Democrats in Washington were cheered last month by the entry into the race of former Black Hawk pilot Tammy Duckworth, who lost two limbs while serving in Iraq.
Contending that Hyde’s solidly GOP 6th District is trending Democratic — his Democratic challenger, Christine Cegelis, gave the Republican his most spirited race in years in 2004 — Democrats say the time is ripe, with the president’s sinking poll numbers, for a Democratic pickup.
Republicans scoff at that logic, noting that while Republicans have rallied around Roskam, Democrats are mired in a primary. Despite leading Democrats’ having thrown their support behind Duckworth, Cegelis, who launched her second House bid shortly after losing her first, remains popular among local Democrats.
— Peter Savodnik
Michigan
Republican Senate hopeful Keith Butler is expected to announce having raised more than $500,000 in the fourth quarter of 2005, setting the stage for a showdown with Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.
Bouchard announced last week that he had garnered nearly $800,000 in eight weeks of campaigning, stunning many Michigan Republicans.
Butler, a pastor and former Detroit city councilman, had been the emerging consensus candidate of leading Republicans in Michigan, including most of the GOP members of the state’s House delegation. But after Bouchard’s entry late last year, many party officials switched their allegiance.
Terri Land, Michigan’s Republican secretary of state, will endorse Bouchard this week, the Michigan Republican source said. “Of all the politicians out there today,” the source said, “she probably has the biggest machine.”
— Peter Savodnik
Ohio
Former Rep. Bob McEwen is expected to announce today that he will challenge Rep. Jean Schmidt in a GOP primary in Ohio’s solidly Republican 2nd District.
Schmidt, McEwen and nine other Republicans ran in a specially scheduled primary last summer for the seat vacated by Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).
Schmidt has come under intense fire for remarks she made about Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) on the House floor questioning the Vietnam veteran’s courage and loyalty.
State Sen. Tom Brinkman, who also ran in last year’s Republican primary, earlier said he would challenge the congresswoman if McEwen didn’t run.
McEwen, who left Congress in 1993 in the wake of the House banking scandal, has been attacked by political rivals for not spending enough time in the district, which includes some Cincinnati suburbs and rural areas.
— Peter Savodnik
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Treasurer and U.S. Senate hopeful Bob Casey Jr., (D) sent a strongly worded letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) yesterday sharply criticizing his choice of Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) to head the chamber’s work on lobbying reform in the aftermath of a deepening congressional ethics scandal.
“I am writing to express my shock at your selection of Senator Rick Santorum to head the Senate Republican effort to craft a lobbying reform proposal,” Casey wrote. “It is clear that his involvement would, in and of itself, destroy the credibility of the process,” he continued, charging that his opponent is closely tied to the K Street Project and to lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Casey called on Frist to require Santorum to disclose details about his role in K Street Project activities.
Santorum’s campaign defended his record on congressional ethics.
“The senator has a long history … of working on congressional reform,” said spokeswoman Virginia Davis.
— Jeffrey Young
West Virginia
Media mogul John Raese looks all but certain to challenge Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) next year.
Raese, who has twice run unsuccessfully statewide, said in an interview yesterday that he is excited about running for the Senate but is waiting to hear from fellow Republicans in the state.
“I don’t want to be a sacrificial lamb,” Raese said.
With the filing deadline Jan. 28, Republicans are running out of time; some West Virginia GOP officials say privately they are “desperate” for a viable candidate. Raese, they add, would fit that bill. What’s more, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee want Raese to run.
— Peter Savodnik
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