in 2014.
Democrat Pete Festersen is in.
The Omaha city councilman says he will seek Republican Lee Terry's congressional seat in 2014, after initially saying he would not run. His entry into the race all but guarantees a tough re-election battle for Terry, who is acknowledged as vulnerable even by Republicans.
Many of you will remember Lee Terry from his comments to the Omaha World Herald saying he would continue receiving his Congressional paycheck because "I have a nice house." His comments were picked up by The Huffington Post and other national news outlets, making him a poster child for Republican hypocrisy.
Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., was blunt when asked if he would continue collecting his paychecks during the shutdown.
"Dang straight," he said.
Terry suggested it's an irrelevant question because the situation would be resolved before long.
What about the other members who were donating or forgoing their pay?
"Whatever gets them good press," Terry said. "That's all that it's going to be. God bless them. But you know what? I've got a nice house and a kid in college, and I'll tell you we cannot handle it. Giving our paycheck away when you still worked and earned it? That's just not going to fly."
As the World-Hearald notes, Terry had already been placed on the NRCC endangered list after coming within two points of being defeated by John Ewing in 2012, even though Romney carried the district 53-47. Terry has won eight terms in a row, but he has been considered vulnerable for several cycles. Even though Terry offered an apologetic mea culpa after someone told him how poorly his comments played with...everyone...they also convinced Festersten that now is the time to challenge back-bencher Terry.
While Nebraska is as red of a state as they come, NE-2 is a compact district that consists of Omaha and its suburbs. It is considered a competitive district that Barack Obama carried in 2008. Due to Nebraska's law that distributes electoral votes based on congressional districts, it meant Obama was awarded one of Nebraska's five electoral votes in 2008, the first time the state had awarded any electoral votes to a Democratic candidate since 1964.
Festersen is exactly the kind of strong Democratic candidate that will make this a top pick-up opportunity for the 2014 cycle. He's pro-business, moderate and has strong ties to the Omaha business community. According to the OWH article even Biden gave him a call to encourage him to enter the race.
