MI-07: Ex-GOP Rep. Schwarz Endorses Democrat Schauer (HellofaSandwich)
This is a pretty big bombshell -- Joe Schwarz, a former GOP congressman who was defeated in the 2006 primary by wingnut Tim Walberg, just announced that he plans to endorse Democrat Mark Schauer for his old seat.
Posted at 09/30/2008 06:26:20 PM EST - #
Elizabeth Dole Pushed Banking Deregulation Days before Collapse Triggered (The Southern Dem)
Elizabeth Dole introduced legislation to reduce regulation and oversight for banks and other financial institutions 6 days prior to receiving a $2500 contribution from Bear Stearns and 9 days prior to Bear Stearn's collapse.
Posted at 09/30/2008 03:43:32 PM EST - #
GQRR Survey: Young Evangelicals Less Supportive of McCain (Mike Connery)
A new survey by GQRR shows lagging support for McCain among evangelicals under 30:
A recent survey conducted for Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly finds that young white evangelical Christians are less supportive of John McCain for president than their older counterparts. Although McCain maintains a solid winning margin among white evangelical Christians on the ballot, white evangelicals ages 18-29 are less supportive of his candidacy and express less favorable impressions of McCain than older white evangelical Christians.
Posted at 09/30/2008 03:32:00 PM EST - #
Term Limits Be Damned: Bloomberg To Run For Third Term (lipris)
Despite the fact that current law limits him to two terms as Mayor, Michael Bloomberg will announce Thursday morning that he intends to run for a third. Really.
Posted at 09/30/2008 03:14:22 PM EST - #
Tim Kaine: Best Quote EVAH About Palin Selection? (lowkell)
This totally rocks! According to Gov. Tim Kaine, a finalist for Barack Obama's running mate: "I think most people would take hiring someone for a summer job more seriously than Senator McCain took the choice of Governor Palin." Kaine has some other choice comments as well, but that's the highlight. :)
Posted at 09/30/2008 03:12:59 PM EST - #
GA-Sen: Chambliss Leads by 2 (HellofaSandwich)
SurveyUSA: Chambliss 46, Martin 44
Posted at 09/30/2008 12:19:10 PM EST - #
NC-Sen: PPP has Hagan up 8 (John Rohrbach)
Posted at 09/29/2008 07:08:21 PM EST - #
NM-Sen: Udall Explains Why He Voted Against the Bailout (fbihop)
Whether you were for the bailout or against it, it's good to see a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senate candidate explain his vote.
Posted at 09/29/2008 04:13:53 PM EST - #
LA-02: Five Days LEFT (DailyKingFish)
The primary in LA-02 was pushed back one month after Hurricane Gustav blew through Louisiana. The Daily Kingfish has a round-up on what to expect from Saturday's election.
Posted at 09/29/2008 03:55:06 PM EST - #
Obama liveblog from Colorado (em dash)
Colorado Independent is liveblogging Barack Obama's visit to a suburban Denver high school.
Posted at 09/29/2008 01:50:01 PM EST - #
Sarah Palin's Mentor...Well, THAT Explains It! (lowkell)
Just having a bit o' fun with the news that South Dakota's Republican Governor Mike Rounds was a "mentor" to Sarah Palin. Check out what Rounds might have taught her.
Posted at 09/29/2008 12:46:29 PM EST - #
MN-03: Paulsen (GOP) getting desperate with attack ad (MN Campaign Report)
Republican Erik Paulsen must have decided that Ashwin Madia's rising poll numbers were cause for concern, and made his second ad of the season a misleading attack ad against Madia. In other news, Madia is kicking tail and taking names.
