Today's Roll Call (subscription) has an interesting article on the two special elections for Congress next Tuesday, one in Ohio's 5th CD and one right here in Virginia's 1st CD. Here's an excerpt...see if you can determine what's wrong with this story:
It's a tale of two districts - and two special elections next Tuesday.The seats in Ohio's 5th district and Virginia's 1st, which became open when Republican Members died earlier this year, should be slam dunks for
the GOP. President Bush got about 60 percent of the vote in both districts in 2004, and both elections are going to be low-turnout contests that follow heated GOP nominating battles.Yet some Democrats believe they can be competitive in both districts, even though their candidates have never held public office and are running against state legislators.
But so far, national Democrats are only putting their money where their mouths are in Ohio, where former university official Robin Weirauch (D) is taking her third stab at the seat. The Democratic nominee in Virginia is Philip Forgit, an Iraq War veteran and former elementary school teacher with a background that has proved successful in the region by candidates like Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.).
But while Democrats are bringing out the big guns for Weirauch, Forgit - along with some members of the Virginia Congressional delegation - are holding out hope that there's still time for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to do the same in their backyard...
OK, so what the hell is going on here? Why would national Democrats put resources into Ohio and not Virginia? I mean, they're both "red" districts. D Strategists apparently believe both races could be competitive. The DCCC has an enormous money advantage -- $28 million cash on hand, compared to under $2 million for the NRCC.
So why not spend some of that to help Phil Forgit? As Rep. Jim Moran says, Forgit-Wittman is "a winnable race," and Forgit is "a damn good candidate." Moran continues:
Clearly every time we have taken on a Republican [in Virginia] in the last few years a Democrat has won," Moran said. "Our state is changing. But maybe [the DCCC] just doesn't believe Virginia 1 can turn Democratic... It's a Republican district now but it's not enough of a Republican district that it's not worth taking a shot. If this was four years ago or two years ago I'd say forget it but not today. But we're running out of time, unfortunately.
I couldn't agree more with Jim Moran on this one. Please contact the DCCC and let them know how you feel about this. Their phone # is 202-863-1500. Tell them you want them to support Phil Forgit for Congress, or you won't be prying open your wallet the next time they come a'calling for money.
What really blows my mind as to why they won't put money into the race is the low cash on hand of the Republicans. The DCCC and its Republican counter part usually enter races together: one enters as a reaction to the first. With the low cash of the Republicans, entering this race could put another blow into their cache. The Republicans have spent 10% of their $2 million in OH-5. 10% into one race!! If I were Van Hollen, I would dump some money into this race, forcing the Republicans to dump money too. This will wear their money thin, a great thing for the upcoming elections. Play cash-chess with them. If they don't follow suit, well hell, you just elected a Democrat in a Republican district. Win-Win for Democrats, in my humble opinion.
Come on, DCCC! I mean seriously!
You want to win elections ? You gotta give your candidates some support. Forgit is a great candidate !:
Bronze Star Iraq War Veteran, a nationally recognized teacher, he serves as a Deacon of the Mercy Ministry -
GO FORGIT !
The only way to get DCCC to invest in an open seat here in VA would be to have the advantage of not actually needing their support. Rest assured that holding back on the money spigot is not the worst that DCCC can do to sink a DEM campaign -- they will actually tell potential donors to NOT give to campaigns that are not endorsed by DCCC in favor of other campaigns that are targeted.