DCCC Targets 13 GOP Seats

by Chris Bowers, Tue Sep 07, 2004 at 06:14:26 PM EST

From subscription only Hotline:
With less than two months to go before the 11/04 elections, House Dems are ready to launch an "aggressive" and "carefully targeted fundraising program" aimed at steering a total of $2.6M to more than a dozen of their "most urgent races."

The R2B program -- named for the effort to move House districts from "red to blue" when it comes to Congressional representation -- has a goal of raising $200K each for 13 Dem candidate across the country during the next two weeks.

The fundraising drive, which is scheduled to end 9/20, is being spearheaded by House Min. Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) and DCCC Chair Robert Matsui (D). The plan depends "heavily" on Pelosi's ability to tap her nat'l network of donors. She will unveil details of the program to Caucus members this week, as they return from the 8/04 recess.

The Dem candidates who will benefit from the program are:

  • Paul Babbitt (AZ-01)
  • John Salazar (CO-03)
  • Dave Thomas (CO-07)
  • Jim Sullivan (CT-02)
  • Diane Farrell (CT-04)
  • John Barrow (GA-12)
  • Tony Miller (KY-03)
  • Patty Wetterling(MN-06)
  • Richard Romero (NM-01)
  • Lois Murphy (PA-06)
  • Ginny Schrader (PA-08)
  • Brian Higgins (NY-27)
  • Don Barbieri (WA-05)
This is a good list, and I really like seeing Ginny Schrader on the list. My only problem with the list is that I wish it were at least twice as long, and preferably three times as long. If we pick up all of these seats and keep every single close Dem-held seat, then we still only take a 218-216-1 advantage in the House. This simply does not provide us with a wide enough margin of error to have a realistic chance of making Nancy Pelosi third in line to the Presidency during this election cycle.

I know there are many other races that deserve special attention, and in 2006 I hope that groups such as MoveOn, ACT, and SEIU that have been so aggressive in 2004 will be willing to put out the same effort to retake the House in 2006. The Kerry campaign alone has managed to gather over $300M for this election cycle. With just half that money, we could produce $1.2M for 125 competitive House races. In 2006, Democratic efforts in the House need to increase exponentially.




Tags: House 2006 (all tags)

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WA State Dems (none / 0)

First, go Don!  Second, check out this site: www.cheneycomeclean.com.  The site is collecting money to send Cheney bars of soap in the hopes that he will come clean about his dirty dealings with Halliburton.    www.yduw.org
by Anonymous Citizen on Tue Sep 07, 2004 at 06:41:04 PM EST

This is the short short list (none / 0)

As best I can tell, these are candidates who are in close races, but are good-but-not-great fundraisers. DTrip seems to be making good choices. They will cast a wider net in the 45 days leading up to the election.

For instance, there isn't a place for either Alex Alben in WA-8, because he has raised a ton of money and can self-fund in a pinch.

by Anonymous Citizen on Tue Sep 07, 2004 at 11:36:15 PM EST

What about Illinios (none / 0)

One would think that with the fruitcake Alan Keyes depressing Republican turnout, we have a great shot at taking a few seats in Illinois.
Get a Vegetarian Starter Kit and a Dem. Party Mastercard
by Go Vegetarian on Tue Sep 07, 2004 at 11:39:03 PM EST

Re: What about Illinios (none / 0)

Melissa Bean in IL-8 is thought to have good shot at a pickup and is getting help from other members of the IL Dem Congressional delegation. She's getting a lot of recent press attention, with articles in all of the local papers, plus the WSJ and NYTimes.
by EvanstonDem on Wed Sep 08, 2004 at 12:55:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Good luck to her (none / 0)

My point wasn't that there aren't good candidates in IL, but was more directed toward the DCCC, as in why not give them some backing in this beautiful window of opportunity?
Get a Vegetarian Starter Kit and a Dem. Party Mastercard
by Go Vegetarian on Wed Sep 08, 2004 at 01:13:16 PM EST

Re: Good luck to her (none / 0)

I live in Illinois, and think Renner and Bean both have great shots.  But I can't tell yet if democratic turnout will be deflated as well, because the state isn't in play presidentially, and because of Barack's 40 point lead.  I'd love for the DCCC to get involved in both races (especially Renner's, with his 50/50 district), but we should be sure Democrats who love Barack and Kerry won't stay home because they're a sure thing.

ps.  I always kinda liked "Anonymous Hero".  But understand why it should go

by Anonymous Citizen on Wed Sep 08, 2004 at 06:28:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]


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