Dem primaries

Despite the improved chances for a Republican takeover of the House, some unions are spending against Democratic incumbents who voted "no" on healthcare reform.

Unions vowed to go after members who didn't support the bill, and some are keeping that pledge.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), for instance, has spent almost $300,000 on direct mail and other activities in support of union activist Mac D'Alessandro's primary challenge to Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.).

D'Alessandro and SEIU officials say he wasn't recruited to run because of Lynch's vote against the healthcare reform bill in March, but it's been the main issue of his candidacy.

"I made a decision on my own, and what I like to say is that the only person who asked me to get into this race was Steve Lynch," D'Alessandro told The Ballot Box.

He said healthcare wasn't the only reason he decided to run but rather, it was the "final straw."

"It goes all the way back to his vote to authorize the war in Iraq and its continued funding time and time again, even as our economy here at home fell apart," he said, also citing Lynch's anti-abortion position.

Lynch wasn't without union support — he was endorsed by the AFL-CIO during the primary, but the union didn't make any independent expenditures on his behalf.

D'Alessandro maintains that support for Lynch among "working families" has dropped since he voted against healthcare reform.

"I've canvassed and door-knocked and talked to small-business owners in every city and town in this district and there is a lot of frustration with Congressman Lynch’s vote on healthcare reform," he said. "A lot of it."

"I think that his 'no' vote on healthcare was a vote against the interests of middle income families, middle-class families, working families, not to mention small businesses," he said. "Those are reforms that benefit a lot of working families in this district."

Lynch's campaign says concerns about government spending and the deficit are what the congressman hears about from his constituents.

"When Steve knocks on doors he hears concerns about the healthcare reform bill and the Wall Street bailout, and the concern is with the positions Mac holds on both of those bills," said Scott Ferson, a spokesman for Lynch's campaign.

Ferson suggested D'Alessandro had been knocking on doors in Somerville and Cambridge, which are in the more liberal 8th district. "Thank God we're running in the 9th," Ferson said.

The Massachusetts primary vote is Tuesday.

NEW YORK — Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said the ethics committee can "destroy" members "by just doing nothing."

Bill Clinton continues to be the omnipresent helper for Democratic candidates this cycle. 

The first poll out on the Chicago mayor's race shows there's no early favorite for what will be the first open-seat contest in the city in decades.

Leading the way were the 35 percent of voters who didn't have a candidate preference in the Democratic primary. And no one among the nine potential candidates included in the poll registered a statistically significant advantage.

Longtime mayor Richard Daley (D) announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection next year.

For what it's worth, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart led the way with 12 percent support. He was followed by state Sen. James Meeks with 10 percent and Rep. Luis Gutierrez with 9 percent.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. garnered 8 percent in the poll and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel received 7 percent.

The poll, commissioned by the Chicago Sun-Times, was conducted by the firm McKeon and Associates. It surveyed 600 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

The primary isn't until February of next year, but the race is already heating up and Emanuel is expected to make a decision soon on whether to leave the White House for a run at city hall.

On CNN Thursday, Jackson took an early shot at Emanuel, warning that if President Obama's chief of staff did decide to get in the race, "it will become a national campaign."

"The president's record will probably be brought into that campaign," said Jackson, who noted "Rahm Emanuel will have to answer the questions about those communities that have been left behind."

Like Emanuel, Jackson has not yet made a decision on a mayoral run.

Earlier this week, President Obama said Emanuel would be "an excellent mayor," but said he didn't expect his chief of staff to make any decision before the November midterm elections.

The Democrat vying to succeed retiring Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) gained a small edge on her Republican rival in fundraising.

State Sen. Julie Lassa (D) raised slightly more than $235,000 between July 1 and Aug. 25, the final reporting period before Wisconsin's Sept. 14 primary. Both candidates face nominal opposition for their nominations but are expected to sail through the vote.

Republican Sean Duffy raised just over $230,000 during the final reporting period, and maintains a cash-on-hand advantage, having slightly less than $700,000 banked for the general, whereas Lassa has some $400,000.

But Lassa has gotten help from the national party. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already hit Duffy with a TV ad accusing him of wanting to eliminate Social Security.

The Ballot Box considers this open seat race a toss-up.

--Updated at 7:04 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana Senate candidate Charlie Melancon (D) dropped in at a makeshift campaign phone bank.

NEW ORLEANS — Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) planned to follow his Election Day routine early Saturday and go door knocking in a precinct in Jefferson Parish — a tradition he’s carried over since his days running for the House. 

Saturday is Louisiana’s primary vote, and Vitter is facing several challengers, including former Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Chet Traylor (R). But in a sign of how confident he is of a positive result, Vitter doesn’t have a public primary night party planned.

Meanwhile, Democratic Senate candidate Charlie Melancon has a full day of campaigning planned. He’s making several stops in the New Orleans area before his election night party in the Crescent City.

The Republican primary in Melancon's House district, the third, is also being watched to see whether Hunt Downer, Jeff Landry or Kristian Magar emerges to face Ravi Sangisetty (D) in November. Candidates need to break 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff in Louisiana.

In the 2nd district, Democrats Eugene Green, Gary Johnson, Juan LaFonta and Cedric Richmond are vying to take on Rep. Ahn "Joseph" Cao (R-La.) in November. This primary could also head to a runoff.

With rain lashing New Orleans, Democratic turnout is expected to be low in the southern part of the state.

Just two days after Rangel criticized President Obama, he walked back his comments on Wednesday.

Colorado Democrats will decide on whom to choose as their Senate candidate "irrespective of endorsements," incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said Tuesday.

Voters head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballot in the contested primary between Bennet and former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who's waged a Democratic primary challenge from Bennet's left.

Both candidates boast top endorsements, pitting President Obama (who endorsed Bennet) against former President Bill Clinton (who endorsed Romanoff).

Bennet said he's happy to have the president's support, but downplayed the role the endorsements would play in voters' decisionmaking.

"I think it helps — I'm very proud to have his support — but I think the people of Colorado are going to make this decision irrespective of endorsements," he said during an appearance on MSNBC.

Romanoff has surged in recent days, raising the prospect of another defeat for a Democratic candidate favored by the White House. Obama had backed Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), who lost a Democratic primary to Rep. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania. The White House was also embarrassed when Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley lost the special election in January to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), the mother of a disgraced former Detroit mayor, finds herself trailing her primary opponent, according to a new poll Monday.

Kilpatrick, the seven-term lawmaker from Detroit, trails state Sen. Hansen Clarke 38 percent to 30 in a primary battle for Michigan's 13th congressional district.

If the Democratic primary were held today, 38.1 percent of the district's voters would choose Clarke and 30 percent would vote for Kilpatrick, while another 20.3 percent were undecided, according to a new Detroit News/WDIV poll.

The poll shows struggles for a second straight cycle for Kilpatrick, the mother of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D), who resigned two years ago and was convicted and jailed on corruption charges.

The former Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman was almost unseated in a 2008 primary challenge as well, when critics made her passionate defense of her son a key issue in the contest. She held off former state Rep. Mary Water and state Sen. Martha Scott in a divided primary field, but fell well short of winning a majority of the primary field.

Though a number of other candidates have entered 2010's contest to unseat Kilpatrick, they drew only a combined 9.5 percent in support from voters in the Detroit district.

The primary election will be held Aug. 3. The poll, conducted by Glengariff Group from July 14-15, has a 4.9 percent margin of error.