Posted at 09/29/2008 09:05:10 AM EST - #
Calitics Match: End of the Quarter Fundraising Push (dday)
Calitics has decided to do a quick fundraising push for the end of the quarter. We will match all donations up to $500 for each of five state and federal candidates on our "Calitics Match" ActBlue page. That's a total $2,500 match. Charlie Brown (CA-04), Debbie Cook (CA-46), Hannah-Beth Jackson (SD-19), Alyson Huber (AD-10), Manuel Perez (AD-80)
Posted at 09/28/2008 04:35:59 PM EST - #
KY-Sen: McConnell tied at 41% (MediaCzech)
More #'s from the new Mason-Dixon poll are out now.
And what is Mitchie's classy response? He calls his opponent "egotistical and greedy". Project much? And he accuses Mason-Dixon of being a biased polling firm, joining Rasmussen in firms they've accused as such.
Posted at 09/27/2008 08:12:50 PM EST - #
VA: Live blogging Obama-Biden Rally at U. Mary Washington (lowkell)
Check out the photos and live blog here, this looks like it's going to be a great rally.
Posted at 09/27/2008 05:10:25 PM EST - #
KY-Sen: ANOTHER poll shows McConnell/Lunsford tied (MediaCzech)
Just like last week's SUSA poll, Mason-Dixon's new poll has Mitch McConnell and Bruce Lunsford in a statistical tie.
Should have the exact #'s soon...
Posted at 09/27/2008 01:48:32 PM EST - #
CA-46: Join Me At A Low Dollar Fundraiser For Debbie Cook This Sunday (Todd Beeton)
Anyone in SoCal, please join me at a house party fundraiser for Debbie Cook to support her bid to oust lazy crazy Dana Rohrabacher on Sunday in Palos Verdes. It's just $25 to come and -- oh yeah -- Debbie will be there. Details and RSVP at ActBlue. Hope to see you there.
Posted at 09/26/2008 06:03:44 PM EST - #
SD: Tim Johnson Leads by 27 Points (lowkell)
With just 39 days to go until the election, Sen. Tim Johnson holds a 27-point lead over his Republican sacrificial lamb opponent. Go Tim!
Posted at 09/26/2008 05:58:01 PM EST - #
Bush Suspending Governing to Focus on Campaigning (John Rohrbach)
As lawmakers grapple with how to pull the nation from the brink of economic disaster, it seems President Bush has committed to appear at a fundraiser for Rep. Kenny Hulshof, the Republicans' candidate for governor in Missouri. Seems a mighty strange time for the president to plan a political event, no? Or, for that matter, for a congressman to be anywhere but Washington.
Posted at 09/26/2008 02:22:44 PM EST - #
NM-01, NV-03: Heinrich, Titus Post Leads in New Polls (HellofaSandwich)
NM-01: Heinrich 48, White 42
NV-03: Titus 46, Porter 37
Posted at 09/26/2008 12:38:39 PM EST - #
Florida Speaks: Protect Our Vote! (Progress Florida)
In 24 hours, Progress Florida collected nearly 2,000 signatures of Floridians demanding Governor Crist and Secretary of State Kurt Browning ensure a fair Election on November 4th by suspending the infamous "No Match, No Vote" law and putting a stop to other dirty tricks. If you're a Floridian, sign this important petition. If you have friends in Florida, tell them about it. Crist and Browning need to know Floridians are mad as hell about any attempt to disenfranchise voters. Let's keep the momentum going!
Posted at 09/26/2008 11:42:46 AM EST - #
Tell Scott Garrett (NJ-05) To Pay His Taxes (Aaron Banks)
Fringe conservative Congressman Scott Garrett is also a corrupt tax dodger. Find out more and take action: http://garrettshrubs.com/
Posted at 09/25/2008 11:12:23 PM EST - #
OR-SEN: SurveyUSA - Merkley 44, Smith 42. Closest race in the country. (karichisholm)
The latest SurveyUSA poll has the Senate race in Oregon at Merkley 44, Smith 42. Pollster.com's combined poll analysis has it as Merkley 42.3, Smith 42.2 -- Merkley's first lead of the race.
