But while there were many candidates choose from, we chose to spotlight the 10 sitting members of Congress who stood out for their lackluster fundraising - thanks to a combination of their political vulnerability and showing little urgency in doing anything about it.
Coming up with a list of congressional fundraising losers this quarter wasn't hard to do this quarter. Many of the members put into precarious situations because of redistricting did little to shore up their standing on the money front. And with fundraising down across-the-board, it wasn't uncommon to see five-figure totals - among members and recruits alike.
But while there were many candidates choose from, we chose to spotlight the 10 sitting members of Congress who stood out for their lackluster fundraising - thanks to a combination of their political vulnerability and showing little urgency in doing anything about it.
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Ohio Republicans, with approval from House Speaker John Boehner, crafted a Congressional map last month that would have maximized Republican representation in the battleground state. But Democrats in the state cried foul, and just received a favorable ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court, allowing them to pursue a ballot referendum that would block the new lines.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the state Supreme Court's decision would throw next year's Congressional elections in limbo, with no resolution in sight. There are primary challenges brewing against several of the House GOP's 87 freshmen next year - but National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions says he's not concerned about the intraparty sniping that could be coming.
"I think that it's a natural thing for a brand new member of Congress to be challenged his first time out," Sessions said in an interview on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers," which will air on Sunday at 10 a.m. and again at 6 p.m. ET. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says they have surpassed their recruitment goals for the year, spotlighting 60 candidates in Republican-held and open seat districts as they try to regain control of the House in 2012.
The DCCC's milestone comes after a week in which they've had particular recruitment success. The party has picked up top-tier recruits in California, Oklahoma, Indiana, Florida and Wisconsin in recent days as they search for the 25 seats they need to win back the majority. By Sean Sullivan, Jessica Taylor, and Julie Sobel
Updated at 9:20 p.m. A roundup of the day's notable Senate/House third quarter FEC totals: Updated at 10:01 p.m. to reflect Stabenow's figures to the nearest tenth of a million
Here's a wrap of the day's notable Senate/House third quarter FEC figures: Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., raised over $1.9 million dollars during the third quarter, a total that is easily the highest of any House member so far this cycle, and even even tops the quarterly haul of several sitting senators.
The top two Democratic challengers to West announced eye-popping totals of their own on Tuesday, but the freshman's nearly $2 million haul was more than four times the amount raised by the money leader on the Democratic side. Former West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel pulled in over $415,000, while businessman Patrick Murphy raised $313,000. By any measure, a net gain of 63 House seats is a big win for a political party. But nearly a year after the 2010 elections, Republican leaders are still thinking about the ones that got away.
The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting more than 40 districts in several states, including California, Iowa, New York, and North Carolina, where it thinks the party has a chance of defeating Democrats who survived the GOP wave of 2010. The committee is placing particular emphasis on Iowa and North Carolina. In recent weeks, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the NRCC’s recruiting chairman, has spent time on the ground in both states trying to woo top-tier candidates and hoping to capitalize on congressional-boundary shifts resulting from once-in-a-decade redistricting that will go into effect next year. While most of the attention at this year’s Iowa State Fair was focused on the GOP presidential hopefuls sampling pork chops on a stick and pressing the flesh, Scalise was operating under the political radar on down-ballot recruitment in a quiet lounge at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames. Mark down another incumbent-versus-incumbent matchup for 2012: The new Arizona maps proposed by a bipartisan redistricting commission could pit GOP Reps. Dave Schweikert andBen Quayle against each other in the state's new 6th District.
Drawn by an independent redistricting commission, the map brings good news for Democrats, shoring up several of their seats and setting them up in good position to win the new 9th District. But several Republicans in the delegation are going to have to make some tough choices, beginning with the two freshmen. Oregon State Sen. Suzanne Bonamici has opened up a wide lead in the Democratic primary to replace disgraced former Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., according to a poll conducted for EMILY's List, which has endorsed her campaign.
The first poll in the race, obtained from a Democratic source, shows Bonamici with a 24-point lead over her two closest opponents. Bonamici takes 34 percent of the vote, while state Rep.Brad Witt registers at 10 percent. Oregon state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian is in single digits with 8 percent. |
Jessica TaylorNon-partisan political analyst Archives
January 2013
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