Holy Crap, we've got 5 days until the special election to replace
convicted felon Randy Duke Cunningham in CA-50. And it's been an amazing couple of weeks.
First, simultaneous polls (internal and independent) indicated that Francine Busby (D) was the top candidate in the field of 14+, by a 3-1 margin over her closest Republican opponent. Both pegged her support in the high 30s. Not enough to win the seat without a June 6 runoff, but definitely respectable.
Next came the excellent poll results from SUSA, the most accurate pollster of the 2004 elections, which indicated that Busby's support stands at about 45% of likely voters. Then, in what should not have even been a surprise, we were blessed with Kaloogiangate--the fake Iraq photos that (I hope and pray) may have brought just enough exposure to this race to increase Busby's support to 50%+.
Busby has raised $1.3 million in this race. From over 8,000 individual donors, much deaper grassroots support than any of her opponents, by far. Freakin' amazing.
It's estimated that it will take about $1.7 million in this expensive media market to wage a winning campaign. And Busby's Republican opponents are making sure their campaigns have the dough--they're trying to buy this seat. Roach has dumped close to $1 million of his own money into the race. Why? I'd assume because he doesn't have the widespread support of Busby, or even some of the other republicans, and knows he doesn't stand a chance on his own merits. Similarly for Bilbray.
Let's help Busby out guys! We need another woman in the House. We need another Democrat in the House. We need another progressive, thoughtful individual in the House, ensuring that our best interests are at the forefront of any legislation. I think Busby's the one in this race.
Help her here:
http://actblue.com/...
Check out her site here, full of issue-positions, etc.
http://www.busbyforcongress.org