I've compiled all the Pollster.com numbers, and ranked the races by closeness:
| Rank | Sept 22 | State | Democrat | % | Republican | % | margin |
1  | 1 | OR | Merkley | 42.3 | Smith | 42.2 | +0.10 |
| 2 | 2 | NC | Hagan | 43.1 | Dole | 42.3 | +0.80 |
| 3 | 3 | AK | Begich | 48.3 | Stevens | 45.5 | +2.80 |
| 4 | 4 | MN | Franken | 41.3 | Coleman | 45.1 | -3.80 |
| 5 | 5 | CO | M. Udall | 44.7 | Schaeffer | 39.2 | +5.50 |
5  | 8 | NH | Shaheen | 49.4 | Sununu | 43.9 | +5.50 |
7  | 6 | MS-B | Musgrove | 42.4 | Wicker | 49.6 | -7.20 |
| 8 | 7 | NJ | Lautenberg | 47.6 | Zimmer | 39.1 | +8.50 |
| 9 | 11 | KY | Lunsford | 38.8 | McConnell | 50.1 | -11.30 |
| 10 | 9 | TX | Noriega | 38.1 | Cornyn | 51.8 | -13.70 |
| 11 | 10 | NM | T. Udall | 55.1 | Pearce | 41.4 | +13.70 |
| 12 | 15 | SC | Conley | 37.8 | Graham | 52.8 | -15.00 |
| 13 | 12 | LA | Landrieu | 56.0 | Kennedy | 40.8 | +15.20 |
| 14 | 14 | GA | Martin | 36.6 | Chambliss | 52.3 | -15.70 |
| 15 | 13 | ME | Allen | 39.6 | Collins | 55.7 | -16.10 |
| 16 | 16 | IA | Harkin | 56.8 | C. Reed | 38.4 | +18.40 |
| 17 | 17 | OK | Rice | 36.3 | Inhofe | 55.2 | -18.90 |
| 18 | 24 | KS | Slattery | 36.2 | Roberts | 56.8 | -20.60 |
| 19 | 18 | ID | LaRocco | 31.8 | Risch | 52.5 | -20.70 |
| 20 | 19 | IL | Durbin | 57.6 | Sauerberg | 35.3 | +22.30 |
| 21 | 20 | NE | Kleeb | 35.4 | Johanns | 58.5 | -23.10 |
| 22 | 21 | MI | Levin | 56.2 | Hoogendyk | 32.8 | +23.40 |
| 23 | 23 | MS-A | Fleming | 33.5 | Cochran | 58.5 | -25.00 |
| 24 | 22 | VA | Warner | 57.9 | Gilmore | 32.3 | +25.60 |
| 25 | 25 | MA | Kerry | 57.0 | Beatty | 29.3 | +27.70 |
| 26 | 26 | SD | Johnson | 61.3 | Dykstra | 32.4 | +28.90 |
| 27 | 27 | TN | Tuke | 29.2 | Alexander | 59.3 | -30.10 |
| 28 | 28 | AL | Figures | 30.7 | Sessions | 60.9 | -30.20 |
| 29 | 29 | MT | Baucus | 64.0 | Kelleher | 31.0 | +33.00 |
| 30 | 30 | RI | J. Reed | 72.0 | Tingle | 20.0 | +52.00 |
Posted at 09/25/2008 03:17:17 PM EST - #
Action: Comment today on bad rule that would limit women's health care (desmoinesdem)
Midnight tonight (September 25) is the deadline to submit comments on a rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which would allow health care providers to refuse to provide care that goes against their personal beliefs. This diary contains a link to a pdf file of the relevant document from HHS and explains how it could affect women's health care, including access to birth control as well as abortion-related services. The Planned Parenthood Action Center has created a page where you can submit your comments on this proposed rule. It's easy, so please do weigh in.
