Hi, I'm Steve Pougnet, Mayor of Palm Springs, California and the Democratic nominee for California’s 45th Congressional District. I'd like to give you a quick update on our campaign.
I am challenging Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack – one of only a few Republican incumbents still serving in a district that President Obama won (by five points). The Republican registration advantage in our district is now below 3.5%. That, plus the 1.3 million we have raised and the strong network of grassroots support we've built, make this an extremely winnable seat.
The House Republicans have even listed Bono Mack as one of the nine most vulnerable incumbents. They're now raising money to try to protect her. Meanwhile, she has lurched to right and votes in lockstep with her party. This week, she even voted against the jobs bill that will save at least 16,500 teaching jobs.
In most recent news from the campaign, next Thursday, August 19th something will happen in California’s 45th district that hasn't happened in 8 years. Something my opponent, clearly did not want to happen – we will debate.
This is only the second time since Bono Mack took over Sonny Bono’s seat, and the first time since 2002, that she has actually agreed to debate. Over at my campaign we are gearing up our efforts and organizing debate watch parties. I'm very excited to give voters a chance to actually hear from the candidates directly, not through statements and sound bites, but a full 90-minute debate on the important issues facing our country and California's 45th District.
If you're interested and want to find out more about where I stand on the issues and what I'll do to help solve the problems we face, please tune in and watch on the web on Thursday at 6:30pm and tell your friends about the debate, too (I'll also put up a reminder post on Thursday).
Do you have any questions you think I should ask Congresswoman Bono Mack during the debate? Any tips? If you do, please leave them in the comments below.
Thanks for stopping by. I'm looking forward to hearing from you all.
- Steve
www.electpougnet.com