In the first part of Rock the House! I detailed the Democrats who I thought should be primaried, based on their votes on the capitulation bill, their tenure, and the nature of their districts.
It was well-received (on the rec list all day and night) but some people asked why we should target Democrats. Well, I had my reasons, but, OK, here's a different list: Vulnerable Democrats who are doing good things, including opposing the capitulation bill, and much else. To be on this list you have to 1) Not be one of the 86 who gave Bush a blank check; 2) Have a liberal voting record and either 3) Have won with 55% or less in 2006 or 4) Come from a district Bush won.
These are the folk who need and deserve our support. The list is below the fold
For freshmen, I looked at key votes (see link, below). For second termers at progressive punch For others, also at National Journal ratings. If someone has a better source of information, especially on freshmen, let me know.
CA-11 Jerry McNerny 54% over Richard Pombo 46%. Pombo is gone! Hurrah! McNerny voted with the Democrats on 8 of 8 key votes in 2007 (as listed in Washington Post votes database.
CO-07 Ed Perlmutter 55% over Bob Beauprez 42%. Another freshman who's 8 of 8.
CT-02 Joe Courtney 50.02% over Rob Simmons 49.98%. Freshman. 8/8. Doesn't get much closer. Kerry took this one with 54%, maybe it will become safe Democratic seat?
IN-07 Julia Carson 54% over Eric Dickerson 46%. Not sure why Dickerson did so well, this is a Democratic district (Kerry got 58%) Carson's been in since 1996. NatJnl 91; ProgPnch 88.
IA-01 Bruce Braley 55% over Mike Whalen 43%. Another freshman. Also 8/8. This district gave Gore 52%, Kerry 53%.
IA-02 David Loebsack 51% over Jim Leach 49%. Yet another freshman. He missed one key vote, so 7/7
KY-03 John Yarmuth 51% over Anne Northrup 48% Yet another freshman, in a district that is always hotly contested. Yarmuth is also 8/8.
NH-01 Carol Shea-Porter 51% over Jeb Bradley 49%. Yet another freshman. A swing district - Bush got 51% vs. Kerry
NH-02 Paul Hodes 53% over Charlie Bass 46%. Yet another freshman who is 8/8. Gore got 48% to 47% for Bush, Kerry won 52-47.
NY-19 John Hall 51% over Sue Kelly, Yet another freshman. Also 8/8. Bush won against both Kerry (54-45) and Gore (49-47).
NY-24 Mike Arcuri 54% over Ray Meier. Another freshman, also 8/8. Bush won against both Kerry (53-47) and Gore (48-47). The former representative (Boehlert) retired after winning easily for years.
OR-05 Darlene Hooley 54% over Mike Ericson. Hooley was first elected in 1996. She's not exactly a liberal, but not really a blue dog (NatJnl 71, ProgPunch 81), and she always gets serious opposition (she hasn't ever gotten over 60%) in this swing district that went narrowly to Bush over Kerry (50-49) and Gore (48-47)
PA-08 Patrick Murphy 50.3% over Mike Fitzpatrick. Yet another freshman. Also 8/8. Fitzpatrick was elected in 2004. Prior to that, this district was fairly Republican, but it's changing. Kerry and Gore both won narrowly (each with 51%).
VT-AL Peter Welch 53% over Martha Rainville. Welch replaces Bernie Sanders, who went to the Senate. He's also 8/8 on the key issues. Sanders usually won pretty easily, and I'm not sure why Welch did not do so.