Senate Election 2010: Round up of current news. – 2/1/10

Posted by Clyde Middleton on Feb 1 2010 Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Michael Romanoff staffing up with high-profile Dem operatives for his primary challenge to Michael Bennet, PA Senate moved to “toss up,” while both Toomey and Blunt are among those posting strong year-end fundraising numbers, the Buffalo News looks at Kirsten Gillibrand’s “identity crisis,” Scott Brown meets “bone-crushing” crowds on the Cape, Dems squabble amongst themselves on their jobs plan, Republican Senate candidates in Florida both up double-digits on the presumptive Dem nominee, Patty Murray’s re-elect no longer a sure thing, and new LA Dem Chair takes over a party in “disarray.” Bur first:

Democrats often point to Harry Reid’s strong fundraising numbers to offset his dismal polling numbers, but as the Associated Press notes, Reid actually spent more money in the last quarter of 2009 than he brought in. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s campaign ended 2009 with less money in the bank than it had in September after financing an advertising blitz intended to buff his bruised image in his home state of Nevada, records released Friday showed … The Democratic leader collected nearly $2 million in donations in the final three months of the year – his weakest fundraising quarter of 2009 by a narrow margin. That’s about the same amount of money his campaign burned through in the three-month period on ads and other expenditures. Reid’s campaign ended the year with $8.69 million in his campaign account, down slightly from $8.73 million at the end of September.

In Colorado, Andrew Romanoff added several big-name Democrat operatives to his campaign staff over the weekend, showing he is serious about his primary challenge to Michael Bennet. Politico writes: Andrew Romanoff’s U.S. Senate campaign in Colorado announced some big name additions to its team Friday, including the man who lead Howard Dean’s insurgent presidential bid and the woman who conducted Martha Coakley’s polling. Renowned Democratic strategists Joe Trippi and Celinda Lake have signed on as formal consultants to Romanoff’s bid, in addition to former Carter presidential adviser Pat Caddell. Liz Chadderon has been brought on to do the candidate’s direct mail. The staffing upgrade is the latest sign that the former Colorado House Speaker is serious about his primary challenge to Sen. Michael Bennet, who was appointed to the seat a year ago to replace Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

In Pennsylvania, Congressional Quarterly moved Arlen Specter’s re-election chances from “Leans Democratic” to “Toss Up.” It is now clear that Pennsylvania’s Senate race will be one of the most competitive in the country and that party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa) no longer has the upper hand when it comes to holding his seat for another term. Several polls over the past few months have shown former Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) ahead of Specter, and some surveys have even shown him leading by double digits. That’s just one of the reasons why CQ Politics has changed this race rating from Leans Democratic to Tossup – and that rating is admittedly generous to Specter. Not only does the national mood no longer favor Democrats, but Toomey appears to be performing particularly well in the Keystone State at the start of the 2010 midterm election year.

And Politico reports that the former House GOP member unveiled some promising news for his campaign Saturday, announcing he outraised Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) by a little more than half a million dollars during the final months of 2009…. The fundraising lift comes on the heels of a Franklin and Marshall poll that shows Toomey leading Specter among likely voters 45 percent to 31 percent. In a hypothetical match-up, Toomey also leads Sestak 41 percent to 19 percent.

Senate Republican candidates had strong fourth quarter numbers in states across the country, including in Missouri where the Associated Press reports that Republican Roy Blunt has widened his financial advantage over Democrat Robin Carnahan. New campaign finance reports show Blunt, a congressman from southwest Missouri, took in more than $1.3 million during the final three months of 2009. After expenses, he reported more than $2.9 million available as he began 2010. Carnahan, who is Missouri’s secretary of state, reported bringing in about $877,000 during the last quarter of 2009. After expenses, Carnahan reported having about $2.1 million at the beginning of this year.

In a brutal piece featuring a harsh complaint about her performance as a Senator from the Democrat mayor of Buffalo, the Buffalo News takes a look at the unelected Kirsten Gillibrand’s “identity crisis.” “She hasn’t developed a political identity or connected with New York voters,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which published a poll earlier this month showing that nearly a third of the state’s Democrats either have no opinion of Gillibrand or have never heard of her … Since taking office, though, Gillibrand simply hasn’t earned the kind of loyalty that could help her defend against a strong challenge. For example, Buffalo’s mayor is in good touch with Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and he used to meet or talk frequently with Clinton when she represented the state. But a year after Gov. David A. Paterson appointed Gillibrand, she still has not paid a visit to the mayor in his office. And Brown doesn’t seem happy about it. “We need elected representatives who are going to give us their focus and their attention,” said Brown, who met with Gillibrand and her staff before two events last year but who was disappointed that she later canceled a scheduled meeting in Washington. “I think it is important for the people of Buffalo to feel they are not taken for granted,” he said.

