2010
News about 2010 midterm elections
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Doug Hoffman -- who eventually lost to the Democrat -- is back at it.
It is pushing for Marco Rubio over Charlie Crist in the Florida GOP primary. And now it created the below video, hitting Crist on his support for the stimulus back in February in an appearance with President Obama . The video is appearing online for now, but a spokesman says it will be going on air with it "soon."
The ad was created as a response to Crist's appearance on CNN , in which he tried to parse his own support for the stimulus.
"I didn't endorse it," Crist said. "I didn't even have a vote on the darned thing. But I understood that it was going to pass and I wanted to be able to utilize it for the benefit of my fellow Floridians."
"Didn't endorse it?" What do you call, as the ad points out, Crist saying the following? "We know that it's important that we pass the stimulus package."
By the way, the club goes all Lieberman -Bush kiss with its final shot in the ad, a slow-motion hug between Crist and Obama. It's the first tactic of its kind. And we're going to see LOTS more of this, particularly with the White House essentially saying bring it on -- make 2010 about Obama.
Get ready.
Stimulus. Health care. They are going to be -- and already are -- key 2010 issues in GOP primaries, in particular. Moderates face the challenge of surviving their stance on them in a primary and then trying to tack to the center in a general -- if the economy gets better. (There won't be a real measure of health reform for a while if it passes, since it won't go into effect for years.)
From NBC's Mark Murray In an interview today with ABC , Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele appeared to fire off this warning shot to Republican moderates who supported the economic stimulus (like Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins ) or who might support health-care reform (like Snowe):
"We'll come after you."
Crist, of course, is competing in a Senate primary against the conservative Marco Rubio.
Here's the passage:
"People aren't buying that. So candidates who live in moderate to slightly liberal districts have got to walk a little bit carefully here, because you do not want to put yourself in a position where you're crossing that line on conservative principles, fiscal principles, because we'll come after you."
Earlier this year, Steele suggested in a FOX interview that the three Senate Republicans who voted for the stimulus -- Snowe, Collins, and Arlen Specter (who later switched parties) -- might face primary challenges and might not receive funds from the RNC.
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From NBC's Mark Murray Mark Kirk -Sarah Palin story.
A quick recap: First, the Washington Post's Cillizza got his hands on Kirk's letter to Palin friend Fred Malek, inquiring if Palin might endorse the Illinois congressman in his Senate primary. Then, as we reported earlier today , one of Kirk's conservative primary opponents blasted this appeal to Palin, noting Kirk's vote for the cap-and-trade bill.
Dear Governor Palin,
Yesterday, following the purge of a moderate Republican in upstate New York and the devastating special election in NY-23, it was revealed that Congressman Mark Kirk is actively seeking your endorsement of his candidacy in the U.S. Senate race in Illinois. However, Mark Kirk has not had kind words to say about you in the past. Faced with a difficult re-election race in 2008, Kirk told reporters he “would have picked someone else” for Vice-President and that frankly he “didn’t know whether you are qualified to be President.” Now that Kirk is facing a tough primary challenge from the anti-Washington, anti-establishment candidate Patrick Hughes, he is suddenly racing to embrace you. I’m not sure how familiar you are with Mark Kirk but he is a politician who has a history of putting politics above principals, something you surely look down upon. Whether the issue is cap and trade, extending unemployment benefits, or health care reform, Kirk has either flip-flopped, been AWOL, or motivated purely by politics. On the other hand, Patrick Hughes is comfortable in his own skin as an extreme right-winger. Unlike the pro-abortion Kirk, Hughes is firmly pro-life, anti-gay marriage, and pro-gun…sounds like your type of Republican. I know you are in Milwaukee tomorrow and will be in our great state of Illinois later this month, both would be a perfect setting to give your blessing to one of these two candidates. With so much at stake in the next election, everyone wants to know -- who will you endorse in our Senate race?
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Patrick Hughes , a conservative running for Obama's U.S. Senate seat next year, is out with a statement after the news came out of his primary opponent Mark Kirk 's appeal to Sarah Palin for her endorsement.
"I believe Mark Kirk, who has consistently supported President Obama's legislative agenda, including cap and trade legislation, is quickly realizing that Republican Primary voters do not share his extreme views," Hughes said in a statement released by his campaign. "In a desperate attempt to prove otherwise, he is seeking the endorsement of Sarah Palin, a true Reagan conservative, to help disguise his liberal voting record."
Hughes, an attorney and Chicago-area developer, is also the chairman of the recently created PAC Sensible Taxpayers Opposed to Increased Taxes, or STOP-IT . It was created, according to the STOP-IT Web site, "in the aftermath of Taxpayer 'Tea Party' protests ... to oppose Governor Patrick Quinn ’s proposals to increase corporate and individual tax rates by 50%."
*** UPDATE ***
"We have been in contact with Sarah PAC and many other conservative PACs," said Laura Grock, spokeswoman for Hughes. None has offered help YET, "but would graciously accept the support of a true Reagan Conservative like Sarah Palin," Grock said.
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From NBC's Mark Murray Bob Menendez all but endorsed Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher over Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in Ohio's Senate Democratic primary.
