Hank Shaw, Capitol Bureau Chief for the Stockton Record, has an
article article titled "Pombo's race is state's toughest." in the Oct 1 edition of the Stockton Record
A flurry of spending by national Republicans, Pombo's senior position in the House GOP leadership and his status as bogeyman for the nation's environmental movement are making the race for the 11th District the most competitive in California.
That said, the seven-term incumbent remains the favorite and enjoys a massive monetary advantage over challenger Jerry McNerney.
Money fuels advertising. Both candidates are running television and radio ads, and each has begun a six-week mail blitz sure to clog garbage bins from Lodi to Livermore.
They are not the only players in this game, either.......
Perhaps a little premature (and some wishful thinking) to put Pombo on the ropes but it is no longer fantasy to say that Jerry McNerney has a chance.
Back in June when McNerney won the primary pundits were giving the race to Pombo. Since then McNerney has climbed back into a serious contender. Pombo still has a huge money edge, but McNerney recently broke the million dollar barrier in fundraising. The race is going to get much tougher from this point on as the RNCC continues to pump money into the race and Pombo is starting with more negative media spots.
There is a ton of work left to do here. McNerney is going to need a lot more money to keep his message prominent above the lies and half-truths that Pombo is going to shout from the rooftops. I think the campaign going to get extremely negative. The more heat Pombo feels the louder he is going yell. With a 1.5 mil fundraising deficit McNerney is going to need as much money as we can send his way.
McNerney has got a good core of volunteers, but he is going to need many more to maximize GOTV. With a 37%(D)-45%(R) registration disadvantage we have to get every Dem in the district out to the polls. We have to identify the small sliver of Repubs whose attitude is "Anybody but Pombo" and get them to the polls instead of just staying at home on Nov 7.
Go to his website to give and volunteer. The thought of kicking Pombo out is making my year.