Dems prep attacks for GOP challengers

Republicans have assembled an impressive roster of challengers for 2010 and, in return, Democrats have compiled extensive dossiers aimed at cutting down those candidates before they have the chance to gain momentum.

The early attacks will come against some of the GOP’s leading recruits, members of the Young Guns program for promising challengers.

The Democratic strategy stems from New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s (D) campaign. He was criticized for failing to define his Republican opponent early enough in the election cycle.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has no interest in making the same mistake.

“This is a tough cycle, historically, for the incumbent party, but the Republicans in general have the worse brand,” said Brian Smoot, the former political director at the DCCC and now a Democratic consultant. “The problem for Republicans specifically is that they continue to recruit and run flawed candidates, candidates that are too extreme for moderate districts.”

This year, the GOP is recruiting many challengers who have never run for office, theorizing that voters want new faces.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who spearheads the Young Guns program, acknowledged that the attacks could have an impact on first-time candidates.

“There are going to be some that are fantastic, that get the focus and can’t sustain it,” he said. Still, McCarthy predicted: “They’ll get down. They’ll get dirty.”

And jobs could be the No. 1 issue.

Three GOP candidates will be attacked over jobs issues, according to Dem research documents obtained by The Hill.

Businessman Randy Altschuler, a candidate against Rep. Tim Bishop (D-N.Y.), will be portrayed as an “outsourcing pioneer” who sent jobs to India instead of keeping them in, or near, his Long Island district, according to the documents.

“Tim Bishop is the one who is outsourcing attacks on a successful businessman, to the DCCC and [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi,” said Christopher Maloney, Altschuler’s campaign manager. “This is the sign of a vulnerable incumbent who is out of touch with the district, and he’s naive as to the global nature of our economic system.”

Keith Fimian (R), a certified public accountant running a second race against Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), had a lien placed on his company because of tax issues, the documents show.

“The fact that Gerry Connolly and the DCCC [are] recycling their flawed research from the last campaign shows how desperate they are,” said James Callahan, a Fimian spokesman. “Now the DCCC is back trying to cover up Gerry Connolly’s reckless spending and job-killing votes. They clearly see Gerry Connolly as vulnerable.”

And Jim Renacci (R), a businessman with ownership stakes in more than a dozen companies, will be hit over allegations that one of those companies did not pay temporary workers. As a result of those 2005 allegations, the Better Business Bureau revoked the company’s membership. Renacci is running against Rep. John Boccieri (D-Ohio).

“Jim has created jobs in the 16th district for most of his adult life, and very successfully,” said Wes Anderson, a Renacci spokesman. “Congressman Boccieri has not.”

Altschuler, Fimian and Renacci are all on the Young Guns’ “On the Radar” list, a roster of candidates Republicans think have the potential to beat incumbent Democrats.

Their early emergence has previewed what could become a powerful Democratic strategy of attacking before Republicans gather the resources to respond. The candidates argue the early shots indicate they are well-positioned to challenge Democratic incumbents.

In New Jersey, Corzine’s unpopularity meant voters were unable to get over their impressions of him. His only path to victory was to use mountains of opposition research and millions of dollars in advertising to lambaste former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R). By the end of the race, Christie was nearly as unpopular as Corzine.

Republicans see, in early Democratic assaults, an emerging strategy.

“Heading into next year, Boccieri is going to be near the top of anybody’s list of vulnerable Democrats, and as a result, they’re going to get very negative,” Renacci spokesman Anderson said. “That’s unfortunate. But Jim’s ready for it, and Jim’s very proud of his record.”

“Clearly, [Democrats] are worried,” said Ken Spain, a National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman. “The problem for each of these Democrat incumbents is that they’ve already voted to kill jobs, and we have the votes to back it up.”

The year has already turned into an opposition researcher’s dream. Spain pointed to the economic stimulus bill, which both parties will use to make their points. And Democrats in some areas, like Boccieri’s Ohio, will have to defend their vote for a cap-and-trade measure the GOP says will amount to a national energy tax.

Given the focus on both incumbent and challenger records on jobs and the economy, though, everything will circle back to jobs. On that, both Republicans and Democrats agree.

“Midterm elections are referendum elections on the party in power, and the question on the minds of voters in all these districts is, ‘Where are the jobs?’ ” Spain said.

Meanwhile, said Smoot, Republicans have pursued a strategy that could leave the party without the candidates required to take advantage of the opportunities the GOP should have.

“Their strategy is to throw as many bad candidates against a wall and see what sticks,” he said.

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