CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
April 8, 2008 – 12:03 a.m.
Ten More Republicans Gain Extra Aid for Tough House Races
By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff
It’s not uncommon for congressional leaders to steer fundraising assistance to party candidates who are in difficult races and in need of extra campaign cash. One such effort is the House Republicans’ “ROMP,” an acronym for Regain Our Majority Program, which has released its latest list of Republican candidates who will benefit from additional aid because they are politically vulnerable and/or have been targeted by the Democrats for defeat.
“ROMP 2008,” presently overseen by the political operation of House Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio, was recently established in papers filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). These records identify the 10 newest recipients of the program’s assistance.
These candidates make up the first batch of ROMP candidates named this year, and the third since the current election cycle began in the 2007-08 cycle. The new recipients’ election contests are outlined below.
The recent sharp change in fortunes endured by the Republican Party is inherent in the name of the program, though. ROMP originally stood for “Retain Our Majority Program,” but that was before a 12-year run of GOP control was ended by a 30-seat Democratic gain in the 2006 House elections.
CQ Politics’ Balance of Power scorecard, which is based on its ratings of all 435 House races, underscores how optimistic the goal of regaining a House majority appears for the Republicans. But Boehner contended last week that his party would gain ground in this year’s elections, citing the lengthy and combative race for the Democratic presidential nomination between Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
“The longer this goes on, the more disappointed voters there will be. Frankly, that’s one cause for my optimism,” Boehner said at a lunch for reporters organized by the Christian Science Monitor.
Nonetheless, seven of the 10 newest ROMP participants are Republican incumbents who are seeking re-election and face determined Democratic challenges. Only one, Anne M. Northup of Kentucky, is challenging a Democratic incumbent, and she is seeking a rematch of the 2006 contest she lost to John Yarmuth . The other two candidates are playing defense for the GOP, running for seats that Republican incumbents left open to retire or seek other office.
The candidates are listed below in alphabetical order by last name.
• Michele Bachmann , Minnesota’s 6th District (North and east Twin Cities suburbs; St. Cloud). Bachmann was first elected in 2006 to succeed Republican Mark Kennedy, who lost his campaign for the U.S. Senate to Democrat Amy Klobuchar . The Democratic nominee for November’s election will be either Bob Olson, a lawyer, or Elwyn Tinklenberg, a former state transportation commissioner. The latter candidate initially campaigned for the Democratic nomination in 2006 but later deferred to Patty Wetterling, a child safety advocate who lost to Bachmann after also losing as the Democratic nominee against Kennedy in 2004.
• Vito J. Fossella , New York’s 13th (Staten Island; part of southwest Brooklyn). Fossella is the only House Republican who represents part of New York City. He saw his re-election percentage drop from 70 percent in 2002 to 59 percent in 2004, and then again to 57 percent in 2006 even though Democratic challenger Steve Harrison didn’t raise much money. Harrison, a lawyer, is seeking a rematch, though he faces a well-funded primary opponent in New York City Councilman Domenic Recchia.
• Sam Graves , Missouri’s 6th (Northwest — St. Joseph, part of Kansas City). Graves’ campaign for a fifth term may well be the toughest of his career. His Democratic opponent, former Kansas City mayor Kay Barnes, is well-known and well-funded.
• Ric Keller , Florida’s 8th (Central — most of Orlando). Keller won a fourth term in 2006 by a 7 percentage-point margin over Democrat Charlie Stuart, a marketing executive who is one of several Democrats seeking the 2008 nomination.
• Anne M. Northup, Kentucky’s 3rd (Louisville Metro). Northup, who served in the House from 1997 through 2006, is challenging Democratic freshman Yarmuth, who unseated her by a margin of less than 3 percentage points. Northup hadn’t planned a bid to reclaim her seat this year, but she jumped in after the Republican she had been backing, lawyer Erwin Roberts, dropped out of the race to fulfill his military obligations. Northup sought a quick political comeback last year but lost a primary challenge to then-Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who subsequently lost the general election to Democrat Steve Beshear.
Ten More Republicans Gain Extra Aid for Tough House Races
• Erik Paulsen, Minnesota’s 3rd (Hennepin County suburbs — Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Plymouth). Paulsen, a state representative, is the presumed Republican nominee in this suburban Minneapolis district, which retiring Republican Jim Ramstad is giving up after nine terms. The Democratic nominee will either be state Sen. Terri Bonoff or Ashwin Madia, a lawyer and Iraq War veteran.
• Bill Sali , Idaho’s 1st (West — Nampa, Panhandle, part of Boise). The strong Republican leanings of this district are indisputable, as President Bush took 68 percent of the vote there in his 2004 election. But Sali underperformed in his 2006 election for the then-open 1st District seat, in which he defeated Democrat Larry Grant by the underwhelming vote of 50 percent to 45 percent. Grant is seeking the 2008 Democratic nomination along with Walt Minnick, a businessman who lost as the party’s losing Senate nominee against Republican Larry E. Craig in 1996. Sali is opposed in the May 27 Republican primary election by Matt Salisbury, an Iraq War veteran.