In Massachusetts, the Cape Cod Times describes the “bone-crushing” crowds of well-wishers Senator-elect Scott Brown encountered during his weekend stop on the Cape. U.S. Sen.-elect Scott Brown greeted a bone-crushing crowd of well-wishers last night at the Falmouth Inn. “He’s a regular guy, a hard-working man with a family,” Lisa Burgess of Mashpee said. “He has devoted his life to the National Guard, like my husband.” Members of military families were thick among the people who braved one of the coldest nights of the year and waited more than one hour to shake hands with the Republican victor in last week’s special election to pick a successor to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Frustrated, long-suffering Republicans such as Mary Cheney of Sagamore Beach finally had something to celebrate — Cheney said she never goes out on a Friday night. But she stood in line to meet Brown, calling his win “marvelous, divine, wonderful.”

In Florida, Tim Nickens of the St. Petersburg Times writes about “The week Crist got back on track.” The governor’s remarks to a gathering of political reporters and editors in Tallahassee were particularly sharp. He hit the economy hard and spoke of specific efforts to cut taxes, recruit businesses and diversify. He struck a populist note by referring to the Public Service Commission’s rejection of rate increases for Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light — following his appointment of two new commissioners. He touched on the purchase of thousands of acres for restoration of the Everglades and on higher national rankings for Florida’s schools … Last week, Crist got back on track. He sounded like a practical conservative who is antitax but stands for something instead of opposing everything. He appointed more of his own people to the Board of Governors that oversees higher education, appropriately greeted President Barack Obama in Tampa when the president delivered money for high-speed rail, and unveiled a state budget proposal that starts to invest again in education and the environment. Crist needs to remind Floridians he is the governor and act like it every day. His even demeanor has been an asset, but too often he appears weak when dealing with legislators and state party hacks. He needs to draw a line or two in the sand. He doesn’t need to be mean, but he needs to be resolute.

And while there’s been a great deal of media focus on the Republican primary in Florida, a new Rasmussen poll out today highlights the much larger issue facing Democrats this Fall – that both Republican hopefuls hold a double-digit lead over their likeliest Democratic opponent, Congressman Kendrick Meek. Obama narrowly carried Florida – 51% to 49% – over John McCain in November 2008. Only 42% of Florida voters now approve of Obama’s performance as president, while 58% disapprove. More tellingly, 25% strongly approve of the job he’s doing, but 47% strongly disapprove.

As Democrats continue to tout their “jobs plan,” Politico writes on squabbling among several senior Senate Democrats. Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Dick Durbin of Illinois have been working intensely on a jobs bill for more than a month, talking with relevant committee leaders and other members and dispatching aides to dozens of other meetings in the hopes of crafting a bill that could get through the Senate quickly. And when they walked into a meeting in the office of Reid (D-Nev.) on Jan. 22, they thought they were about to cross the finish line — the Dorgan-Durbin plan would be blessed by the small group of senators in the room, presented to the full Democratic Caucus on Jan. 28 and then taken straight to the floor for a vote. But Montana Sen. Max Baucus had other ideas. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, where the health care bill was debated for months last year, surprised the senators gathered in Reid’s office by suggesting he wanted a chance to mark up portions of the bill under his committee’s jurisdiction before it went to the floor, according to several people who attended the meeting.

In Washington, Politico observes Patty Murray’s sudden less-than-certain re-election chances. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) isn’t yet considered highly vulnerable in 2010. But a new poll, coupled with Scott Brown’s upset win in Massachusetts, has Republicans rethinking their chances against the three-term senator. A poll released Thursday from Moore Insight, an Oregon-based GOP polling firm, showed Dino Rossi, a two-time Republican candidate for governor, leading Murray 45 percent to 43 percent, with 9 percent undecided … National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brian Walsh would only say that the NRSC “continue[s] to talk to potential candidates in Washington.”

In Louisiana, The Hill writes up the new chairman of the Louisiana Democrat Party taking over a party in “disarray” – an ominous harbinger for Charles Melancon’s already uphill Senate bid. Louisiana Democrats unanimously elected former Rep. Claude “Buddy” Leach as their new party chairman Saturday. Observers say the former one-term congressman is taking over a party in “disarray.” “They’re in bad shape,” said John Maginnis, who writes a widely-read newsletter about Louisiana politics. “The party’s in the doldrums. They haven’t had much leadership.” Louisiana Democrats have grumbled about the state party since 2008, when they lost a long-held House seat and failed to win any of the state’s open congressional races. The party only holds one House seat and that member, Rep. Charlie Melancon, is running for Senate.

Finally, highlighting an issue that will be an Achilles heel for Democrat candidates in November, as it was for Martha Coakley last month, the Los Angeles Times looks at the broken promises of Obama and congressional Democrats on the issue of transparency in government. One casualty of President Obama’s first year in office: the notion that he would transform a political system mired in gridlock and secrecy, opening a window to the legislative process. That hasn’t happened. Instead of healthcare negotiations broadcast on C-SPAN, as candidate Obama famously promised, the fate of the landmark bill is being hashed out in private on Capitol Hill. And recent polls indicate that the public has lowered its expectations about the prospect of a more open government.

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