The only problem with that message? His hair.
Kyle Whitmire of AL.com has some incredibly keen readers, and they've pointed out that the part in Shelby's hair clearly changes sides between shots. When the senator steps out of what appears to be the driver's side of his vehicle, the part is on right side of his head. However, in other segments of the ad where Shelby is interacting with people, it's on the left side. "How?!?" you're asking. Well, the mystery of the traveling hair is solved when the shot of Shelby leaving his car—shown at the top of this post—is reversed:
4Q Fundraising:
● IL-Sen: Mark Kirk (R-inc): $1 million raised, $3.8 million on hand; Tammy Duckworth (D): $1.6 million raised, $3.65 million on hand
● OH-Sen: Ted Strickland (D): $1 million raised, $2 million on hand
● UT-Gov: Gary Herbert (R-inc): $1.4 million on hand; Jonathan Johnson (R): $42,000 on hand
● AL-02: Martha Roby (R-inc): $310,000 raised, $884,000 on hand
● CA-24: Salud Carbajal (D): $346,000 raised, $970,000 on hand
● CA-52: Scott Peters (D-inc): $442,000 raised, $1.34 million on hand
● DE-AL: Bryan Townsend (D): $212,000 raised
● MT-AL: Denise Juneau (D): $264,000 raised (in two months), $240,000 on hand
● NH-02: Annie Kuster (D-inc): $430,000 raised, $1.32 million on hand
● TX-23: Will Hurd (R-inc): $300,000 raised, $1 million on hand
House:
● AZ-02: State Rep. Victoria Steele is now former state Rep. Victoria Steele: On Monday, she resigned her position in order to focus full-time on running for Congress. Arizona used to have a strict "resign-to-run" law, but it was relaxed a couple of years ago, and in any event, it's not why Steele's quitting. Rather, she faces a competitive Democratic primary with ex-state Rep. Matt Heinz, who outraised her last quarter and presumably had more time to campaign since he hasn't served in the legislature since 2013. Steele and Heinz are both hoping to take on freshman GOP Rep. Martha McSally this fall.
● CA-25: Earlier this week, attorney Bryan Caforio unveiled an endorsement from Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, who represents a neighboring seat. Both districts are being affected by the Porter Ranch gas leak, which has caused thousands of people to evacuate, and Sherman notably called Caforio an advocate "for stronger national standards for safe storage and transmission of natural gas." Caforio faces a few underfunded Democrats in the June top-two primary for the right to take on freshman Republican Steve Knight in this light red seat.
● FL-02, IN-03, NC-02: The tea party-aligned Senate Conservatives Fund is branching out and getting involved in the GOP primaries for three safely red House seats. In Florida's 2nd District, the group is supporting Mary Thomas, who served as general counsel to the state Department of Elder Affairs. Thomas faces physician Neal Dunn, who has the support of several influential establishment figures and decisively outraised Thomas during the third quarter of last year.
In Indiana's open 3rd District, the SCF is backing state Sen. Jim Banks. Banks also has the support of other anti-establishment groups, including the powerful Club For Growth, so this is hardly a surprise. Banks faces fellow state Sen. Liz Brown, wealthy farmer Kip Tom, and ex-Wisconsin state Sen. Pam Galloway in the primary. And over in North Carolina's 2nd, SCF is the latest far-right group to get behind Jim Duncan, who is trying to unseat GOP Rep. Renee Ellmers, a former tea partier who became too close to the House leadership for her former allies' tastes.
● FL-26: Establishment Democrats have been trying to keep the Democratic field in Florida's 26th Congressional District clear for businesswoman Annette Taddeo, but their efforts don't appear to be working. Activist Andrew Korge, who is best known for being the son of major Democratic donor Chris Korge, announced Monday that he "intend[s] to file at some point in the future," though he declined to say exactly when. Sounding a bit like Marco Rubio, the 34-year-old Korge declared that Taddeo is "not really inspirational. What this race calls for is a new leader with a 21st-century vision and a clean slate."
Taddeo does bring the baggage of three straight losses to the race: She made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2008, for Miami-Dade County Commissioner in 2010, and for lieutenant governor (on a ticket with Charlie Crist) in 2014. She also briefly sought the chair of the state Democratic Party in 2012 before bowing out and endorsing the eventual winner. Folks like Steny Hoyer, the second highest-ranking Democrat in the House, still like her as the party's best bet to unseat freshman GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo, but now that redistricting has made this seat several points bluer, it may be too tempting an opportunity for others to pass up. Still, though, let's see if Korge actually follows through.
