Comments on: Down-the-ballot: DCCC flexes financial muscle, GOP candidate shy away from party label

By: Chi

Chi — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:38:03 +0000

How much did Dino Rossi pay to get himself listed first on the August ballot?
He is sure using every trick in the book to get votes–this is playing dirty! This clearly gathers votes from those who choose to just check whoever is listed first.
The incumbent should have been listed first!
At the very least, candidates should have been listed alphabetically!

By: Taniel

Taniel — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:59:50 +0000

Jersey Bob,

No one here has forgotten about NJ-07. It is listed in the toss-up list in my latest House ratings.

By: Jaxx Raxor

Jaxx Raxor — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:32:31 +0000

I know that NJ-17 was gerrmandered to be more GOP leaning but even after that it was considered the most competive district in NJ so I’m not sure that the weakness of the GOP caused the district to turn from “heavily” republican to swing.

In Washington, Dino Rossi’s decision to put “GOP Party” instead of Reupublican Party to me is an extreme sign of weakness. Gregoire is the weakest out of all of the Democratic incumbents in the Governor’s race, and for Rossi to do this despite being so close in the polls shows that even he is worried about being called a Republican.

Also, on OH-02, I do think that Schmit is being entrenched. Despite her extreme popularity, her district has a strong Republican lean and Wulsin would probably be to liberal for the district in neutral cycles. I think that if the Democrats really want to take her our that in the next cycle the Democrats will have to choose a conservative Democrat who better fits the district’s profile.

By: Jersey Bob

Jersey Bob — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:07:01 +0000

Also look at New Jersey’s 7th district, which is an open seat gerrymandered to be heavily Republican. The DCCC made Democrat Linda Stender a top tier candidate this year. Two years ago, she came within 1% of defeating the incumbent (who outspent her 4-to-1), who is retiring at age 37 to avoid a rematch.

For over a decade, NJ-7 was leaning or safe GOP, now it’s a tossup, with thousands of new Democratic registrations from the February primary. The GOP candidate is a well-respected State Senator who is financed by big pharma and a handful of multimillionaires.