FL’s Gallagher Not Quitting; Losing Joementum in CT; KY Gov; Greens feeling Blue in PA; more
Continue Reading August 9th, 2006
THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE.
FLORIDA: GALLAGHER CONTEMPLATES QUITTING GOV RACE, BUT KEEPS RUNNING.
State CFO Tom Gallagher (R) — strongly backed by Religious Right activists in his race for Florida Governor — appeared Wednesday morning on the brink of quitting the race. Gallagher has trailed fiscal conservative Attorney General Charlie Crist (R) by wide double-digit margins for months. As Gallagher moved sharply to the right — criticizing Crist for having praised the Terri Schiavo judges as “heroes” and for recently saying he was “fine” with having the state recognize same-sex civil unions — he expected to see the gap narrow. Yet, after raising over $9 million to date (versus $11 million for Crist), Crist’s primary advantage appears as solid as ever. The Miami Herald reported Gallagher spent the past few days talking to supporters and considering all his options. “Tom is evaluating — with his family and his friends — what is best for him and what is best for the Republican Party,” said a campaign spokesman. However, by Wednesday evening, it appeared Gallagher has decided to stay in the contest. Gallagher told the AP he will continue his run — but decided he will not mount a negative campaign against Crist. Instead, Gallagher says he hopes his more social conservative vision will be sufficient for him to win the primary.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.10.06
CONNECTICUT: LOSING JOEMENTUM WITH DEMS … BUT ROVE OFFERS HELP FOR LIEBERMAN.
One day after narrowly losing his Democratic primary for renomination, US Senator Joe Lieberman discovered his road as an Independent candidate may be lonlier than he anticipated. US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, DCCC Chair Senator Chuck Schumer, US Senator Hillary Clinton and even longtime Lieberman ally US Senator Chris Dodd all announced their support for challenger Ned Lamont. All of them had backed Lieberman in the primary. Lieberman did get one offer of support Wednesday — confirmed to the media by his own campaign: White House political advisor Karl Rove spoke with Lieberman, letting him know “whatever we can do [for you], we will do.” In related news, Lieberman shook up his campaign team Wednesday by firing his campaign manager and several other senior aides.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.10.06
CONGRESS: POLITICAL CLIMATE STUDIES.
Voters’ approval ratings of both Congress as a whole and their particular representatives in the House mirrors that of twelve years ago, the last time the majority party was voted out of power in both the House and Senate according the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, conducted August 3rd through 6th. The Washington Post reported that the anti-incumbent sentiment is the strongest it has been since 1994, with 60% disapproving of Congress’s performance as a whole and just 55% approving of the way his or her representative in the House is handling his or her job. Individual representative approval rates have hovered between 59 and 74 percent between 1994 and now. The recent dip of seven percentage points in voters’ approval ratings of their representatives in the past three months is “dramatic” according to Republican political consultant Ed Rollins, former White House political director for Ronald Reagan. Fifty-three percent of the 1,002 adults surveyed described themselves as anti-incumbent and only 29% said they were inclined to reelect legislators, nearly identical numbers as seen in June of 1994 on the eve of the Republicans’ sweeping out the Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. The margin of error in the poll is plus or minus three percent.
Writer: David Fisher - 08.10.06
KENTUCKY: FLETCHER SEEKS TO STYMIE POSSIBLE GOP RIVAL.
In a not-so-subtle announcement last week, Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R) mentioned he might challenge unpopular current Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) in the Bluegrass State’s 2007 gubernatorial primary. Fletcher countered and spoke openly about his disapproval of Grayson’s remarks — including in an interview with the Lexington Herald Leader — because the rising GOP star did not speak with him first regarding the statements. According to The Bluegrass Report, Fletcher is now quietly getting even by telling fellow Republicans to skip a fundraiser for Grayson later this week. Though several high-ranking state GOP officials — such as State Senate President David Williams — have asked Fletcher not to seek re-election, Fletcher vows to press on despite his problems arising from a state hiring scandal. Ironically, Grayson is from Boone County in Northern Kentucky — one of the state’s reddest regions. Though he would logically receive solid backing from his conservative home area, the region’s distinct partisan tilt have led it to be one of Fletcher’s few bastions of consistent popularity in the state, with numerous local lawmakers recently voicing their unwavering support for the embattled governor. Look for this intra-party race to heat up right after Election Day 2006.
Writer: Chuck Sambuchino - 08.10.06
ILLINOIS: CHAMBER MAKES SUPRISING ENDORSEMENT OF FRESHMAN HOUSE DEM.
Congressman Melissa Bean (D), who narrowly won her seat in 2004 over an entrenched GOP incumbent, gained a key endorsement in her race against conservative businessman David McSweeney. Running in the conservative suburbs of Chicago, Bean won the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a group which typically backs Republican candidates. The Chamber praised Bean as “a strong, independent voice … [who] understands what it takes to create a healthy business climate and promote local job growth.” Bean has been under fire from pro-labor groups in her district for her support of the free trade CAFTA treaty. However, in this conservative seat, support from business might prove to be more valuable to Bean than a base of labor backers. With the support of the Chamber comes a $400,000 early TV ad buy for Bean. With the wealthy McSweeney pledging to spend “as much as it takes” to win this seat, the Chamber’s money is a big boost for Bean. Bean must also deal with a challenge from the left by liberal attorney and peace candidate Bill Scheurer (Independent).
Writer: Chuck Sambuchino - 08.10.06
PENNSYLVANIA: GREENS LIKELY TO BE BOUNCED FROM STATE BALLOT.
After a review of candidacy petitions filed on behalf of Green Party US Senate candidate Chuck Penaccio and gubernatorial candidate Marakay Rogers, Dems plan to file a lawsuit bouncing them off the ballot. State Democratic Chair T.J. Rooney said a detailed review of the petitions — a signature drive admittedly financed in large part by supporters of US Senator Rick Santorum (R) — showed 69,622 of the 94,544 signatures are likely invalid. “Phony names, fake signatures and a tremendous amount of illegal and deceptive practices were uncovered during our thorough and aggressive analysis,” said Rooney. The Dems mocked the submitted petitions for being so sloppy as to contain signatures purporting to be for Jesus Christ, John Kerry, Lee H. Oswald, Terry Schiavo and Mickey Mouse. Romanelli countered the move is a heavy-handed, undemocratic effort to block him from running. Various sources involved in Keystone State politics told Politics1 they are confident the Democratic challenge will succeed in disqualifying the statewide Green nominees.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.10.06
FREE SPEECH ZONE.
Due to the recent US Supreme Court ruling redrawing Texas congressional lines in five districts — CD’s 15, 21, 23, 25 and 28 — candidate filing has been reopened for the new districts. The new filing deadline is August 25. The changes also threw out the March primary results for those districts. Instead, all candidates will compete in special election open primaries on Election Day in November. If any candidate fails to win a majority in November, the top two finishers (regardless of party) will advance to a December run-off.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 08.10.06
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Here’s my open offer for every campaign (and campaign supporter): send me a button or pin from the Governor, US Senate, Congressional, Statewide Office, etc., campaign you are involved in — feel free to add a sticker and brochure — and I’ll place a link to official campaign site here on our homepage in a daily “thank you” note. My address: Ron Gunzburger, 409 NE 17 Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301. TODAY’S THANKS GO TO: Writer and former radio talk show host Daniel “Wig Man” Vovak, Republican for US Senate in Maryland.
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