2010 Elections, Political News

New details about the specific targets of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s television ad buys are emerging. Just days after news broke that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would reduce its ad buy in the media market that covers Democratic Rep. Chris Carney’s 10th district in northeast Pennsylvania, a party source confirmed that the NRCC has decided to devote $595,000 to the district for ads that will run throughout the month of October. Carney is facing former U.S. Attorney Tom Marino (R) in a contest that the GOP is growing increasingly optimistic about. The district was not included on the NRCC’s original independent expenditure target list that was released last month. Another district that wasn’t included on that list was the open seat in New Hampshire. But the NRCC has now laid down $1 million for air time in the 2nd district during the last three weeks of October. The DCCC has already signaled it’s intention to play in the contest where Democrat Ann Kuster hopes to replace Rep. Paul Hodes (D). Next door, in the battleground 1st district of Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, the NRCC has also laid down $1 million down for commercial air time. The NRCC is going in big in two highly competitive seats in the Orlando media market as well. The committee is devoting $817,000 for air time against Rep. Alan Grayson (D) and another $817,000 for ads against Suzanne Kosmas (D). Those ads will air throughout the month of October. In Virginia, the NRCC is extending its ad buy against Rep. Rick Boucher (D) in the 9th district. The ads, which were set to begin tomorrow and run for a week, are now set to air through October 14. The committee has now spent a total of $342,000 in the district. Other reports out Thursday indicate that the NRCC has purchased $900,000 in air time in the Portland media market to aid state Rep. Jaime Herrera (R) in her race against Rep. Denny Heck (D). Those ads will run Sept. 24 to Oct 21. The committee is also laid down $300,000 in New Mexico’s 1st district to aide Republican Jon Barela (R) against Rep. Martin Heinrich. The Committee’s independent expenditure arm is currently running ads in 11 districts with the Virginia ad and another ad in North Carolina’s 7th district set to begin tomorrow.

See the original post:
NRCC Ad Buy Strategy Takes Shape

If endorsements are any indication, Missouri groups are finding a lot to like in both Rep. Ike Skelton and his opponent, former state Rep. Vicky Hartzler. This week, Missouri Right to Life endorsed both candidates after having endorsed Skelton in the past. And while Skelton received the Friends of Farm Bureau award given to Members of Congress, Hartzler received the Missouri Farm Bureau endorsement. Skelton, who was first elected in 1976, has left nothing to chance in what could be his first competitive race in decades. He has run four ads in the Columbia-Jefferson City and Springfield markets and began running an ad in the Kansas City market last week, too. The newest ad accuses his Republican opponent, former state Rep. Vicky Hartzler, of neglecting veterans. “When it comes to Vicky Hartzler’s views on the military and veterans, there’s a troubling pattern,” a narrator says. “Hartzler voted against reenlistment pay for the National Guard and voted against funding to help bury fallen Guardsmen.” Hartzler survived a tough primary in late July and got the endorsement of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) in August. She went up with her first general election ad this week. It ties Skelton to Democratic policies. “What we value as Americans, what gave us such great opportunity and freedom, is under attack,” Hartzler says, and a narrator takes over. “Congressman Skelton’s solution? Radically wrong votes for taxpayer bailouts and government takeovers, record debt, higher job-killing taxes for families and slander Vicki Hartzler’s outstanding record in support of our troops.” CQ-Roll Call rates this race Leans Democratic .

