2010 Elections, Political News

The same day he stumped for Democrats in Connecticut, President Barack Obama formally endorsed state Rep. Bryan Lentz in Pennsylvania’s 7th district, which is among the most competitive races in the state and largely considered a bellwether for other swing districts across the country. Lentz is facing former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan , a top Republican recruit in the suburban Philadelphia district. Meehan has outraised Lentz this cycle and reported a $300,000 cash-on-hand advantage at the end of June. “With so much still left to be done, and too many families struggling to get by, we need to keep America moving forward — which means I need you to support Bryan Lentz for Congress,” Obama said in a statement released by the campaign. “You can go door to door to ask folks to support Bryan. You can make calls to voters in your area, and make sure they get to the polls. And you can spread the word about the importance of voting for Bryan Lentz to your family, friends, and neighbors.” At this time, the endorsement was limited to the statement. The president has no specific plans to visit the district on Lentz’s behalf, although “we would absolutely welcome his continued support if the White House offered it,” according to Lentz spokesman Sean Coit. “I’m extremely honored by President Obama’s endorsement,” Lentz said in a statement. “After focusing my campaign on job creation and economic development, my first priority as a member of Congress will be to work with the President and other members of Congress to get our economy back on track.”

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Obama Backs Lentz in Pennsylvania Open Seat

President Obama’s first (last?) midterm general election is almost engaged. Today’s round of primary nominations begins the final push. Last Big Tuesday of Primary Season It’s been a long and fascinating primary season, with most of the heavy action on the GOP side . What A Difference A Month Makes For Castle In early August, CQ Politics traveled to Delaware to report on the race for Vice President Joseph Biden’s old Senate seat. At the time, Republican Rep. Mike Castle was comfortably ahead of his primary opponent, Christine O’Donnell. Ayotte’s Lead Narrows in N.H. GOP Senate Primary Former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte holds a 7-point lead over surging conservative businessman Ovide Lamontagne in the Granite State’s crowded Republican Senate primary, according to a poll released late Sunday night by the Democratic firm, Public Policy Polling. Bill Clinton featured in 11th hour robocall for Rangel Former President Bill Clinton has recorded a robocall supporting New York Rep. Charlie Rangel, who is facing five Democratic challengers in a primary race. GOP Maintains Generic Ballot Edge The latest Gallup tracking poll finds Republicans leading the generic congressional ballot among registered voters by five points, 48% to 43%. While the survey has been volatile over the last few months, Republicans since the beginning of August have averaged 48% and while Democrats have averaged 43% — identical to this week’s results.

In early August, CQ Politics traveled to Delaware to report on the race for Vice President Joseph Biden’s old Senate seat. At the time, Republican Rep. Mike Castle was comfortably ahead of his primary opponent, Christine O’Donnell. As you can see in this video interview, Castle was unconcerned about the impact of the tea party on tiny, moderate Delaware, and was looking ahead to the general election against Democrat Chris Coons. It just goes to show you what a difference a month makes in politics.

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What A Difference A Month Makes For Castle

Trailing her GOP opponent by as much as 30 points in some polls, Arkansas Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln has decided to spend as little time as possible in D.C. this month, even as the Senate prepares to come back into session Monday for three to four weeks. Lincoln will come to town for important votes, Democratic sources said, but she will spend most of her time in Arkansas campaigning for a third term in her race against Republican Rep. John Boozman . Lincoln has spent much of the past two years fighting for her seat; in June, she defeated Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in the Democratic primary runoff, 52 percent to 48 percent. “She is planning on coming back to D.C. as little as possible between now and November but it’s because she needs that time to campaign,” said one Senate Democratic aide. Lincoln is expected back next week to help Democrats get the 60 votes they need to beat back a filibuster on a small-business lending bill, but it was unclear whether she planned to stick around for debates on extending Bush-era tax cuts, a stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded until after the election or any other measures the Senate considers this month.

