Campaign committees

The victory of Tea Party candidates over establishment favorites prove their electability, National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said today.

Appearing on CNN's State of the Union, Cornyn was asked about Republican primaries in Nevada, Kentucky and Florida, where Tea Party candidates upset opponents favored by Washington Republicans.

"The basic bottom line is we want the candidates who can win in November. And the ones who can win are the ones that win the primary," Cornyn said. "We respect the choice of the voters in each of those primaries."

Cornyn said Tea Party activism shows that the tide is turning against the Democratic agenda.

"These are Americans who have not been involved in the political process before, or maybe not very much, who have finally gotten tired of the direction that the country is going in and they want to take the country back. And I say more power to them.

In a fundraising letter, Pelosi says if Republicans take back the House, they'll initiate "endless investigations against President Obama."

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Democrats believe that Tennessee House candidate Stephen Fincher will be the next highly touted GOP candidate to fall in a primary.

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The National Republican Congressional Committee got some good news Thursday, outraising the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in April by pulling in $7.1 million to the DCCC's $5.14 million.

During the same time, the NRCC spent $5.6 million, much of that going to its failed backing of businessman Tim Burns (R) in Tuesday's Pennsylvania special election. The rest went to "prospecting," according to a committee official. The NRCC now has $11.4 million banked for the midterms.

Meanwhile, the DCCC still holds a significant cash on hand advantage. It had $27.3 million banked after spending $3.9 million in April.

The head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) argued that voters can't count on Republicans to work with President Barack Obama.

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Democratic and Republican strategists are poised to take their campaign battles to the iPhone and iPad ahead of this year's tough midterm elections.

As smartphone popularity continues to grow exponentially -- with 2009 marking the first time consumers used phones for data more than calls -- strategists seem to agree the newest trench in political warfare is none other than the mobile device.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) was the first party organization out of the gate with an iPhone app, released last Friday. The tool allows users to follow GOP Senate races with the help of a feed aggregates Republican campaign news across the NRSC's Twitter, Facebook and blog pages.

The app also includes Senate race descriptions, video archives and ways for users to receive more campaign information and share it with friends.

"So many more people are using mobile, using iPhones and other smart phones, and now the iPhone will be going to Verizon -- [the audience for the NRSC app is] that sort of market of folks who are dropping their landlines and using their mobile phones for connecting more and more," Katie Harbath, Chief Digital Strategist at NRSC, told TechPresident last week. (It is not clear, however, if and when the iPhone might migrate to Verizon.)

However, the Democratic National Committee soon plans to one-up the NRSC: A spokeswoman told Hillicon Valley on Monday that the DNC is planning its own campaign app, available on both the iPhone and iPad.

That tool, due out this summer, will offer Democratic voters "news updates and access to the latest election information along with a variety of other features," said the DNC's Brandi Hoffine.

“The Obama campaign and its successor Organizing for America has prided itself on being on the cutting edge technologically with respect to engaging and involving Americans in politics and in helping pass the president’s agenda for change across all types of mediums and platforms," she said. 

(Cross-posted from Hillicon Valley)

The chairman of the House Democrats' campaign committee said Friday that President Barack Obama listens to individual lawmakers when deciding whether or not to campaign for them.

Van Hollen's comments come as it appears President Barack Obama will not make a stop for Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), whom he endorsed over Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) in the party's Senate primary. Specter and Sestak are running neck-and-neck, according to several polls.

"I think the president realizes there are some districts where he is strong and some districts where he is not as strong, so he will take the lead from members of Congress," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said on MSNBC.

Many Democrats from traditionally Republican districts are considered vulnerable to losing their reelection bids, and Van Hollen's comments suggested they would be better served by eschewing an appearance with Obama.

Obama has made some high-profile campaign stops for several candidates who did not win reelection in close races, such as Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who lost to Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D), who lost to Gov. Chris Christie (R).

With regards to Specter, Vice President Joe Biden suggested that Obama's schedule wouldn't allow for a campaign stop.

But the Maryland Democrat, who helms the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said that Obama is a great help to Democrats everywhere, even if he doesn't stump for all of them.

"I think Barack Obama helps everybody by making the points he made last night in terms of drawing the contrast [between Democrats and Republicans]," he said.

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room

The Republican National Committee will have its 2012 convention in Florida's Tampa Bay Area.

"The Tampa area boasts state-of-the-art facilities, exciting and vibrant downtowns, and a clear enthusiasm from the community to host our convention," RNC Chairman Michael Steele said in a statement.

"We are very excited to accept Tampa's bid for the 2012 Republican National Convention," Holly Hughes, chair of the site selection committee, said Wednesday. "We are looking forward to a successful convention in Florida."


The RNC’s site selection committee also reviewed bids from Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

Selecting Phoenix could have been a political liability after Arizona passed its new anti-illegal immigration statute. And Utah is solidly Republican. In 2008, the RNC held its convention in Minneapolis.

The Arizona Republican Party denied the state's new immigration law had anything to do with Phoenix getting passed over.

"While many will point to Arizona's new immigration law as one of the reasons that Phoenix was not chosen, nothing could be further from the truth," Arizona GOP chairman Randy Pullen said in a statement. "Members of the RNC overwhelmingly support the immigration bill signed into law by Governor Brewer, and Republicans from coast-to-coast stand with Arizonans as we fight to secure our border."

Updated at 4:51 p.m.

Strategist Mike DuHaime has been hired by the National Republican Senatorial Committee to direct it’s independent expenditures arm during the 2010 cycle.

"Mike DuHaime has an enormous amount of campaign experience and political expertise, and he will serve as an invaluable resource directing this important component of the NRSC's operation during the 2010 midterms," Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) said in a statement.

DuHaime recently had success as the chief architect of New Jersey Gov Chris Christie's (R) 2009 defeat of Jon Corzine. He's also held positions with the Republican National Committee and President Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, among others.

The New Jersey native has also had his share of failures. He was Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign manager in 2008, when the former New York City mayor focused his resources on winning Florida's GOP primary. The strategy failed and Giuliani subsequently quit the race.

Chairman Michael Steele said the move came as part of an effort to "restructure the department."

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