See the original post:
Missouri: Skelton, Hartzler Sharing Endorsements

Republican Kelly Ayotte appears to have survived a late surge from tea party favorite Ovide Lamontagne in the nation’s only outstanding Senate primary. With 262 of 301 precincts reporting at 10:15 a.m., former Attorney General Ayotte had 39 percent of the vote compared to Lamontagne’s 37 percent, according to the Associated Press. That’s a difference of roughly 1,700 votes, and a significantly larger margin than was reported earlier this morning. An official within the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office said that Granite State returns usually take longer than other states because e-mail results must be matched with paper tallies before being reported. “We’re hoping most of it will be done by the end of the day,” she said, noting that the campaigns have staff on hand to monitor the reporting. And while the tallying process has already extended for 14 hours, there are signs that Ayotte could be declared the victor in the very near future. A lead that was less than 1 percent after midnight has now doubled. And it appears that just one major population center, the Dover area, has yet to be recorded. The preferred candidate of the national Republican establishment, Ayotte would be the instant frontrunner in the general election matchup against Rep. Paul Hodes (D) should she win the primary.

More here:
Ayotte Lead Grows, But Still No Result in NH Senate Race

With his victory in Tuesday’s primary, roofing contractor Reid Ribble will be the Republican nominee against Rep. Steve Kagen (D) in the northeastern Wisconsin 8th district this fall. He defeated state Rep. Roger Roth and former state Rep. Terri McCormick . With 63 percent of precincts reporting, Ribble had 50 percent of the vote to Roth’s 29 percent and McCormick’s 18 percent. Ribble has already been named to the lowest tier of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Young Guns program and the NRCC is expected to target the race this fall. Kagen narrowly won an open seat race in 2006, when Republican Rep. Mark Green left to run for governor. In a tougher environment for incumbents and Democrats, Kagen may struggle against the Republican nominee. An American Action Forum poll taken about a month before the primary showed Ribble ahead of Kagen by 10 points. CQ Politics currently rates this race Leans Democratic .

Read the original:
Wisconsin: Ribble to Face Kagen

Christine O’Donnell’s former campaign manager rips her new boss in an election-day robo-call sponsored by the Delaware Republican Party, which is fighting to beat back a late surge by the tea party-backed candidate in favor of the moderate Mike Castle . “You see, this is her third Senate race in five years,” says O’Donnell’s 2008 campaign manager Kristin Murray in the recording. “As O’Donnell’s manager, I found out she was living on campaign donations, using them for rent, and personal expenses, while leaving her workers unpaid and piling up thousands in debt.” Murray continues: “She wasn’t concerned about conservative causes. O’Donnell just wanted to make a buck. That’s why I left, and why I won’t trust O’Donnell with my hard-earned tax dollars.” It’s unclear whether the eleventh-hour knock will make a difference in the Republican primary, especially with the Tea Party Express pushing get-out-the-vote efforts on the ground and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and other national conservatives rallying behind O’Donnell. Much of the national and state Republican establishment believes that O’Donnell cannot win a general election against Democratic county executive Chris Coons . But it’s all about turnout in a closed primary contest. The polls close at 8 p.m.

Original post:
Former campaign manager rips O’Donnell in recording

Las Vegas Sun columnist Jon Ralston slammed the campaign of Nevada Republican Sharron Angle for agreeing to participate in and then quickly backing out of a Senate debate that Ralston, the dean of Nevada politics, was setting up. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) finally agreed on Thursday to the Oct. 21 Reno event set to air on Ralston’s “Face to Face” TV program. This came after Angle challenged Reid to do so several months ago. But after Ralston announced the debate on Twitter, an Angle spokesman quickly contacted him and said she would not participate. The series of events was even picked up by the Columbia Journalism Review . Ralston took to Twitter yesterday to vent his outrage, and further explained the course of events in an online column on Friday. Ralston chalked it up to the difference of opinions among those that have been on Angle’s staff from the beginning, and the help she’s receiving from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “This is all about a campaign organization riven by personality conflicts between seasoned pros and amateurs, and a candidate torn between longtime friends and operatives parachuted in to save her,” Ralston wrote. CQ Politics contacted the Angle campaign’s Las Vegas office for comment about the debate flap, and asked for spokesman Jarrod Agen — who was sent to the campaign by the NRSC. We were referred to Angle’s original spokesman, Jerry Stacy, in Reno. Without ringing, the call was immediately sent to Stacy’s voice mail message, which refers callers to another spokeswoman. When asked about the debate, the spokeswoman demurred and said she could only pass on messages to Jarrod or Jerry. Agen responded to Politico : “Obviously, the wrong signal was given to Jon Ralston and we apologize for that. We have other events planned for October 21 and we’ve long contended that debates be held before early voting.”