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Lincoln to Spend Little Time in D.C. This Month

I got an e-mail a while back from a reader who mentioned that he loved our Global Insider items, adding that they’re always highly informative even if the subjects are a bit “random.” I agreed with the former observation, but not with the latter. And a news item that I expect will garner a bit of attention over the coming days will help explain the method behind the apparent madness. We usually pick the GI topics from items on our Leading Indicators channel, based on whether we feel like it warrants closer attention due to its significance or its likelihood of developing into a major story in the future. So, case in point, back in May, China and Japan had a brief maritime run-in off of a disputed island chain in the East China Sea. We went ahead and ran a Global Insider item explaining the background and significance of the territorial dispute, which you can find here . Now, that dispute has flared up again, only this time the captain of a Chinese trawler that rammed Japanese coast guard vessels in the disputed waters has been taken into custody by Japanese authorities. china is demanding his immediate release, and the incident could easily escalate. If you’ve been reading our Global Insider posts, you already have what you need to put it all into context. And if you haven’t, you can find them all collected here , in a WPR special report. So next time you see a Global Insider and think to yourself, “That’s pretty random,” give it some time. We’re looking for tomorrow’s stories. Sometimes we just get a little too far ahead of the news cycle.

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China-Japan Maritime Dispute Flares Up

The conservative American Future Fund is running a TV ad against Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) , a freshman being challenged by Republican Jon Barela . The ad calls Heinrich a “Washington liberal” and slams him for voting for “Nancy Pelosi’s agenda more than 97 percent of the time.” “This November, your vote can make Martin Heinrich disappear,” the announcer says. The $250,000, four-week ad buy is the first independent expenditure in the Albuquerque-based 1st district, which is widely considered less vulnerable to a GOP takeover than the neighboring 2nd district. Heinrich and Barela have both launched TV ads of their own, as well, while Barela looks to gain steam and capitalize on a strong election cycle for Republicans nationwide.

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New Mexico: Conservative Group Targets Heinrich In Ad

I can’t count the number of times I received email accusing conservatives of “driving people to violence” with they’re completely threatening manner of standing on an easement and waving a pocket-sized American flag. THE HORRORS! I don’t expect the Statler & Waldorfs of the world or the media to apologize, but it’s fun to ask for one anyway. Eco-terrorist James Lee’s reported inspiration ? Lee said at the time that he experienced an ‘‘awakening” when he watched former Vice President Al Gore’s environmental documentary ‘‘An Inconvenient Truth.” The sham of a documentary, the points of which Al Gore himself refuses to debate in public. Filed under: Environmentalism , REAL Angry Mobs , Sad

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Discovery Eco-Terrorist “Inspired” by Gore’s Documentary

Rep. Martin Heinrich is airing his first TV ad of the campaign today as the freshman Democrat from New Mexico’s 1st district works to hold off a challenge from touted Republican recruit Jon Barela . In the ad, titled “Hurry,” stresses that Heinrich is a hard worker on behalf of New Mexicans. It opens with the Congressman getting out of bed with his suit already on, and the announcer notes that Heinrich has traveled home in 82 of the 85 weeks he’s been in Congress and “held over 350 constituent meetings.” “If you said Martin Heinrich seems like a man in a hurry, you’d be right. He’s in a hurry to get things back on track for New Mexico,” the announcer says. “Martin Heinrich: all New Mexico, all the time.”

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Heinrich On The Air With First Ad

Christie Vilsack, the wife of Agriculture Secretary and ex-Gov. Tom Vilsack, tells Radio Iowa that she’s thinking about running for Congress when the time is right — and the time may be right after redistricting changes the boundary lines for 2012. “Nobody will actually have a claim on any particular district, I think, because it’ll be a whole new set of voters and a whole new set of constituents,” she said. — Katherine Rizzo

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Vilsack For Congress?

This is not the kind of website update that campaign managers want to order up. Today, a House candidate in Iowa posted a statement conceding “a terrible use of judgment” and assuring backers that he has tried to learn from his mistakes, including the one that led his former live-in girlfriend to call the police in the middle of the night. At the time — 2001 — Republican Brad Zaun was the mayor of Urbandale, Iowa, and a divorced father. The Des Moines Register reported today on the paper trail left behind when Zaun’s ex reported that he pounded on her windows and was outside calling her a slut and other names. In his online statement, Zaun says, “In 2001, I was involved in an incident that I remain deeply embarrassed about, and one that reminded me of how my actions can have unintended consequences. It was a terrible use of judgment on my part. … I’m not perfect. I’ve made my mistakes, but I’ve tried to learn from them as my parents taught me to do. ”

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Iowa Candidate: ‘I Didn’t Pound On The Windows’ And ‘I’m Not Perfect’