With these last few weeks heading into election, it appears that Democratic candidate Rob Zerban continues to have momentum, even though he clearly does not have the campaign war chest that Rep. Paul Ryan (cough, cough) has.
However, Rob Zerban is a master fundraiser and is getting more funds by the minute thanks to us on Daily Kos, as well as other Democrats and people in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District.
As the Journal Times reports, clearly there is no doubt that Zerban is the most credible challenger to Paul Ryan since the Congressman has been in office:
http://www.journaltimes.com/...
RACINE COUNTY — Democratic congressional challenger Rob Zerban has just under $1 million left to spend, a detail from the latest campaign fundraising report that reinforces how, at least financially, this is the strongest challenge Democrats have mounted against incumbent Republican Congressman Paul Ryan in years.
With only three more weeks to campaign, Zerban has $966,447 on hand and Ryan has a bit more than $4 million to spend, according to reports due to the Federal Election Commission by midnight Monday. Ryan, who represents much of southeastern Wisconsin including all of Racine County, has already spent $3.8 million to Zerban’s $1.06 million in expenditures.
And according to University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor David Canon, Zerban's fundraising record is worth noting considering Paul Ryan's previous challengers never got anywhere near Zerban's levels of cash raised to date, let alone cash at hand:
Next to his predecessors, Zerban’s fundraising record already shines by comparison, and for University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor David Canon, that changes the discussion.
“It still has to be seen as something of a long-shot for Zerban to actually upset Paul Ryan,” Canon said. “But if we would have been having this conversation eight weeks ago, I would have said Ryan is going to win easily, no problem.”
However, David Canon argues the following:
Despite Zerban being a more “serious” candidate, Canon said, “It’s not clear if that will be enough to get (Zerban) over 50 percent,” particularly given Ryan’s history of netting two-thirds of the vote despite a congressional district that swung Democrat in past presidential elections.
Also, Paul Ryan's campaign manager says the campaign strategy hasn't changed:
Ryan for Congress campaign manager Kevin Seifert said his candidate’s prospects of winning the district are strong as ever, and strategy hasn’t changed.
Moreover, Seifert said, “Rob Zerban’s campaign is being fueled by out-of-state money.”
And lastly, a resident from Wisconsin, a hypocritical Paul Ryan supporter of course, has this to say about Rob Zerban:
http://greenfield.patch.com/...
The first TV commercial being run by Rob Zerban, Paul Ryan’s Congressional opponent, is both misleading and deceptive.
Zerban shows his blatant partisanship by inaccurately claiming that Congressman Ryan's budget “ends Medicare.” Politifact has labeled this fallacy their "Lie of the Year in 2011" and Politifact Wisconsin has declared his ad’s claim as a PANTS ON FIRE lie. We deserve better than these tired tactics. The truth is that Obamacare “ends Medicare as we know it” by taking $716 billion out of Medicare to pay for Obamacare.
Medicare is going bankrupt in a little over a decade, and Paul Ryan’s budget proposes no changes for individuals age 55 and over with respect to Medicare. It gives future seniors the option of staying in traditional Medicare or choosing from a number of Medicare-approved plans that better meet their health-care needs.
Preserving Medicare for current seniors and giving future seniors the option of staying in this system or choosing another plan isn't privatizing it, particularly since future seniors would have the choice of staying in the current Medicare system if they want. Instead of lying about Paul Ryan’s plan to ensure Medicare delivers on its promise, Rob Zerban would be wise to come up with solutions of his own.
You know, I went on You Tube and had a discussion with someone about Paul Ryan's infamous, devilish smile during the Vice-Presidential debate. This guy tells me, "He smiles just like anyone does." Seriously, do you even know who Paul Ryan is sir?
As for this resident in the 1st Congressional District in Wisconsin, Rob Zerban is misleading voters like yourself? Where's your proof of facts? The supermarket? Fox News? TMZ?
Here's the solution to this resident's question: We are going to boot Paul Ryan out of his seat in the House of Representatives, just like we are going to beat him and Mitt Romney!
Rob Zerban Campaign Website:
http://www.robzerban.com/
DONATE:
https://secure.actblue.com/...
VOLUNTEER:
http://hq-salsa3.salsalabs.com/...
Paul Ryan's Campaign Website:
Ahhh, who cares?!