In case you're wondering, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) does have a Democratic challenger.
His name is David Cozad, and while his website is pretty underwhelming, all of the attention on Barton's apology to BP CEO Tony Hayward — which he has since retracted — has some progressives, at least over at Daily Kos, asking who Cozad is.
"I don't have a high-dollar campaign just yet," Cozad told the Ballot Box. "But I've got a camera, two or three staffers and we're putting together a video response for the website."
One of Cozad's first reactions when he heard Barton's comments: "I thought of Jane Fonda going to Hanoi," he said. "The way he said it just reminded me of that sort of abject apology."
On his website, Cozad calls himself a "Green Dog Democrat" with a plan to create green jobs for the 6th district.
The notion that Rep. Barton might be vulnerable, regardless of Democratic outrage over his comments, is far-fetched. Texas' 6th district is heavily Republican.
At a hearing before the Ohio Elections Commission Thursday, a three-person panel determined there is probable cause to believe an ad from the campaign of Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) contained false statements against Republican opponent Bob Gibbs.
Gibbs filed a complaint before the commission after an attack ad from the Space campaign accused him of voting to give himself a pay raise as a member of the state legislature.
The Space campaign is standing by the content of the ad. "Senator Bob Gibbs is engaged in a smoke-and-mirrors effort to try to distract Ohio voters from the fact that he voted for the largest tax increase in Ohio's history," Space campaign manager Danny Friedman said in a statement.
The dispute now goes to the full election commission, which could make a decision by the end of today, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The commission doesn't have the power to force the ad off the air.
The NRCC released a statement calling on the Space campaign to pull the ad off the air.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is determined to make things awkward for Colorado House candidate Cory Gardner (R).
King was uninvited from a weekend fundraiser and a Tea Party rally he was scheduled to attend with Gardner, who's vying to challenge Rep. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.). The freshman Democrat is a top target for the GOP this cycle.
King's controversial statements about how President Barack Obama favors blacks over whites were thought to have prompted the scheduling change.
King, undaunted, will still travel to Colorado this weekend, according to The Coloradoan newspaper.
He's set to speak Saturday in Loveland at a rally for a newly formed conservative group. King will be joining former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) for the "United We Stand With Arizona"-themed event.
Gardner and King won't overlap during his trip, according to Gardner's campaign. "There are no events that Cory will be at that Steve King was invited to."
Retiring Rep. Dennis Moore's (D-Kan.) old friends are helping his wife get elected to his seat.
The Blue Dog Coalition announced Thursday it is endorsing Stephene Moore (D) to win the 3rd district. She's expected to be the Democratic nominee to face whoever emerges from a crowded GOP primary.
Blue Dog co-chair Jim Matheson (Utah), in a statement: "Through her service to the community and as a registered nurse, Stephene Moore has demonstrated that she has what it takes to do what's right for the country, and for the people of Kansas' third district."
While Stephene Moore is getting help from the Blue Dogs, she may not get too much from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — at least until her husband pays his dues.
Moore's entire $250,000 balance is outstanding with the committee, despite having $412,188 in his campaign account as of March 31.
The Ohio Election Commission is meeting Thursday for a preliminary hearing into whether an ad from the campaign of Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) contained false charges against Republican opponent Bob Gibbs.
The Gibbs campaign filed a complaint before the commission after a Space ad went up accusing the Republican of supporting tax increases and voting to raise his own pay as a member of the State Legislature. Gibbs called the charges a lie.
Philip Richter, the commission's executive director, said he anticipates that lawyers representing both campaigns will appear before a three-person panel in Columbus to present their case. But the Space campaign would not confirm that anyone representing it would appear.
Space campaign manager Danny Friedman said the campaign stands behind the content of the ad, but declined to offer further comment on the matter, pointing to an earlier statement.
"Our ad is completely accurate," Friedman said in the statement. "When Bob Gibbs supported the budget in 2003, he supported the largest tax increase in Ohio's history and a pay raise for himself and his fellow legislators. If supporting this pay increase wasn't bad enough, he authorized legislation to give special tax breaks for golf courses. This is the ugly truth Bob Gibbs doesn't want voters to know, but these are the facts."
FactCheck.org dug into the ad's content Tuesday and disputed its claim that Gibbs voted himself a pay raise.
The Gibbs campaign wants the ad pulled from the airwaves, but Richter said the commission doesn't actually have the authority to do that. If it were to conclude the ad contained factual inaccuracies, the strongest action it's likely to take is to issue a public reprimand.
"The elections commission will prove that Zack Space lied," said Gibbs spokeswoman Emily Pettigrew in an e-mail. "Bob Gibbs never voted himself a pay raise and has always voted for tax breaks for families."
Republicans are hopeful Gibbs can mount a serious challenge to Space, but the incumbent starts with a significant financial edge. Gibbs nearly drained his campaign coffers during a contested Republican primary.
A new Public Policy Poll has businessman Tim D'Annunzio trailing former sports caster Harold Johnson with a week to go until the Republican runoff in North Carolina.
The two are fighting it out to face Rep. Larry Kissell (D-N.C.) in November. Kissell, a first-term lawmaker, is a top GOP target this cycle.
After coming in a close second in the May 4 primary — D'Annunzio bested Johnson 37 percent to 33 percent — Johnson has now surged to a 49 percent to 39 percent lead according to the latest poll.
The poll showed Johnson has picked up the lion's share of the support from the Republican also-rans in the primary and that his standing among the district's voters has taken a serious hit. Just 44 percent of respondents said they think D'Annunzio is "fit to hold public office." That's compared to Johnson's 55 percent. And 41 percent of respondents said their opinion of D'Annunzio has become "more negative" over the last month.
D'Annunzio had strong backing from Tea Party leaders, but after allegations of prior drug use and past arrests came to light, that support largely disappeared with several local Tea Party leaders switching their allegiance to Johnson. Johnson is the favored candidate of the Republican Party and a member of the Young Guns fundraising program.
A Public Policy Poll out Tuesday also showed Kissell holds a stronger lead over D'Annunzio than Johnson in hypothetical matchups. Kissell leads Johnson 41-35 but he leads D'Annunzio 48-26.
In an Ohio district that national Democrats are bullish on winning back this year, Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks (D) has won the backing of political action committee EMILY'S List. Brooks is taking on Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R).
"Paula is a common sense, hardworking leader with a commitment to fiscal responsibility," the group's president, Stephanie Schriock, said in a release announcing the endorsement. "As President of the Franklin County Commission, Paula worked tirelessly for her constituents and she will do the same in the House."
With the endorsement comes solid financial backing, giving Brooks the ability to tap into the group's national donor network. EMILY's List is poised to spend more than $40 million on races across the country in 2010.
Part of the optimism for Democrats in Tiberi's district is geography. Franklin County, where Brooks serves as commissioner, makes up a solid portion of the district. Brooks is also on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's (DCCC) "Red to Blue" candidate list, which the committee expanded this week by another 11 candidates.
Since his election in 2000, Tiberi hasn't had to endure a close reelection contest. His lowest reelection margin was two years ago when he defeated Democrat David Robinson with 55 percent of the vote. That was a race many local Ohio Democrats thought was winnable, had Robinson gotten some more attention from the national party.
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