• Jean Schmidt , Ohio’s 2nd (Eastern Cincinnati and suburbs; Portsmouth). Schmidt, who is seeking a second full term in a district that usually exhibits strong Republican leanings, faces a rematch of her exceptionally close 2006 race against Democratic physician Victoria Wulsin. Schmidt won that contest by a margin of about 1 percentage point. In the primary elections that took place March 4, Schmidt was renominated with 57 percent of the Republican vote and Wulsin won with 58 percent on the Democratic side.
• Tim Walberg , Michigan’s 7th (South central — Battle Creek, Jackson). Walberg, a freshman, was elected in 2006 over Democrat Sharon Renier, a little-known and underfunded Democrat who lost by just 4 percentage points. The unexpectedly close outcome was influenced by a bitter Republican primary fight in which the very conservative Walberg unseated one-term GOP moderate Joe Schwarz. Renier is running again this year, though Democratic officials are rallying behind state Sen. Mark Schauer, a better-known and better-funded candidate.
• Darren White, New Mexico’s 1st (Central — Albuquerque). White is the sheriff of Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque and which is the population base of a politically competitive district that Republican Heather A. Wilson left open to pursue a U.S. Senate bid. White is opposed in the June 3 primary by state Sen. Joseph Carraro. The four Democratic primary candidates are Michelle Grisham, a former state health secretary; Martin Heinrich, a former Albuquerque councilman; Robert L. Pidcock, a lawyer; and Rebecca Vigil-Giron, a former New Mexico Secretary of State.
Comments
Here on the semi-frozen tundra that's also known as MN-03, we do indeed have a race for the seat now held by retiring Jim Ramstad, who is one of the last of a dying breed - an elected "moderate republican". And it looks as if this Saturday, the DFL (Democrats-Farmers-Labor) will endorse an upstart political novice, Captain Ashwin Madia - an Iraqi veteran ("jar-head", to all my fellow veterans; "Marine" to you civilians reading this) and attorney, who in true Paul Wellstone fashion built a grass-roots machine to knock off State Senator Terri Bonoff. Captain Madia won 10 of 12 conventions, pushed on one, and only lost Senator Bonoff's home district by a 12 to 10 delegate count. The Congressional District endorsing contest is this upcoming Saturday and smart money has Captain Madia taking the nod on the second ballot. The annointed GOPer is State Representative Erik Paulsen, who's most notable achievement is - as House Majority Leader - leading the state to a shutdown due to a refusal to work in a bi-partisan fashion. Believing the electorate has a short attention-span, Paulsen claimed at his Congressional Announcement that he has "years of experience working in a bi-partisan fashion", proving he is shameless enough to be the GOP Annointed Son. For more on this race, go here: [www.mnblue.com] and read "No, Seriously - This Time I Mean It!" and "Iraq does not exist for Erik Paulsen " The primer on Erik Paulsen is here, entitled "The Hustler" http://www.mnblue.com/node/1070
IN FL-8, Keller is wildly unpopular with Republicans as well as Democrats. His promise to self-limiit his terms has been shoved under the rug with this run, and his field is far deeper than marketing consultant Stuart. The strongest Dem in the race is Alan Grayson, an attorney who spent the last four years combating some of the worst abuses of the Iraq war. Grayson filed dozens of citizen lawsuits against crooked contractors who have cheated American troops and taxpayers and is the prosecuting attorney in all five fraud cases currently pending against contractors in Iraq. (He won a $10 million jury verdict last year. This was the second largest False Claims Act verdict in history -- in a case that the Justice Department refused to prosecute!) He was named Lawyer of the Year in 2006 by Taxpayers Against Fraud for his efforts going after war profiteers. He's gotten nation media attention from 60 Minutes, CBS, NPR,Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and the Wall St. Journal. Grayson is the real threat to Keller. Boehner would like nothing better that to run Keller against Stuart, because a Keller / Grayson match will cost the Reps the seat.
One race ROMP is over looking is in Minnesota-2. Steve Sarvi is running against Bush cheerleader John Kline, a global warming skeptic who has supported the war unequivocally. Steve is an Iraq War veteran who realizes we need to change course in Iraq and not stay the course as John Kline has advocated. www.stevesarvi.org
Vito Fosella is a good man who should be supported to the fullest extent possible. Extra aid ought also be sent ot the winner of the primary in the Tom renyolods and Mark Foley districts. Another district that ought to be targeted is the district Sue Kelly lost in 2006. Republicans in all of these districts have primary fights but Republican unity must be maintained for the general election.
TwoputTommy, you treat Bonoff as if she was a machine establishment politician. I supported her because she was better know, and more experience, and popular generally, in her area of the district. She was first elected in 2006, was she not? Hardly a longtime politician. I will end up supporting whoever winds, I'm just not sure if Capt. Madia is a strong candidate to win the general election, especially with everything being about name rec. and money these days. He seems more like he should be running for the State Senate or something.
To continue with the locally-biased comments Rep. Dave Reichert (R, WA-8) isn't mentioned as receiving support from ROMP. WA-8 voted for both Gore and Kerry and its CQ rating is No Clear Favorite. Reichert won by only 3 points in 2006 when his opponent got virtually no DNC support. This will not be the case this year as the DNC is well aware of the opportunity in this district.
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