When Chuck asked Menendez about key Senate pick-up opportunities for Democrats next year, the chairman singled out Ohio and Fisher. But he barely referred to Brunner, and didn't even mention her by name.
When Chuck followed up and mentioned Brunner's name, Menendez responded that she has just over $100,000 cash on hand . By comparison, Fisher has nearly $1.6 million cash on hand.
The Fisher-Brunner winner will likely face former Ohio Rep. (and former Bush OMB Director) Rob Portman in the general election next year.
With all the talk of GOP primaries, New England GOP moderates are trying for a comeback. "New England’s moderate Republicans, shoved out of power by two Democratic waves of anti-George W. Bush fervor, are scrambling to make a 2010 comeback, making early bids for congressional seats that GOP leaders say are critical to taking back majorities in the House and Senate," the Boston Globe writes, noting races in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Upstate New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The Hill notices some "other less-noticed actions" that "have also earned him praise among home-state liberals." For example, "Reid has championed the repeal of the military’s 'don’t ask, don’t tell' policy, which many liberals view as unacceptable discrimination against gay soldiers. In late September, Reid pressed President Barack Obama in a letter to weigh in on the issue. A few weeks ago, Reid, a Mormon, criticized the Mormon Church for backing a California ballot measure banning same-sex marriage. Earlier in the year, Reid’s battle against coal-fired power plants in Nevada bore fruit when NV Energy, Inc. announced that it would postpone construction on a major plant in the eastern part of the state."
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro President Obama 's approval rating in Ohio now stands at 52%, which mirrors his national approval rating, according to the University of Cincinnati's Ohio poll . (The last two NBC/WSJ polls had the president's approval at 51%.) His rating in Ohio is a drop from April, the last time it was measured by this pollster. Then, it stood at 63%.
His numbers on the economy are now upside down. Only 45% approve of his handling of the economy, while 53% disapprove.
He gets slightly better ratings on foreign policy. Now, 50% approve of his handling of foreign policy, while 40% disapprove; 51% approve of his handling of Iraq, 40% disapprove; even less approve of his handling of Afghanistan -- 47%, 42% disapprove. That is a major shift from April when 69% approved of his handling of Afghanistan and just 23% disapproved. But the issue was not as much in focus then, has since become political and the casualties have worsened.
And this piece of the analysis isn't promising for Obama: "Democrats continue to stand solidly behind President Obama, while Republicans are solidly against. Independents are now more likely to give the president negative, as opposed to positive, ratings."
Also, Gov. Ted Strickland (D), up for re-election next year, and locked in a tight race with John Kasich (R), is now at less than 50% for the first time in the poll. Just 48% now approve of his job, while 37% disapprove. And it's worse on his handling of the economy, which is also for the first time a net-negative -- 41%/49%.
The one glimmer of hope for Democrats is that if the economy gets better, that portends well, and more Ohioans than in previous polls are optimistic (33%) that it will get better. But a majority (54%) are still pessimistic that it will get worse.
FLORIDA: The Hill : "Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s Senate campaign is accused of breaking campaign finance law by ghost-writing a negative website about his opponent in the Republican primary race. At issue is the new site, TruthAboutRubio.com, which launched this week and features hits on Crist primary opponent Marco Rubio, including suggesting Rubio's campaign was behind a video comparing Crist to Adolf Hitler." MASSACHUSETTS: How bad are the state's budget problems? Deval Patrick announced he's slashing 1,000 jobs .
NEW YORK: "Attorney General Andrew Cuomo campaigned for Controller William Thompson in the Bronx on Thursday - or was it the other way around?" The New York Daily News posits. "Thompson needs all the support he can get from white ethnic Democrats to win his uphill battle against Mayor Bloomberg next week, while Cuomo will need African-American backers like Thompson in his rumored run for governor next year."
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro Franklin and Marshall poll out today on the Pennsylvania Senate race that Arlen Specter 's approval rating is just 23%.
It was just six months ago that Specter jumped ship and joined the Democrats because he saw the writing on the primary wall. It made him the automatic statewide favorite.
Specter still leads former admiral and congressman Joe Sestak in a Democratic primary, 30%-18% (with more than 47% undecided). But that's closer than in August when Specter led Sestak, 37%-11%.
Specter beats Toomey in a general election matchup, but by just two points, 33%-31%. Toomey leads Sestak 28%-20%, but with so few committed in that hypothetical matchup, that is likely a product of Sestak's lack of name ID.
Specter didn't receive rave reviews for his handling of a healthcare town hall that made its way around the cable channels, and Sestak has half a year to improve on getting better known, which gives Sestak a forseeable avenue to actually win.
Stu Rothenberg on the ’09 elections: "If George W. Bush were still in the White House, Deeds almost certainly would be elected governor of Virginia, so it’s a little difficult to swallow the argument that national politics has nothing to do with the Virginia results. But it’s also important to note that Virginia Republicans united behind their nominee and that McDonnell has kept his focus on jobs, taxes and transportation, rather than stressing social issues." In New Jersey, "[T]he result in the Garden State will say little or nothing about Obama." Nathan Gonzales looks at hyped House recruits who have flamed out. MASSACHUSETTS : The biggest issue distinction between the candidates the Boston Globe can find so far is on PAC contributions.
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