Kanjorski (D-PA) In Trouble
By BrianFaughnan Posted in Congress — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Since it's generally agreed right now that the political climate for Republicans will be toxic this year, it's not surprising that there are painfully few Democrats who seem to face uphill climbs for re-election. It looks like at least one however, has earned his way onto the list:
Kanjorski’s district leans Democratic, with 53 percent voting for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) for president in 2004, but Republicans see an opportunity in the blue-collar district. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) performed poorly in the district in the April presidential primary, losing by 42 points to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).
In a polling memo released Monday by Barletta’s campaign, Barletta led Kanjorski in a ballot test, 47 percent to 42 percent. The Susquehanna Polling and Research survey took the opinion of 400 likely general election voters March 27-29. The poll had a margin of error of 4.9 points...
But it’s clear that national Democrats are nervous about the district: The DCCC made $26,000 in independent expenditures in the district to pay for polling.
Kanjorski has made the news several times already this cycle. He's gained plenty of unwanted attention for admitting at a town hall meeting that the Democrats overpromised on their ability to end the war in Iraq. He's also had to answer questions about steering earmarks to family members. And we've previously covered his plan to 'dust off' the New Deal and give it to voters again once Democrats regain the White House.
Kanjorski has far more cash on hand than his challenger, Lou Barletta. However, Barletta already has high name identification, he held Kanjorski to his lowest ever re-election margin in 2002, and as Reid Wilson notes, HIllary Clinton gained 75 percent of the vote in Kanjorski's district.
While the approval ratings for Republicans are awfully low, those for Congress are worse. That means there ought to be opportunities for challengers of both parties to take down long-entrenched incumbents who are symbolic of what's wrong with Washington. Can the GOP find more Paul Kanjorskis?
Can the GOP find more Paul Kanjorskis?
Sure. There going to be coming out of the woodwork every day from now until November if we've got our act together, and we should defeat the one we've got in front of us right now. Let's at least give a link to Lou Barletta's website.
Go Lou!
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We've got one here in TN that needs to win and let Lincoln Davis come back to the state to run for governor. Kent has been endorsed by Vets For Freedom, so he's the real deal.
But Kent needs our support. We can turn this wagon around.
It is nice to see some positive news for a change, but let's not forget that this is a poll conducted by the Barletta campaign. It is always better to have an independent group poll in these races.
However, with that said, Barletta is a great candidate, and if the GOP had recruited other candidates in House and Senate races who were only half as good as Barletta, some other Democratic seats might actually be in jeopardy.
...however Barletta has a real shot because Kanjorski is a loathsome individual, Barletta is a fantastic candidate, and Obama is sure to be a significant drag in this particular district.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
I stumbled here by accident and i'm glad i did
I believe the founders of this country and framers
of the Constitution wanted citizen participation
(George Washington set an example)
in Government not professional pols that are groomed by their party hack rich buddies to win a seat in the House or Senate and entrench themsevles for 20-30-50 years
WE NEED TERM LIMITS!!!!!! EIGHT YEARS MAX!!!
Then kick the bums out. I'm tired of these people
getting in power and milking it - they enrich themselves and thier families on our dime
The only ones that get voted our are the ones that are caught - HOW CAN THIS BE ACCOMPLISHED?
Any Ideas?
That your comment is best placed in an individual post. This post/thread is about finding quality Republican Congressional challengers. While your comment is appreciated, it isn't the appropriate place for it. Make your own blog post and you'll be good.
It appears that Republican Keith Fimian may be a respectable choice. He is a successful business man with the ability to self-fund much of his campaign. Some sources say that he has already kicked in about $400K into his campaign and has raised over $1M. Now, I have no idea as to what his positions are... I haven't found any of them yet. He may be as squishy as Davis was... but he may not be. Assuredly, he will be more conservative than his opponent, Gerry Connolly. I wrote to Mr. Fimian and implored him to hone his message here at RedState and to get his views out there for public consumption... for better or worse.
...and Kanjorski is a particularly loathsome individual that needs to be retired. Barletta is a perfect fit for this district.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”