Posted at 09/25/2008 12:17:33 PM EST - #
LA-01: Democratic Challenger Harlan Closing The Gap (DailyKingFish)
Over in LA-01, Democratic challenger Jim Harlan has closed a 53 point gap in June down to 11 points now. Even more impressive, the Republican's 4 month incumbent, Steve Scalise, has 42% re-elect # ...
Posted at 09/25/2008 11:59:53 AM EST - #
OH-07: Austria (R) Smears Neuhardt (D) For Aiding Rwandan Refugee (Ohio Daily Blog)
In a shameful and despicable attack, State Sen. Steve Austria and the NRCC are trying to smear attorney Sharen Neuhardt for helping a Rwandan refugee who escaped a mass genocide, calling it "harboring an illegal immigrant." This is a particularly heinous attack that hopefully backfires in this increasingly promising open seat race. More here and here.
Posted at 09/25/2008 09:09:54 AM EST - #
OR-Sen: Merkley Pulls Ahead in New SUSA Poll (HellofaSandwich)
Posted at 09/25/2008 12:44:03 AM EST - #
DCCC Spends $3 Million in 30 Districts (HellofaSandwich)
A whole lotta scrilla: Round 1 | Round 2
Posted at 09/24/2008 08:51:17 PM EST - #
Texas Voter Registration Hitting Record Levels (KTinTX)
Over 13.1 million statewide with gains in urban areas that could make a critical difference in the US Senate race. Some projected numbers for a key county posted here.
Posted at 09/24/2008 08:49:11 PM EST - #
LA-Sen: Kennedy Opposed $$ Money For Hurricane Response Equipment (DailyKingFish)
Wow ... John Kennedy's embrace of earmark reform has gone out of control.
The Kennedy for Whatever folks have released an excellent ad panning Kennedy for his stance.
Posted at 09/24/2008 05:58:56 PM EST - #
NY-13: Vito Fossella Comeback Now Officially Dead (lipris)
The Manhattan GOP tried to throw a hail mary on Monday night by nominating current NY-13 GOP candidate Bob Straniere for a judgeship and therefore opening up a slot for disgraced Rep Vito Fossella on the GOP ballot line. Today Straniere officially killed that plan by formally declining the nomination. Also, Tim Cochrane has formally accepted the Conservative Party line leaving Vito with nowhere to go. He's done.
Posted at 09/24/2008 05:56:41 PM EST - #
Yalla Vote (Jerome Armstrong)
The Yalla Vote campaign for 2008 is starting in Virginia.
Posted at 09/24/2008 12:50:21 PM EST - #
NM-01: White (R) Campaign Uses Ad from Local Blogger Without Permission (fbihop)
Looks like the Darren White campaign used a photo in their new attack ad against Martin Heinrich without permission; a very pro-Heinrich blogger.
Posted at 09/24/2008 12:31:22 PM EST - #
NC-Sen: Dole Team Demoralized? (John Rohrbach)
With Kay Hagan appearing to pull ahead in her race against Elizabeth, her team appears to be a little demoralized.
Posted at 09/24/2008 12:23:44 PM EST - #
PEW: Landline Polling Skewing Results; Favoring McCain (Mike Connery)
A new report from Pew Research shows that polls that exclude cell phones are demonstrating a consistent 2 -3% bias in favor of John McCain. This is because those polls are leaving out cell-only young voters who heavily favor Obama.
Posted at 09/24/2008 10:59:30 AM EST - #
Rock the Vote Poll: Youth Enthusiasm Grows; Palin Has Little Effect (Mike Connery)
Rock the Vote and Celinda Lake just released a new poll on young voters. With a 650 sample size culled from cell phone and landline respondents, it's probably the best post-convention look at young voters out there.
So far it shows Obama maintaining his double digit lead, growing youth enthusiasm, and little evidence of a "Palin Effect" among young voters.
Posted at 09/23/2008 03:47:36 PM EST - #
Rossi prayed for Bush economic plan (John Rohrbach)
In 2003 as a state Senator, Rossi supported a resolution to "...pray that our elected Representatives and Senators in the United States Congress support and vote to enact President Bush’s 2002 Economic Growth and Tax Relief Plan." Gov. Gregoire has an ad up whacking him for it here.