Here is the original post:
Ralston Explains How Angle Backed Out Of Debate

A new Democratic poll showed Democrat Dan Seals ahead of Republican Bob Dold by 13 points in the open-seat race to succeed GOP Rep. Mark Kirk . Seals led 46 percent to 38 percent in the poll taken for Seals’ campaign, a larger margin than a poll taken by the same firm in May found. “We are encouraged by this recent poll because it means that voters trust Dan to provide independent leadership and fiscal responsibility,” Seals’ Communications Director Aviva Gibbs said in a release. “Dan will continue to focus on creating jobs and keeping taxes low, while ensuring that we protect our values and reduce the national debt in the years ahead.” The Anzalone Liszt Research poll of 500 voters was conducted Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 and had a margin of error 4.4 points. It also showed Seals leading by 5 points among independents and earning 22 percent of voters who supported Kirk in 2008. Despite the fact that the 10th district hasn’t elected a Democrat since Abner Mikva in 1978, the poll’s summary says the district is “still good territory for Democrats.” On the generic ballot question, 40 percent of respondents said they favored a Democrat and 39 percent said they favored a Republican. The survey and showed President Barack Obama with a favorability rating of 59 percent. CQ-Roll Call rates this race a Tossup .

See more here:
Illinois: Seals Leads Dold in New Poll

To establish a fee on transactions which would eliminate the national debt and replace the income tax on individuals.

Read the original post:
H.R.4646 Debt Free America Act

Republican Tim Burns holds a 5 point lead over Rep. Mark Critz (D) in Pennsylvania’s 12th district, according to a poll conducted for the Burns campaign and the National Republican Congressional Committee. In the survey, obtained by CQ Politics, Burns leads Critz 48 percent to 43 percent in a rematch of the May special election that was held to fill out the remaining term of the late Rep. John P. Murtha (D). In that contest, Critz defeated Burns 53 percent to 45 percent. Public Opinion Strategies, a GOP polling firm, conducted the poll with 400 likely voters from Aug. 23-24. The survey has a 4.9 point margin of error.**

Here is the original post:
Pennsylvania: Burns Leads Critz In Internal GOP Poll (Updated)

Joe Miller is working to raise $100,000 as the state begins counting thousands of additional ballots in the Alaska Republican Senate primary. Miller’s campaign tells supporters in an e-mail Tuesday that it needs the money for the “fight between the establishment and the conservative grassroots.” “Unfortunately, Joe Miller and his homegrown base of conservative Alaskans are facing legal battles with well-funded special interests committed to maintaining the status quo in Washington,” the campaign writes in the solicitation. “With your support, Joe can continue his momentum; stave off the inevitable lawsuits, and cross the finish line with another victory for the conservative movement.” Sean Cairncross, chief counsel for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was in Alaska three days last week at Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s campaign’s request. The NRSC continues to maintain, though, it is staying neutral in the primary bout and will support whoever comes out on top. However, Miller remains convinced that outside interests are working on Murkowski’s behalf. “We know that there are still national folk up here — don’t know who actually hired them,” Miller said Monday on the ABC/Washington Post “Top Line” online show. “But there certainly is an effort still underway, I think, to skew the result in favor of the opponent.” Miller currently leads Murkowski by 1,668 votes. The state Division of Elections began counting more than 15,000 ballots today, with thousands more expected to trickle in and be counted by next week. All of the outstanding ballots must be counted by Sept. 8, according to state law.

More:
Miller Seeks Cash For Potential Legal Battle