MA-Sen: The GOP never learns, it seems.
Having lost their Golden Boy Jim Ogonowski through his embarrassing failure to scratch together enough signatures to qualify for the Republican ballot, the Massachusetts GOP has turned to their newest and greatest savior, Harwich businessman Jeff Beatty, in their latest quixotic attempt to upset Senator John Kerry.
I guess the logic is that since their first candidate collapsed so magnificently, Beatty can't be any worse. At least the man is on the ballot.
Unfortunately, their big gun is now a man whose chief claim to fame is losing his 2006 race for Congress by nearly 40 points to Rep. Bill Delahunt.
He's raised all of $1 million for his campaign, which isn't bad, except Kerry has about $14 million. But Beatty is unconcerned:
Beatty has already raised $1 million, including $6,000 he loaned his campaign, and estimates it will take between $10 and $15 million to run an effective campaign.
Beatty's hoping to tap into national GOP funding pipelines -- part of the reason he plans to attend the (Boston) McCain fundraiser.
This would probably work a lot better if the national GOP funding pipelines weren't bone-dry...but hell, who am I to give this Beatty cat advice?
Anyway, you'd think the embattled NRSC wouldn't bother looking twice at a guy like Beatty, a tremendous underdog in a blue state against a four-term incumbent Senator. But Massachusetts Republicans are undaunted:
Not so, according to state Republican Party Chairman Peter Torkildsen. He said he'll lobby the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which gives money and other assistance to GOP Senate candidates, to support Beatty.
"We will make the case that we want them to support Beatty's campaign," Torkildsen said. "You're always running as an underdog as a Republican in Massachusetts, but John Kerry is very unpopular. He has high negatives."
It really is too bad for them that the polling data couldn't agree less, but such is life.
But I encourage them to beg the NRSC for their nonexistent millions to be spent on a hopeless race.
NM-Sen: Like many Democratic Senate hopefuls, Tom Udall is an ardent supporter of the GI Bill, and his campaign posted a diary yesterday containing a letter he wrote to the President urging his support.
The GI Bill is not only good for our veterans, it's good for our economy. The greatest generation made America what it is today, largely on the backs of returning GI's receiving a four year college education through the original GI Bill. But the benefits haven't kept up. Post 9/11 veterans, many of whom have been through multiple tours of duty, tours of duty that were often extended, deserve those same benefits.
We need as many people as we can get to push for passage of this bill if there's any hope of changing the President's mind. That's why we're asking you to add your name to the letter.
OR-Sen: The DSCC's latest "Road to Victory" video features Oregon Senate candidate Jeff Merkley and his fight to get rid of pay day lending in Oregon:
House Races
LA-07: It seems that we can add another exciting longshot race to the map, as Louisiana State Senator Donald Cravins, Jr. appears poised to enter the race for Congress as a Democrat, against Republican incumbent Charles Boustany.
Cravins says he is "99.9 percent sure" he is jumping into the fray and is taking meetings with national Democratic interests. In a region that leans increasingly to the right, it appears to be a difficult task on paper, although the political history of the 7th Congressional District and Cravins’ own ideology reveal some cracks in that preconception.
It had been rumored some time ago that Cravins (along with fellow State Sen. Lydia Jackson and State Rep. Michael Jackson) might forge independent runs for Congress this year as a protest against the DCCC and Louisiana Democratic party's alleged reluctance to recruit black candidates for Congress. So the news that Cravins is running as a Democrat, and has DCCC support, is particularly welcome.
He’s the only game in town in the 7th District, as far as Democrats. Former state Rep. Gil Pinac of Crowley has decided against running, as has Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach. Kyra Jennings, the Southern regional press secretary for the DCCC, confirms that the national party is courting Cravins and willing to pump resources into his bid. "We have reached out to him, and we think he would be a strong candidate," she says. "Voters want someone who is connected to their communities, and I think Congressman Boustany has shown time and time again that he is out of step with the district."
If a diehard Democrat wanted to question Cravins’ loyalty, they could. In recent months he has threatened to run against Boustany as a non-party candidate. And he wasn’t alone; state Sen. Lydia Jackson of Shreveport and state Rep. Michael Jackson of Baton Rouge have floated the idea of dropping the Dem from their names to run for Congress as well. For now, Cravins says his own ponderings are done, and he will run as a Democrat. He rejects the notion that it all might have been just a game to get the attention of the DCCC. "When a black candidate runs in a majority-white district, it seems that the state party always backs away," Cravins says. "They say they don’t want to waste their resources. That’s the perception, and it was all about strategy for me. I wasn’t going to get beat up."
I'm excited Cravins is getting in the race. LA-07 is a major longshot at this point, but he's as serious a candidate as we could ask for. And with Cravins running here, Paul Carmouche running in LA-04, and Democratic Reps. Don Cazayoux and Charlie Melancon already in Congress, we're showing an inspiring new ability to fight in some of the reddest areas of the South.
LA-02: More Louisiana news: Democratic State Rep. Cedric Richmond will challenge troubled incumbent Congressman "Dollar Bill" Jefferson.
While Richmond, 34, did not mention Jefferson during a 20-minute address, he repeatedly referred to the need for change in a district where many neighborhoods still look much as they did after Hurricane Katrina ravaged them.
"These problems will not fix themselves," he told supporters at the Basin Street Station. "What we need is real leadership and we need it right now."
In his only veiled reference to Jefferson's legal problems, he told the crowd, "I promise -- and I want to be clear about this -- I promise to serve you with the utmost integrity."
Richmond pledged to support a speedy end to the war in Iraq, full federal financing for 100-year hurricane protection and expanded oil exploration in the continental United States as long as a percentage of the oil industry's profits are earmarked for coastal restoration.
IL-10: Swing State Project has an internal poll from the campaign of Mark Kirk, showing Kirk leading Dan Seals, 53% to 32%.
The good news is that Kirk's reelects are relatively low, and Seals' name recognition is as well. From Swing State Project's James:
You can take this with as many grains of salt as you wish, but as it stands now, Seals has room to grow, even according to this poll. His name recognition is 30 points lower than Kirk's, and it remains to be seen whether Kirk can withstand a vigorous campaign by Seals combined with Obama's presence at the top of the ballot in this D+3.6 district. Holding on, despite his early lead, will be a formidable task.
NY-13: The New York Times reports that NYC Democrats have rallied around the candidacy of Democrat Michael McMahon in his battle for the nomination against attorney and 2006 Democratic nominee Stephen Harrison:
Democratic elected officials are clearly trying to make sure that City Councilman Michael E. McMahon has the upper hand in his campaign for the party’s nomination for the Congressional seat now held by Vito J. Fossella, a Republican who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn.
Mr. Fossella’s fellow members of Congress from New York City — all Democrats — put out a statement endorsing Mr. McMahon for the seat being vacated by the congressman.
Last month, Mr. Fossella announced that he would not seek re-election in November. The congressman’s decision not to run followed his arrested on May 1 on charges of driving while intoxicated. The following week, he admitted that he had fathered a daughter, who is now 3, in an extramarital affair.