Connecticut
The state’s three vulnerable House GOP incumbents narrowly bested their Democratic challengers in campaign fundraising during the second quarter, Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports filed last week show, but two of the Republicans hold increasingly small leads in cash on hand as November looms.
Rep. Christopher Shays and Democratic opponent Diane Farrell both boasted strong fundraising performances, though Shays’s higher campaign spending has shrunk his advantage in available money. Shays had about $1.5 million on hand as of June 30, and Farrell had about $1.4 million.
Rep. Rob Simmons had about $1.3 million in his coffers after raising what his campaign called a record $545,900 in the second quarter, while Democrat Joe Courtney raised more than $450,000. Simmons has spent about $688,000 this cycle, nearly three times more than Courtney, but still enjoys a $200,000-plus lead in available cash.
Rep. Nancy Johnson’s Democratic foe, state Sen. Chris Murphy, matched Courtney’s second-quarter haul, setting what his campaign said was a record high for a Johnson challenger. But Johnson reeled in more than $860,000 during that period, had $2.6 million on hand, more than double Murphy’s available funds, and has spent almost 10 times as much as Murphy since the cycle began.
— Elana Schor
Pennsylvania
Little is going right for Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.) these days.
After narrowly winning his primary against a political novice, Sherwood is getting more unwanted attention from a liberal watchdog group criticizing him for securing federal money for a local conservation group, which used some of the money to buy a pickup truck from Sherwood’s car dealership. The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., reported last week that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has called on Sherwood to return the money.
Sherwood said he did not know about the transaction with the Wyoming County Conservation District, which said that it submitted bids to several car dealerships but that only two responded with offers.
The Times Leader reported that the nonprofit group bought the truck for $21,000 — using about $10,000 of the $750,000 earmark that Sherwood secured.
Sherwood has insisted he was not involved in the transaction and has no day-to-day involvement with his dealership. He accused CREW of electioneering.
The fourth-term lawmaker, who is married, also recently settled a $5.5 million lawsuit with a former girlfriend who accused him of beating her.
— Jonathan E. Kaplan
Vermont
Vermont state Sen. Peter Welch (D) barely leads Martha Rainville (R) in the race for the state’s at-large congressional seat, according to a poll released late last week by Public Opinion Strategies, a Republican polling firm.
Welch leads Rainville 45-42 percent; the poll’s margin of error is 4.6 percent. Republicans like their prospects in this race because Rainville, the former head of the National Guard, has high name recognition.
Even though the poll shows that 28 percent of voters are “definitely” voting for Rainville while 30 percent are “definitely” voting for Welch, she is narrowly leading Welch in some of Vermont’s most Republican counties. In Burlington, she leads Welch 47-41 percent.
— Jonathan E. Kaplan
Montana
Embattled Republican Sen. Conrad Burns raised $870,000 in the second quarter, bringing the total raised for his reelection campaign to $6.8 million, a record for a Montana Senate race, his campaign said.
The number tops the $6.2 million raised by Sen. Max Baucus (D) for his 2004 reelection campaign.
Meanwhile, Democratic challenger Jon Tester raised $864,000 in the second-quarter fundraising period and has raised more than $1.5 million to date in his campaign to defeat Burns. Those numbers were somewhat surprising because Tester faced a tough contest to win the Democratic primary June 6.
— Josephine Hearn
Nebraska
Two Nebraska Democrats continue to rake in cash in their bids to win seats in an overwhelmingly Republican state.
Democratic congressional candidate Scott Kleeb leads Republican Adrian Smith in the money race in one of the most Republican districts in the country.
Kleeb raised $203,821 in the second quarter of 2006; Smith raised $290,000. But Smith was forced to spend a lot of money to win a hotly contested three-way primary race, while Kleeb ran unopposed.
In cash on hand, Kleeb has $277,069 while Smith has just $105,000, according to data released by both campaigns.
Former Lt. Gov. Maxine Moul (D-Neb.) reported $369,000 in cash on hand for her bid to unseat Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.). For his part, Fortenberry had slightly more than $496,000 on hand.
Moul said small donors were driving her fundraising numbers; more than 770 people gave $168,000 in the second quarter.
“Grassroots like that are hard to come by,” Moul said.
— Jonathan Kaplan
Hawaii
Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) has filed his papers to run for the U.S. Senate, challenging longtime Sen. Daniel Akaka (D).
Case had announced that decision in January, but on Friday he made it official with the state Office of Elections.
“This election gives Hawaii’s voters a clear choice between the past and the future,” Case said. “This election gives Hawaii’s voters a choice between the way things have been in Hawaii and national politics and the way they can and should be.”
Case added in a press release that the upcoming election would ask “voters to choose between the status quo and a better way forward.”
But Case faces an uphill battle in trying to unseat Akaka. So far, Akaka is in the lead, although Case has become Akaka’s toughest challenge since the senator was elected in 1990.
Akaka also has a much bigger war chest, with more than $1 million on hand, having raised $783,150 between April and June. By comparison, Akaka had only $600,000 at the end of the 2000 election year.
Case raised more than $251,000 between April and June and has about $381,800 available, according to news reports.
Whoever will be selected in the Democratic primary may face Jerry Coffee, a decorated U.S. Navy pilot, who last week announced he would run in the GOP primary for the Senate seat.
Meanwhile at least 10 Democrats and two Republicans are in the race to fill Case’s vacated 2nd District seat.
http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/071806_state.html
