House and Senate Race Roundup, 8/5

NH-Sen: The New Hampshire Democratic Party has launched a new web site going after John Sununu and his pals for their history of sleaze.

Check out SununuDirtyTricks.org, the happy new companion to StopSununu.com.

Among their targets is Americans For Job Security, a shady third-party organization that served as a front for Sununu in his 2002 Senate race, when they spent over $1 million smearing his Democratic opponent, former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen:

Americans for Job Security (AJS) is a shady front group that does John Sununu’s political dirty work. The group has long ties to John Sununu and his family, and they spent over $1 million delivering attacks against Gov. Shaheen in her 2002 race for U.S. Senate all so John Sununu could go to the Senate and vote with George Bush 90% of the time.

AJS is willing to break the law to do Sununu’s dirty work, so they’re refusing to disclose where they get their money. Sununu is funded by oil and gas companies, drug companies, and the insurance industry, but his attack dogs might be funded by illegal corporate donations or even money from overseas. Call Sununu at [phone] and tell him to demand his buddies at AJS reveal who is funding their attacks.

Given the dirty tricks in the 2002 incarnation of the Sununu/Shaheen race (most notably the infamous phone-jamming scandal), Democrats everywhere should be most relieved at the New Hampshire party's vigilance.

KS-Sen: Jim Slattery has officially raised over $1 million this cycle, in less than five months of campaigning.

“This is an important financial milestone in my campaign for the US Senate,” Slattery said. “It demonstrates the viability of my candidacy and my ability to compete in the general election.”

Slattery has raised a total of $1,003,725 from 2,059 people including 1,441 Kansans in only 140 days.

His Republican opponent, incumbent Senator Pat Roberts, has quite a bit more than that, but this is to be expected:

Should Slattery win the Democratic primary on Tuesday, he will face incumbent Senator Pat Roberts. As of July 16th, Roberts had just under $3 million cash on hand.

“Pat Roberts has been in Washington for 40 years,” Slattery said. “As a result, all the special interests have contributed to his campaign, including over $300,000 from the oil and gas industry.”

Slattery continued, “I will not be able to match Roberts dollar for dollar, but all the money in the world won’t help Pat hide his abysmal voting record.

Slattery is the first serious Democratic Senate candidate in Kansas in dog's years, and has been surprisingly competitive so far in the bulk of polls on the race (most of which show him trailing the two-term incumbent Roberts by 10-12 points). He has a (very) outside shot at victory this fall if he can stay competitive in the money race, and he appears to be doing a decent job of that.

OK-Sen: TheTulsa World has a new poll from the University of Oklahoma on Oklahoma's Senate race, with December numbers listed in parentheses.

Inhofe (R) 52 (60)
Rice (D) 30 (19)

The trend lines, obviously, are favorable for Orange to Blue candidate Andrew Rice. Notably, this poll was taken prior to Rice's recent statewide ad buys, his first of the cycle.

Inhofe polling at 52% for the primary against an opponent with a limited statewide profile is not especially good news for him, even if Rice's support in this poll is basically the Democratic baseline

Wonky note from the poll: Rice's lead among Democrats is only 46-35 over Inhofe. Even in a state with a high percentage of conservative Democrats, that seems rather odd.

We noted last week that Rice had made a couple of high-profile hires in former DSCC and Clinton campaign staffers Phil Singer and Geri Prado. Roll Call also takes note, suggesting that this indicates the DSCC's particular interest in Rice's campaign.

Despite Rice’s underdog status, DSCC Chairman Charles Schumer (N.Y.) has been high on the candidate’s potential. The hiring of Singer and Prado could signal that the committee is taking a special interest in this race as the fall approaches.

Meanwhile, Andrew Rice liveblogged today over at theSenate Guru's place today.

AK-Sen: In the latest indicator of Ted Stevens' sense of entitlement, he apparently wants home-field advantage in his federal trial.

Lawyers for indicted Sen. Ted Stevens requested Monday to move the Alaska senator’s criminal case to his home state, a request that could have significant ramifications on his long political career.

