Campaign Diaries

Louisiana’s Senate is perhaps the most perplexing contest of the 2010 cycle. Republican Senator David Vitter would not have been vulnerable if he had not been mixed up in the D.C Madam’s prostitution ring; yet, he escaped the scandal with surprisingly little political repercussions (Eliot Spitzer should have called Vitter for tips). Will voters punish Vitter when he is up for re-election in 2010?

For Democrats to have a chance to unseat the incumbent, they need to make sure to keep the issue alive, to remind voters of Vitter’s “serious sin” and to hammer the fact that Vitter’s involvement with the D.C. Madam raised legal issues on top of moral ones.

The solution some of Vitter’s critics have come up with: Recruit a porn star to run against the Senator, ensuring that his re-election race becomes a media circus and that the sex issue dominates any discussion of the contest. (The fact that Republicans like Governor Jindal are keeping their distances for now complicates Vitter’s hopes of turning the page of the D.C. Madam quickly.)

Meet Stormy Daniels, the porn star that is being drafted and who is being taken seriously enough by the mainstream media to be invited to speak on shows. Her appearance on CNN suggests that Daniels could have an impact because she is well-spoken enough to create some havoc for Vitter. Asked why a porn star would run for Senate, Daniels responded that, at least, “I haven’t done anything illegal:”

Sure, such stories often fade in obscurity soon after breaking out. But if Daniels’ backers - a still somewhat obscure group whose exct connections to the state Democratic Party still remains to be determned - play their cards properly, Daniels could make it in local news for the next few months. She naturally has no hope of getting anywhere, but all Democrats need is for her to make a simple point: You might not think I am qualified, but if you’te taking Vitter’s run seriously, why not mine?

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In Pennsylvania, meanwhile, former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Joe Torsella jumped in the Senate race yesterday and announced he would seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Senator Arlen Specter. Unlike Stormy Daniels, Torsella is in it to win rather than to make a point. But he shares with Daniels the characteristic of being underestimated.

In one of the most high profile Senate races of the country, Torsella does not have as big a profile as Chris Matthews (who has already ruled out a run), Rep. Patrick Murphy, Rep. Allyson Schwartz and some of the other office holders considering a Senate run. Yet, Torsella could benefit from his connections to Philadelphia’s Democratic machine and to now-Governor Ed Rendell, under whom Torsella served in Philadelphia.

Given that a large share of the state’s Democratic voters are to be found in Philadelphia, Torsella enjoys the most important geographical base; if Rendell allows him to activate his networks, that would also make Torsella into a strong fundraiser. Finally, Torsella will be helped by the fact that his potential opponents do not enjoy high name recognition either: Murphy and Schwarz might look attractive to Washington’s political observers, but they only represent 1/19th of the state and are little known outside of their own districts.

Whatever people think of Torsella’s general election chances - and it is certainly fair for Democrats to worry that he does not have enough stature and enough of a resume to defeat as entrenched an incumbent as Arlen Specter - he could be a candidate in the Democratic primaries. Much will depend on Ed Rendell’s behavior; if the Governor turns the could shoulder to his former deputy, it would be hard for Torsella to mount a credible campaign. But how likely it is that Torsella would jump in without getting a sense that Rendell would at the very least not work against him? After all, a Torsella nomination could allow Rendell to keep a hand in the state’s Democratic machine.