Newly Nominated Webb Tackles Republicans, Iraq War

Associated Press
By Dionne Walker

GOP Sen. George Allen has incumbency and deep pockets, but Democratic Senate nominee James Webb said Friday that voter frustration with Republican support of the Iraq war will help Democrats win the election.

In his first news conference since his primary win Tuesday, Webb also suggested that many moderate voters are ready to abandon a Republican Party they see as increasingly out of touch.

Webb, a Vietnam War hero who was President Reagan’s Navy secretary, said he’s counting on those disaffected Virginia voters.

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June 16, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, News Mentions | Comment 

Montana: This One Heated Up Real Quick

National Journal: The Hotline

“It didn’t take long” for Sen. Conrad Burns (R) “to go on the offensive” 6/6, once he knew his Dem opponent — “like about 15 minutes.” Burns asked how state Senate Pres. Jon Tester (D) would vote on constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage and flag-burning, and on abolishing the “death tax.” Burns spokesperson Jason Klindt: “What it comes down to is that Massachusetts doesn’t deserve a third senator. We need someone who advocates for Montana values and has the seniority to deliver.”

Burns has about $3M CoH. “Tester will start near ground zero.” DSCC spokesperson Karl Frisch: “I think it’s safe to say that Jon Tester will have all the resources he needs to take on Conrad Burns and his big-money, special-interest campaign.” Burns “also has committed to a pair of debates with Tester and is asking for more.” UVA’s Larry Sabato: “It’s a recognition by Burns that his best chance of winning is to paint Tester as an out-of-the-mainstream liberal. That’s probably his best shot. But he has his own baggage.”

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June 8, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, News Mentions | Comment 

Montana: Burns Moves Quickly To Rally Base, Target Tester

The Frontrunner

The Hill (6/8, Blake) reports, “Almost immediately upon easily overcoming a primary test and learning that he will face Democrat Jon Tester in November,” Montana Sen. Conrad Burns (R) “began trying to regain whatever base support he might have lost in recent months, casting the race as part of a large-scale battle against Democrats. Burns beat state Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan in the Republican primary Tuesday by 50 percentage points and faces Tester, the state Senate president, who registered a surprisingly comfortable 25-point win over state Auditor John Morrison.” The Hill notes, “A farmer who is a member of Montana’s citizen Legislature, Tester is literally and figuratively a pitchfork populist, so tying him to Washington Democrats could prove difficult. In declaring victory in the primary, Burns thanked those who voted for Keenan for sticking with the Republican Party and challenged Tester to take stances on issues before the Senate, especially the Republican wedge issues of gay marriage, the estate tax and flag burning.”

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June 8, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, News Mentions | Comment 

Republicans Fire First Shots at Tester

Associated Press
By Mary Clare Jalonick

National Republicans gave voters a preview of the Montana Senate election Wednesday, attacking Democrat Jon Tester hours after he became his party’s nominee to challenge Republican Sen. Conrad Burns.

North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, fired the first shot.

“The general election now comes down to a choice between Conrad Burns, who has such an outstanding record of accomplishment for his state, and a Democrat puppet of national liberal special interest groups who does not share the mainstream values of Montanans,” Dole said of Tester in a statement.

Burns spokesman Jason Klindt sent out an e-mail Wednesday morning asking how Tester would vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage that stalled in the Senate Wednesday. Burns supports the amendment, while Tester opposes it.

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June 7, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, News Mentions | Comment 

Webb Endorsed by Democrat Senate Committee

Associated Press
By Bob Lewis

Reagan Republican-turned-Democrat James Webb won a rare pre-primary endorsement Wednesday from the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee as the party’s “best hope” for defeating Sen. George Allen.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York became the ninth U.S. Senate Democrat to endorse the former Reagan Navy secretary over his rival in Tuesday’s primary, businessman Harris Miller.

Primary endorsements by the DSCC are unusual, particularly less than a week before the primary, but a three-paragraph statement from Schumer issued by the DSCC said he felt the race against Allen was winnable for Webb.

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June 7, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, News Mentions | Comment 

Fuzzy Math in Connecticut

Roll Call
By Nicole Duran

Alan Schlesinger spent 12 years in the Connecticut state House, served two terms as mayor of Derby, and thrice ran for Congress. He also became the Republican nominee for Senate last month - but that is not the main reason why he thinks he can oust Sen. Joe Lieberman (D) in November.

Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee and popular three-term Senator, did not look vulnerable a year ago.

But that was before cable television executive Ned Lamont (D) fired up the liberal base and challenged Lieberman for his unwavering support of the Iraq war and other conservative stances.

Lamont captured one-third of the delegates’ votes at last month’s state Democratic convention, enough to force Lieberman into an Aug. 8 primary - and give Republicans an opening, Schlesinger says.

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June 7, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, News Mentions | Comment 

A Night at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

Many thanks to the Cleveland Plain Dealer for inviting me to this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. I had a blast and Steven Colbert was hilarious… I don’t care what anyone says. Here are photos from the event.

April 29, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, Photos | Comment 

Ohio: Hanging Out with the Wrong Crowd?

National Journal: The Hotline 

Dems are criticizing Sen. Mike DeWine (R) for co-hosting a $1K/person fundraiser on 4/28 in suburban Cleveland for fellow Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA). “Seizing on DeWine’s recent campaign fundraiser appearence on behalf of embattled” Rep. Bob Ney (R-18), the DSCC “charges DeWine is coming to the aid of too many” GOPers “who are under fire.” Santorum helped head the “K Street Project” and Ney is “under investigation for his ties to” Jack Abramoff. DSCC spokesperson Karl Frisch: “Is there anyone Mike DeWine won’t raise money for?” (Riskind, Columbus Dispatch, 4/20).

April 20, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, News Mentions | Comment 

Columbus Dispatch: Democrats Attack DeWine for Santorum Fundraiser

By Jonathan Riskind

Democrats are criticizing Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine for co-hosting a $1,000-per-person fundraiser on April 28 in suburban Cleveland for a fellow Republican, Sen. Rick Santorum, of Pennsylvania.

Seizing on DeWine’s recent campaign fundraiser appearance on behalf of embattled Rep. Bob Ney, R-Heath, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee charges DeWine is coming to the aid of too many Republicans who are under fire.

Santorum is considered vulnerable for re-election his year, in part because of questions that have been raised about his relationships with lobbyists as the scandal continues to percolate around disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

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April 20, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, News Mentions | Comment 

AP: Cheney to Campaign for McGavick, Roulstone in Everett and Spokane

By Nicholas K. Geranios

Vice President Dick Cheney would not seem to be very popular in left-leaning Washington, but that won’t stop Republican political candidates from tapping Cheney’s fundraising ability.

Cheney is scheduled to make campaign appearances Monday in Everett for House candidate Doug Roulstone and in Spokane for Senate candidate Mike McGavick, who is challenging U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

President Bush and Cheney lost Washington state in both the 2000 and 2004 elections, mostly due to lopsided support for Democrats in the liberal stronghold of greater Seattle. But Cheney is expected to raise plenty of money for the GOP candidates.

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April 17, 2006 | Filed Under DSCC, News Mentions | Comment 

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