Another key Republican seat, that of retiring Rep. Tom Reynolds (the guy who should have had his hands on the wheel at the NRCC during that whole "financial irregularities" incident) is up for grabs. In the ongoing saga of Republican's inability to recruit top tier candidates for these seats, their best bet to keep it, State Sen. George D. Maziarz, has said no thanks, and taken his substantial war chest with him.
So now some eyes are turning to the football hero, Jim Kelly who most eloquently summed up his political ambitions a few years ago: ‘Nah, I ain’t going small, I’m going to go right to the top," Kelly said. "No, if I’m going to do anything it’s either Senator or Congressman."
This seat is as key for Dems to pick up as Bill Foster's pick-up of Hastert's seat in IL-14. Knocking off the powerhouse seats seems increasingly doable after Foster's win, and given a healthy fundraising advantage for the Dems.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which helps fund the campaigns of Democrats who are running for the U.S. House, reported raising $6.2 million in February. That compared to $4.6 million raised by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the partisan counterpart to the DCCC, which also filed a campaign report Thursday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
The DCCC started the month with $38 million on hand and $763K in debt. The NRCC reported $5.1 million on hand and $1.9 in debt. This race is on the DCCC's target list as brownsox reported yesterday, and the Dems have a great candidate in Iraq war vet Jon Powers.