Boy, this is sad. Republican Rep. Tom Reed may have thought he hit pay dirt last week when his campaign uncovered documents that just seemed to prove that Democrat John Plumb was little more than a carpetbagger from DC. To that end, Reed released a mortgage document where Plumb identified the Washington area as his primary residence and upstate New York as his secondary home.
There was just one problem: Plumb, a Navy reservist and submarine officer, says he rented a Washington-area apartment while he was working at the Pentagon and that he sold it once he bought a home back in New York’s 23rd District, where he’s originally from. Plumb put out a statement smacking his opponent, saying, “It’s disappointing to see Congressman Reed disparage my service for his own political gain—but I guess his behavior is par for the course for a dishonest Washington politician who is desperate to get reelected but has no record worth defending.”
But Reed still thinks he can make this a question about Plumb’s loyalty to his would-be constituents. Reed says that, while he totally respects Plumb’s service in the Navy, he does not respect Plumb’s work as a legislative assistant on military matters to Ken Salazar (who at the time was a Democratic senator from Colorado), nor does he respect Plumb’s time at the Defense Department. Reed insisted, “When you’re working on a political office for Sen. Ken Salazar or for the chief foreign policy advisor for President Obama, those are more political in nature so we’re just trying to make a distinction between the two.”
Yeah, keep on trying to make that “distinction.” The idea that serving in Obama’s Defense Department makes Plumb a political hack might resonate in some parts of the country, but this district is far from safe Republican territory. Romney only carried this Southern Tier seat, which includes the liberal college town of Ithaca, by just a 50-48 margin. While Reed easily won here during the 2014 GOP wave, he pulled off an unexpectedly weak 52-48 win in 2012 against an underfunded Democratic foe.
So far, this race hasn’t emerged as a major priority for Democrats, but it’s on the radar. The DCCC recently added Plumb to their “Red to Blue” list for top candidates, though no one has made any major ad reservations for the fall. Plumb also had a large $1.03 million to $367,000 cash-on-hand deficit at the end of March. But Reed’s clueless comments give Plumb the chance not only to remind voters about his military background but to also attract new donors, since blunders like this are usually good fundraising fodder. If Plumb can take advantage of the opportunity Reed is giving him, he could turn this into a serious contest.