● GA-03: Local pollster Rosetta Stone Communications takes a look a hypothetical GOP primary to succeed retiring Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, but about all the survey tells us is that voters don't have anyone that they're dying to see run here. State Sen. Josh McKoon has the most support of the seven men tested, but he only takes 10 percent of the vote. No serious candidates have kicked off a bid for this safely red seat yet.
● NY-01: The Democratic primary in New York's 1st Congressional District, on the eastern tip of Long Island, looks like it might be shaping up as a battle between local and national forces. Former Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst has locked up endorsements from a number of members of Congress, including retiring (but still influential) Rep. Steve Israel, who represents an up-island district right next door. But venture capitalist Dave Calone has been earning support from a variety of county and town officials, and with the backing of a new batch this week, the Southampton Press says that Calone now has endorsements from "[m]ost of the Democratic elected office-holders in Southampton"—Throne-Holst's own home town.
This sort of fissure is not uncommon; a version of it, for instance, appears to be playing out in the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania's 8th District in suburban Philadelphia. But every story is different, and it's impossible to say which type of support matters more. DC connections can bring in lots of money, but local supporters are better-positioned to mobilize boots on the ground. It'll be worth watching to see which approach wins the day and yields a nominee to take on freshman GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin come fall.
● NY-03: Almost immediately after filing paperwork with the FEC, North Hempstead Town Councilor Anna Kaplan officially kicked off her campaign for retiring Rep. Steve Israel's House seat, making her the first—but likely not the last—Democrat to do so. Unnamed Republican officials, meanwhile, are reportedly trying to convince the guy who is probably their best option, state Sen. Jack Martins, not to run, according to the Daily News' Ken Lovett, because they fear they'd be likelier to lose Martins' Senate seat if he vacates it. They are definitely right to be worried, but the very same reasons are likely motivating Martins to consider seeking a promotion, because the 3rd Congressional District is redder than his own Senate district.
● OH-08: The special election to replace former House Speaker John Boehner has attracted a whole bunch of Republicans, but so far, it looks like a contest between two notable candidates: state Sen. Bill Beagle and state Rep. Tim Derickson. However, the rabidly anti-tax Club for Growth is looking to change that calculus, with their new endorsement of local businessman Warren Davidson, a former Army Ranger. Still, given Beagle and Derickson's built-in political bases at opposite ends of the 8th District, Davidson would need a lot of help to get his name recognition up to the levels he'd need to pull off an upset. The Club, though, is extremely well-funded and never shy about writing checks for candidates it admires.
● WV-02: Confirming earlier rumors, former Democratic state Del. Mark Hunt has dropped down from his bid for state attorney general to instead run for the House in West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. Last cycle, as Democrats elsewhere in the state were getting crushed, Republican Alex Mooney only managed a weak 47-44 victory over Democrat Nick Casey; with the right bit of luck, it's possible that Mooney could be vulnerable this year, with "leap year Democrats" who don't bother with midterms showing up to the polls.
Mooney has a pretty unappealing profile: He was a former state legislator in Maryland who fled across state lines to run for Congress in the Mountain State, and he only won a soft plurality against a very weak primary field in 2014. In fact, one of his opponents from that race, wealthy pharmacy owner Ken Reed, had even issued a challenge to the incumbent last year. Unfortunately for Democrats, though, Reid just abandoned that effort, so Hunt will have to face down Mooney without an assist from the GOP. It'll be a challenging race, given how red this turf is, but Mooney alone is capable of making this contest more interesting than it otherwise ought to be.
Other Races:
● PA-AG: Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro had long been expected to run for state attorney general this year, and on Tuesday, he made it official. Shapiro joins a crowded Democratic primary, which includes Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, former Delaware County and federal prosecutor Jack Stollsteimer, and Pittsburgh attorney Dave Fawcett.
But looming over this field is one more name: incumbent Kathleen Kane, who despite getting indicted on charges she illegally leaked secret grand jury information and lied to investigators, and despite the fact that her law license was suspended, claims she still intends to seek a second term. That's delusional as all get-out, but according to her spokesman, "every day changes in Kathleen Kane's world." Pennsylvania's just waiting for the day when the spinning needle comes to rest on "reality."
The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir and Jeff Singer, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, and Stephen Wolf.