DCCC Expands "Red to Blue" Program

The DCCC, trying to appear that they are in fact playing some offense this cycle, expanded its "Red to Blue" list of top challengers in Republican-held seats or open seats by eleven over the weekend. Here they are:

AR-01: Chad Causey (D), the former chief of staff of retiring Rep. Marion Berry (D).

AR-02: State Sen. Joyce Elliot (D), who is running for the seat left open by Rep. Vic Snyder (D).

HI-01: State Sen. President Colleen Hanabusa (D), who is facing Rep. Charles Djou (R), who won the seat in a three-way special election.

IN-08: State Rep. Trent Van Haaften (D), who is for the seat left open by Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D), who is running for the state's open Senate seat.

MI-01: State Rep. Gary McDowell (D), who is running for the seat left open by Rep. Bart Snyder (D).

MN-06: State Sen. Tarryl Clark (D), who is taking on the controversial and well-funded Rep. Michele Bachmann (R). Clark recently saw her primary opponent, Maureen Reed, drop out to give Clark a clear shot to the general election.

MO-08: Tommy Sowers (D), who is taking on Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R). Emerson looks to be pretty safe at this point.

PA-06: Manan Trivedi (D), an Iraq War veteran who is taking on Rep. Jim Gerlach (R).

WA-03: Former state House Majority Leader Denny Heck (D), who is running for a seat left open by the retiring Rep. Brian Baird (D).

WV-01: State Sen. Mike Oliverio (D), who ousted Rep. Alan Mollohan (D) in the Democratic primary.

WI-07: State Sen. Julie Lassa (D), who is running to replace Rep. David Obey (D), who is retiring.

It's pretty hard to ignore how many "Red to Blue" candidates are competing for already-blue districts.

The Fix: "While Democrats insist they are still playing offense this year -- and indeed, it appears they can in at least a handful of districts -- they're mostly playing defense in the new Red to Blue districts.

Of the 26 total Red to Blue districts, 10 are open seats held by Democrats, 11 are held by Republicans seeking reelection, and five are open seats held by Republicans."

Daily Rundown: 6/2/10

CA-Sen: Former Rep. Tom Campbell (R) is pulling his television ads a week out from the primary, highlighting his financial disadvantage against his rival, businesswoman Carly Fiorina. Campbell is going almost completely dark, relying only on internet ads and robocalls to reach out to Republican voters. Fiorina, who already has a sizable lead in the polls, has been spending millions of her own cash on the race and now will have the California airwaves to herself heading into the primary.

KY-Sen: A new Rasmussen poll shows Rand Paul (R) leading Attorney General Jack Conway (D) by 8 points, 49% to 41%. This is a drastic change from their poll released right after the primary, which had Paul up 25.

AL-Gov: Looks like we may be heading towards a recount in the GOP primary, as state Rep. Robert Bentley and real estate developer Tim James are both lawyering up. The Secretary of State has yet to call declare who will take on former state Sen. Bradley Byrne in the runoff, but as of now Bentley leads James by 208 votes.

IA-Gov: A new PPP poll shows frontrunner former Gov. Terry Branstad (R) might not have such an easy time in next week's GOP primary. He only leads businessman Bob Vander Plaats by 15 points, 46-31. Brandstad would be the strongest general election candidate against incumbent Gov. Chet Culver (D).

ME-Gov: A new Pan Atlantic SMS Group Omnibus poll shows a wide-open race for both parties in next week's gubernatorial primary. 62% of Democrats and 47% of Republicans are still undecided. On the Democratic side, state Sen. President Libby Mitchell and former Attorney General Steve Rowe appear to be slightly ahead of the pack. On the Republican side, businessman Les Otten holds a 7-point lead over the competition. But with none of the candidates in either race topping 20% and such a high number of undecideds, don't read too much into these numbers.

MI-Gov: A new PPP poll shows businessman Rick Snyder to be the strongest general election candidate for the GOP. He leads Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero (D) by 16 points and state House Speaker Andy Dillon (D) by 20. The other Republican candidates still poll ahead of Bernero and Dillon, but by much smaller margins.

AR-01: Bill Clinton is backing Chad Causey (D), retiring Rep. Marion Berry's chief of staff, in the June 8 primary runoff. Causey appears to be picking up momentum in his race against former state Sen. Tim Woolridge (D), the more conservative Democrat in the race who finished ahead of Causey in the first round of voting.

NC-08: Businessman Tim D'Annunzio (R) has backed out of a televised debate against runoff opponent Harold Johnson (R), claiming there's been a "collaboration between the Harold Johnson campaign and the news media to use partial truth, innuendo and accusations to unfairly smear me." D'Annunzio has been accused of drug use, criminal activity, and claiming that he is a prophet; and has lost nearly all support he had from the GOP and outside groups.

TN-08: Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is raising money for Shelby County Commissioner George Flinn in the GOP primary, even as the GOP establishment is actively backing gospel singer Stephen Fincher. Physician Ron Kirkland, who can self-fund his campaign, is also running in the primary. The winner will face state Sen. Roy Herron (D) in the general election.

WA-03: State Sen. Craig Pridemore dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination to succeed Rep. Brian Baird (D) yesterday, citing fundraising problems, and backed former state House Majority Leader Denny Heck (D). The more moderate Heck now seems to have the nomination all locked up.