Week of March 7, 2006
The political environment is bursting with opportunity for Democrats and particularly for women candidates. Women are seen as agents of change -- and America is ready for a change. As long as Democrats can turn out voters, we'll see big gains in 2006.
May 2 primary looms for Sutton
An open Democratic seat in Ohio represents a great opportunity to add a woman of tremendous talent to Congress. Former state Rep. Betty Sutton, an attorney who represents labor unions, is among the Democrats hoping to replace longtime Rep. Sherrod Brown (D), who is running for the U.S. Senate.
Ohio, too, has had its share of GOP scandals lately. The Republican governor allegedly handed over state funds to a crony who invests in rare coins; millions are unaccounted for and the scandal has mushroomed well beyond its original scope, creating another electorate eager for change.
Republicans will probably make a play for this House seat, but the May 2 Democratic primary is Sutton's biggest challenge. She is likely to face two formidable primary opponents, including a former congressman and an ethically challenged heiress willing to spend millions on her campaign.
The daughter of a library clerk and a boilermaker, Sutton brings her own assets to this race. Before serving four terms in the Ohio House (the maximum under term limits), she was elected to the Barberton City Council and appointed to the Summit County Council. She has strong ties to key Democratic constituencies and a strong base in the district's largest population center.
"Betty Sutton has already forged a remarkable career in public service," says Ellen R. Malcolm, president of EMILY's List. "She's the kind of skilled legislator Democrats need in Congress."
EMILY's List is providing a range of services to help Sutton mount a winning campaign, including ongoing strategic advice from our experienced political staff.
Another opportunity to help take back Congress
Democrats' first chance for congressional victory comes in California's 50th district, where Francine Busby is the leading Democrat to replace former GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who resigned in November after pleading guilty to fraud, bribery, and tax evasion. An elected trustee of the Cardiff School Board, Busby challenged Cunningham in 2004, holding the 15-year incumbent to under 60 percent of the vote while being outspent nearly five to one. She had already decided on a rematch when news of Cunningham's crimes became public.
After Cunningham resigned, a crowd of eager Republicans quickly stepped in to seek this GOP-leaning seat -- including former GOP Rep. Brian Bilbray, who was elected to Congress in the 1994 GOP sweep but lost his seat to Susan Davis, an EMILY's List candidate, in 2000.
A special election to replace Cunningham will take place on April 11. All candidates will be featured on one ballot; if no one reaches 50 percent, the top vote-getters from each party will advance to a June 6 runoff.
"A strong showing in this special election would deal a serious blow to the GOP," says Malcolm. "It's a tough seat for Democrats, but Francine Busby is an experienced candidate running at a time when voters are eager for new leadership."
WHAT'S COOKING: Political news from Washington and around the country
Who's the fairest in Minnesota? ... according to a poll by Minnesota's St. Cloud State University, Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar has the highest favorability rating statewide ... U.S. Senate candidate Klobuchar polls just ahead of First Lady Laura Bush ... President George W. Bush comes in dead last ... second to last is Rep. Mark Kennedy, Klobuchar's likely GOP opponent ... Kennedy is Bush's million dollar baby ... at least, that's what Bush raised for the ambitious congressman at a December fundraiser.
You can't run a real campaign with pretend money ... but don't tell that to Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Penn.) ... Gerlach overstated his 2005 fundraising by $2.2 million, reporting $3.3 million raised to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) ... his campaign blamed the 200 percent mistake on "computer and clerical error" ... that's some computer ... Gerlach's challenger, attorney Lois Murphy (D) filed an FEC complaint against Gerlach ... but that's not her only complaint ... she also wants to know why he voted for an energy bill that gives tax breaks to energy corporations at the expense of consumers and the environment ... why he voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration after saying he wouldn't ... and why he won't give back the $30,000 he got from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's PAC ... for starters.
Former Baltimore news anchorman Andy Barth has entered the crowded field for Maryland's third congressional district ... covering the district as a reporter for 35 years qualifies him, he says ... EMILY's List is backing state Senate veteran Paula Hollinger ... a former nurse, Hollinger is a national leader on health care ... she sponsored a successful bill requiring Wal-Mart to pay more toward employee health care and is fighting for state funds for embryonic stem cell research ... and she led the fight to provide health care for all Marylanders without insurance ... now, that's covering the district!
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) stared down 36-year Senate veteran Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) over his last-ditch effort to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil exploration ... Stevens attached an ANWR amendment to a must-pass defense spending bill which, thanks largely to Cantwell, failed ... Stevens was bitter in defeat ... he told the Anchorage Daily News that he had "written off" Senate colleagues he once considered "friends" ... "I'm not traveling with them anymore, and I'm not going to play tennis or swim or do various things with them," Stevens said ... with that, the Senate's most senior Republican picked up his toys and went home.
A star is born ... attorney Nikki Tinker kicked off her congressional campaign for Tennessee's open ninth district with an all-star cast, including pop singer Justin Timberlake and actor Morgan Freeman ... both are Memphis natives ... Tinker is running to replace Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., who is running for the U.S. Senate ... she'll face a crowded field for the safely Democratic seat, but Tinker knows how to win ... she managed Ford's last campaign.
Shout-outs for two remarkable women ... the January issue of Latino Leaders magazine names New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid as one of "101 Top Movers and Shakers" ... Madrid is trying to unseat GOP Rep. Heather Wilson -- and Women's eNews named EMILY's List President Ellen R. Malcolm one of "21 leaders for the 21st Century" ... those years of making the dough rise for pro-choice Democratic women have really made a difference.
An integrated strategy for change
Every EMILY's List program -- the Political Opportunity Program, training, candidate services, WOMEN VOTE!, and Campaign Corps -- is part of a finely tuned machine operating at full throttle to help ensure victory for women and Democrats in 2006.
Since 2006 is a non-presidential election, voter turnout will drop. One of our main challenges is countering the GOP turnout machine with a powerful WOMEN VOTE! project in states where women and Democrats must win.
"We know from our Women's Monitor survey that one-third of the women who voted for Bush in 2004 have moved away from the GOP," says Karen M. White, EMILY's List's national political director. "Women are on the fence. Our job is to figure out how to push them into our backyard."
In February, EMILY's List conducted focus groups among critical groups of women voters in Missouri, Michigan, and Minnesota -- states that are key for Democrats, particularly EMILY's List candidates. The focus groups will deepen our understanding of women voters' concerns and what they are looking for in their leaders.
"We need to answer two big questions," says White. "How have Republicans disappointed them, and what can we do to win their support? Then we can develop messages that will convince them to vote Democratic in November."
Malcolm believes EMILY's List WOMEN VOTE!® will play a critical role in deciding who votes in 2006.
"Women voters are the key to victory for Claire McCaskill, Amy Klobuchar, Sens. Debbie Stabenow, and Maria Cantwell, as well as House candidates, POP candidates, and Democrats up and down the ticket," she says. "And WOMEN VOTE! is also critical to electing Democratic men. If we turn out enough women voters in the Philadelphia suburbs to help elect Lois Murphy and re-elect Rep. Allyson Schwartz, we can create a tide that will sweep right-wing firebrand Rick Santorum right out of the Senate."
Malcolm emphasizes the importance of women as candidates, donors, and voters to Democratic victory. "EMILY's List is executing a very deliberate, comprehensive strategy to take back power for Democrats," she says. "Everything we do in 2006 will help us win in November and build toward even bigger victories in the 2008 presidential election."