House races

Kansas state Rep. Kevin Yoder is the favorite to emerge from a crowded 3rd district GOP primary and will likely face Democrat Stephene Moore, wife of retiring Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.), in the general election.

But the Kansas Democratic Party wants to soften him up before that happens. The party released a Web video Wednesday that plays off the lawmaker's surname.

"Have you noticed some of Kevin Yoder's ads just don't pass the sniff test?" the announcer says. The ad goes on to say the failed "sniff test" comes from the "Yoder odor."

Democrats weren't the first ones to rhyme Yoder's family name with something. The Republican lawmaker's latest TV ad is titled "Yoder voter."

"I'm a Yoder-voter mom," one woman says in the 30-second ad. The term "Yoder voter" is repeated several more times before the close.

The Kansas primary is Aug. 3.

Democrat Terri Sewell defeated Sheila Smoot on Tuesday in the contest for the Democratic nomination to succeed Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.).

The Associated Press called the race for Sewell, with her ahead of Smoot 56 percent to 43.

If Sewell wins in November, she would become the state’s first black congresswoman.

Sewell, who had the financial backing of EMILY’s List, raised more than $1 million during the campaign. In a statement Tuesday night, EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock congratulated Sewell, who is expected to win easily in the heavily Democratic district come November.

“EMILY’s List is thrilled to celebrate Terri Sewell’s hard-fought victory in Alabama, where voters responded to Terri’s principled track record of accomplishments, her optimism and dedication to her community and to her hard work on the campaign trail,” Schriock said in a statement. “In this reliably Democratic district, Terri will continue to campaign toward the general election talking about the issues that matter so much to people in Alabama — jobs and education — and will bring that focus and dedication with her to Washington.”

Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby (R) will face freshman Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) after winning the runoff for the GOP nomination.

The heavily-favored Roby was forced into the runoff with businessman Rick Barber (R) after she failed to break 50 percent in the June 1 primary.

Roby, a top recruit of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), put up a convincing display on Tuesday, winning 60 percent of the vote to Barber’s 40 with 383 of 406 precincts reporting. The Associated Press declared her the winner.

Barber had hoped to capitalize on the strength of the Tea Party movement in the 2nd district. But as the race wore on, he looked out of his depth and was forced to defend a series of controversial campaign ads.

Barber released a minute-long TV ad that features him yelling about being taxed without representation to a group of men dressed as America’s Founding Fathers. The ad closes with an actor dressed as a young George Washington murmuring, “Gather your armies.” He also released a recent Web ad that equates taxation to slavery and features an actor playing Abraham Lincoln.

The ads generated national attention but drew little inside the district. Barber also ran into trouble on the heels of reports that he hosted poker games at his DeJa Vu pool hall in Montgomery.

The NRCC praised Roby in a memo released Tuesday night.

“The results of the congressional primaries prove that Republicans are poised to run highly successful campaigns in Alabama,” the memo stated.

The campaign of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) is employing former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s donation to his Republican opponent in his own fundraising appeal. 

In a fundraising e-mail to supporters Tuesday penned by Perriello finance director Anna Scholl, the campaign noted the $3,500 donation to state Sen. Robert Hurt’s (R) campaign by Palin’s political action committee, SarahPAC.

“Will you give $10 to stand up to Sarah Palin?” the e-mail asks.

“Palin knows that she can count on Sen. Hurt to support her radical right-wing agenda,” Scholl wrote. “Robert Hurt knows that he needs national Republican celebrities like Sarah Palin to raise money for him.”

The thinking is that Palin’s involvement will fire up the Democratic base in the district, which national Republicans have targeted as a top pick-up opportunity this fall.

Perriello had a strong fundraising quarter, hauling in some $660,000. Hurt has yet to release his fundraising total for the quarter. 

Former NFL star Jon Runyan (R) raised more than $500,000 in the last quarter, outpacing Rep. John Adler (D-N.J.) for the first time. 

Runyan, however, continued to use his own money to flesh out his campaign coffers. He raised $301,409 from supporters and contributed $200,000 of his own money, according to a release. He currently has $472,056 banked for his challenge to Adler. 

Meanwhile, the freshman Democrat raised $415,000 for the quarter and has more than $2 million cash on hand, according to his campaign.

An internal poll released by the Adler campaign shows the congressman holding a 17-point lead over Runyan in a three-way contest that includes independent Peter DeStefano, who bills himself as a Tea Party candidate. Adler leads Runyan 51 to 34 percent in the survey, with DeStefano receiving 12 percent of the vote. Moreover, 58 percent approve of Adler’s job performance.