Posted at 09/23/2008 02:09:08 PM EST - #
McCain's Transition Chair Lobbied for Freddie Til Last Month (Jonathan Singer)
Wow.
Posted at 09/23/2008 02:05:58 PM EST - #
Obama Edges Ahead in Virginia (Jonathan Singer)
Three polls out yesterday:
| Obama | McCain | |
| Rasmussen | 48 | 50 |
| WaPo-ABC | 49 | 46 |
| SUSA | 51 | 46 |
| Average | 49.3 | 47.3 |
Posted at 09/23/2008 02:05:03 PM EST - #
Humane Society Makes First Ever Presidential Endorsement (Jonathan Singer)
Posted at 09/23/2008 02:01:38 PM EST - #
Racist Attacks on Obama by Virginia Republicans (notlarrysabato)
The post today on a prominent Virginia Republican blog: "Seeking White Racists to Vote For McCain"
Posted at 09/23/2008 12:02:07 PM EST - #
KY-Sen: SUSA-Lunsford only down 3 to McConnell (MediaCzech)
McConnell- 49%, Lunsford- 46%
Lunsford was down 12 points in the last SUSA poll 6 weeks ago. Great news... Ditch Mitch.
Posted at 09/23/2008 11:57:49 AM EST - #
LA-Sen: Kennedy's Head Over Heels for McCain (DailyKingFish)
Well, at least Republican hopeful John "Wanna Be" Kennedy has made up his mind on one thing:
Posted at 09/23/2008 09:55:47 AM EST - #
IA-04: Both candidates up on tv (desmoinesdem)
Last week Democratic candidate Becky Greenwald started running an introductory television ad to reach voters in Iowa's fourth district. Incumbent Tom Latham went up on television with this ad the following day. Bleeding Heartland analyzes the Latham commercial here. It's amazing how an undistinguished Republican back-bencher can reinvent himself as a bipartisan leader.
Posted at 09/23/2008 08:08:59 AM EST - #
ID-01: Minnick (D) Leads Sali by 5 (HellofaSandwich)
Democrat Walt Minnick has pulled into the lead against GOP Rep. Bill "Brain Fade" Sali.
Posted at 09/22/2008 09:23:12 PM EST - #
re: Feeney... Still Not As Good As This Ad (Jonathan Singer)
Posted at 09/22/2008 07:17:33 PM EST - #
LA-06: Cazayoux (D) Leads By 16 Points! (DailyKingFish)
The Cazayoux campaign released their latest poll numbers today, showing them with a 16 point lead over GOP hopeful Bill Cassidy. As for the Benedict Arnold in this race - Michael Jackson? He's in single digits ... and bleeding support.
Posted at 09/22/2008 06:52:58 PM EST - #
FL-24: Feeney Apologizes for Abramoff Ties in New Ad (HellofaSandwich)
Posted at 09/22/2008 06:18:32 PM EST - #
VA: Warner Romping Over Gilmore; Obama Leading McCain (lowkell)
There are two new polls out for Virginia, one by SurveyUSA and one by the Washington Post and ABC News. Both show Barack Obama ahead, while the Post/ABC poll has Mark Warner romping over Jim Gilmore. Great news, read all about it here and here.
Posted at 09/22/2008 06:01:29 PM EST - #
CO-04: Musgrave goes on attack, press fires back (em dash)
Without the apparent largess of the NRCC or Grover Norquist to do her bidding, Musgrave has been forced to run her own attack ads against Democratic challenger Betsy Markey in Colorado's 4th congressional district. But the tactic may have backfired. Instead of pounding Markey the long-cowed local press raised some of Musgrave's own personal peccadilloes in its stories.
Posted at 09/22/2008 02:39:30 PM EST - #