Facing the toughest reelection bid of his four-decade Senate career, Stevens hopes to be acquitted in time for Alaska voters to decide to send him back to Washington for a seventh full term. Stevens has nearly universal name recognition in Alaska, where he is known for steering billions of dollars back home.

Stevens's lawyers filed papers Monday to move the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, saying the "center of gravity" in the case lies within the senior Republican's home state.

The government opposes the motion and wants the case to stay in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Justice Department has until Aug. 11 to respond to the transfer motion, and a hearing is set for Aug. 19.

Stevens is opposed by Orange to Blue Democrat Mark Begich.

House Races:

TX-07: In the latest indicator of his considerable fundraising prowess, Democrat Michael Skelly brought in $30,000 from over 200 individual donors on Friday.

For a House race in a red district, that's quite a day's work.

Houston, TX – Successful wind energy businessman and Congressional  candidateMichael Skelly raised more than $30,000 on Friday from over 200 individuals, demonstrating strong grassroots support from Houstonians looking for change in Washington.  To put that number in perspective, in a single day, the   Skelly campaign had well over half the individual donors that the (John) Culberson campaign had during the entire second quarter of 2008.

“This campaign is about the people of Houston,” said Skelly.  “It’s about Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike, all looking to put partisanship aside to confront the challenges that are most important to all of us.  Our campaign has always been powered by the grassroots support of people seeking a new voice in Washington.”

It's going to be awfully hard for Skelly or any Democrat to win in TX-07, but he sure won't lack for money as he tries to pull off the upset.

MI-13 It's primary day in Michigan, and the big question revolves around the future of longtime Detroit Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, facing a two-headed primary challenge from state Sen. Martha Scott and state Rep. Mary Waters:

In the toughest race of her life, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) might make it across the finish line in Tuesday’s Democratic primary because she has split opposition.

The head of the Congressional Black Caucus has come under fire for staunchly supporting her son, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D), who has been indicted on eight counts after a whistle-blower trial. The result was two primary challengers: state Sen. Martha Scott (D) and former state Rep. Mary Waters (D).

An EPIC-MRA poll of 400 likely voters published last week in the Detroit News predicted a close contest, with Kilpatrick leading Waters 33 percent to 29 percent, with Scott at 24 percent. Waters and Scott, to a lesser degree, have criticized Kilpatrick for supporting her son so vocally.

But despite what appears to be tight race from the poll, Kilpatrick campaign manager Bill McConico was confident about winning. “We’re going to get over 50 percent, period,” he said.

If the News poll is in fact accurate, it's anybody's game tonight.

NM-02: The GOP can't be thrilled with nominee Ed Tinsley, who is spending his hard-earned campaign cash on fundraising mailers...to his opponent, and other high-profile Democrats.

State Democratic Party spokeswoman Conchita Cruz said Monday that more than 100 of the Tinsley letters rolled into the party's office last week.

Several are addressed to prominent Democrats, including Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Cruz said. She added that one of the letters was also sent directly to Harry Teague, Tinsley's opponent in the southern New Mexico congressional race.

"We won't be sending money back to Ed Tinsley," Cruz said with a laugh.

Good on the Tinsley campaign. I don't know what mailing lists they've got, but I sure am glad that they're spending their money...well, asking their opponent for money.

(H/T: NM FBIHOP)

AZ-03: John Shadegg is a crazy person.

House Republicans issued the boldest claim yet in their three-day energy protest, insinuating on Tuesday morning that their demonstration may in fact have already begun to lower gas prices.

“The market is responding to the fact that we are here talking,” said Republican Rep. John Shadegg.

“I think the market realizes that this kind of pressure may in fact lead to a change in policy.”

These people are United States Congressmen?

At least our boys in blue can keep their sense of humor about the pure unadulterated stupidity emanating from across the aisle:

"Britney Spears might buy that, but I don’t think Paris Hilton would," said one House Democratic leadership aide. "The GOP energy policy has led to higher gas and oil prices and Republicans just keep voting for more of the same."

Please, help out Orange to Blue candidate Bob Lord in his quest to give the good people of Arizona's Third District a serious-minded representative.

On the web:
Orange to Blue ActBlue Page