Runyan’s campaign called the poll “bogus.”

“John Adler is running scared and that’s why he’s releasing bogus, internal polls in July that aren’t worth the paper they are printed on,” Chris Russell, a spokesman for Runyan, said in a statement. “Two years ago he was the beneficiary of a split Republican Party and a terrible national environment for Republicans — yet he still only won by 3.5 points. This year, Republicans are united.”

A new poll shows Bachmann ahead in her reelection bid, but hovering below 50 percent.

One of the GOP’s top House targets this cycle, Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) raised an impressive $660,000 this quarter, his campaign announced Monday. Perriello’s campaign will report $1.7 million cash on hand. 

Perriello is near the top of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) list of targets, given his votes in favor of the healthcare bill and the stimulus. But even some Republicans say they’re impressed by Perriello’s organization and ability as a campaigner.  

Perriello’s opponent, state Sen. Robert Hurt (R), had to endure a multi-candidate primary. Hurt has not reported his numbers for the quarter yet. 

In New Jersey, freshman Rep. John Adler (D) raised $415,000 for the quarter and will have more than $2 million cash on hand, according to the campaign. 

Adler is also a national GOP target in 2010, but he could slide off the NRCC’s radar given the fundraising lead he is amassing. 

Adler is facing a challenge from former Philadelphia Eagle Jon Runyan (R), who has not released his second quarter figures yet. Runyan had just $134,692 on hand before the GOP primary June 8. 

And over the weekend, Rep. Betsy Markey’s (D-Colo.) campaign reported raising $530,000 in the second quarter. That leaves Markey with some $1.5 million in the bank. 

But her GOP challenger, Cory Gardner, isn’t expected to be too far behind. Gardner’s campaign said it will release its second quarter numbers later in the week. According to Federal Election Commission reports, Gardner raised $860,000 through the end of March. 

Democrats won’t lose control of the House in this fall’s midterm elections, their campaign chief said Monday.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), dismissed Republican hopes of a takeover, as well as a White House acknowledgement this weekend that such a scenario was possible. 

“Democrats are not going to lose the House; the answer’s ‘no,’” Van Hollen said Monday during an appearance on MSNBC.

Van Hollen said he was unsurprised by what White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said on Sunday, when the Obama administration official said there was “no doubt” that enough seats were in play for Republicans to win back control of the House or Senate. 

Democratic sources said that Gibbs’s acknowledgement was in line with their election year messaging, which focuses on warning voters of what Democrats fear would be the negative consequences of GOP control. 

“I was not surprised he said that,” Van Hollen explained. “What he said was there are a lot of seats out there, and it’s a dogfight out there.”

The expectation-setting came as the second-ranking House Republican, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), predicted the GOP would win back control of the House.

Van Hollen said that such a threat has provided Democrats an opportunity to highlight what GOP rule would mean for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, healthcare reform and other issues.

“What this debate does is focus the voters on the choice they have,” he said. “Their goal is to stop the Obama agenda in its tracks. ... They have told us what they’re going to do.”

"I think we retake the House, as Mr. Gibbs suggested yesterday from the White House," says second-ranking House Republican.

Alabama House candidate Martha Roby (R) continues to gather support as her primary rival banks on Tea Party activists to push him over the line.

Roby was endorsed Friday by the Montgomery Advertiser’s editorial board, which noted her “strong work ethic and her ability to grasp public issues.”

“Based on her proven work ethic and her experience as a Montgomery City Council member for the past seven years, Martha Roby is the best candidate for the Republican nomination,” the board wrote.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is also backing Roby, who finished first in the June 1 primary but faces businessman Rick Barber (R) in the July 13 runoff.

Barber has generated national attention with his unconventional advertising strategy. He released a minute-long TV ad that features him yelling about being taxed without representation to a group of men dressed as America’s founding fathers. The ad closes with an actor dressed as a young George Washington murmuring “gather your armies.” He also released a recent Web ad that equates taxation to slavery and features an actor playing Abraham Lincoln.

He boasted to a reporter this week that members would take notice when he arrived in Congress.

“Everybody will know when Rick Barber shows up in Congress,” Barber told the Washington Post. “I met with Martha Roby, but I wasn’t inspired by her.”

While he’s uninspired by Roby, Barber had a kind word about Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.), who he would face in the general.

“I like Bright,” he said. “He’s nice. But he’s got that D by his name, and he voted for Speaker Pelosi. He’s for that agenda.”