I get to go home in a few hours, which is pretty exciting. Phoenix was as great everywhere else, where I met with Young Democrats at ASU and signed books for two straight hours at a Drinking Liberally event. I capped off the night at a private reception attended by many of the local politicos scene.
One of the things I'm loving about this trip is getting to hear which candidates are getting the local buzz. Here are some of them:
Washington
Darcy Burner is taking on freshman Republican Dave Reichert in WA-08. She will report numbers of over $300K for Q1, which is impressive. But more so than that, the Washington state blogosphere helped her raise over $90K online in the closing hours of the fundraising quarter without any national buzz. That's not Daily Kos or Atrios, that's the local bloggers, and $90K is more than what we "big boys" can usually raise. If that's not a sign of the growing power and influence of the local blogs, I'm not sure what is.
Meanwhile, it was quite shocking to see just how much local activists hate Sen. Maria Cantwell. It isn't that they're disappointed in her positions on issues like Iraq in an effort to appear "moderate" or "centrist", it's that she won't even talk to them about those issues. The dislike was near universal and truly based on that lack of communication.
Oregon
The focus is in taking over the State House in Oregon. Not only are Dems just three seats away from complete control of the legislature, but one of the hottest races is against House Speaker Karen Minnis who is facing a spirited challenge by Rob Brading.
Meanwhile, one of the seats Dems are eyeing, even though it leans Republican, is Oregon's State Senate District 10, being challenged by Iraq War vet Paul Evans. Many people we talked to are gung-ho about Evans' future in politics.
Chicago
I heard more than one person call Dan Seals "the next Obama" (talk about heightening expectations!). Seals is running against Rep. Mark Kirk in the IL-10. His race hasn't garnered anywhere near the attention (or controversy) of Tammy Duckworth or Melissa Bean, but the locals think this one can be a stealth winner.
As for Duckworth and Bean, it's disappointing to see local activists continue to be divided on those two candidates. Our priority now should be on taking back control of the House and getting subpoena power.
Arizona
With Kolbe gone in AZ-08, the locals are salivating at the opportunity to take this open seat. Fighting Dem Jeff Latas is in the crowded primary, but the smart money appears to be behind State Sen. Grabrielle Giffords.
Meanwhile, the DCCC scored a huge coup when they got Harry Mitchell to take on J.D. Haysworth in AZ-05. I saw DCCC polling a few months ago showing Haysworth trailing Mitchell, but I ignored it because Mitchell had, at the time, bowed out of the race. Good to see him change his mind. Phoenix-area Dems will have plenty of hot races to choose from this year.
Senate candidate Jim Pedersen recently shook up his campaign team after a slow start off the blocks. But as of now, he's generating little excitement and, in fact, a little derision since his first ad hails him as an "independent voice". Pedersen's last gig was running the Arizona Democratic Party.
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Incidentally, Powell's apparently still has a handful of books signed by Jerome and me. CTG has spent the week on the Powell's best seller list, hovering between numbers two and five.