Week of July 21, 2006

Great news for Claire McCaskill

Recent lead in polls reflects shared values with voters

Missouri state Auditor Claire McCaskill's campaign against vulnerable Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Talent just received a big boost: a poll conducted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and KMOV-TV shows that 49 percent of likely voters support McCaskill, compared to 43 percent who favor retaining Talent. Only eight percent of voters are undecided.

The poll shows that when it comes to "hot-button" issues on the minds of Missouri voters, like stem cell research and restoring Medicaid coverage to 90,000 Missourians who lost coverage under the Bush budget Talent approved, the majority of voters share McCaskill's views. But Talent will use his massive war chest to demonize McCaskill professionally and personally. McCaskill will need tremendous resources to continue taking her aggressive campaign to voters and take back this key Senate seat for Democrats.

Klobuchar leads in polling and second quarter fundraising

Last remaining primary opponent drops out

Amy Klobuchar is on a roll! Yet another poll, this time conducted by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, has Klobuchar leading Republican Rep. Mark Kennedy in the race for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota. Klobuchar maintains a lead in almost every demographic, including urban and rural voters and men and women from all walks of life. Moderate and independent voters also lean toward Klobuchar. In other good news for the campaign, Klobuchar raised $1.83 million in the second quarter of 2006, coming in ahead of the Kennedy campaign's $1.6 million. Keeping hold of Minnesota's open Senate seat is critical for Democrats to win back Congress.

Ford Bell, Klobuchar's last remaining primary opponent bowed out of the race July 11 and declared his support for Klobuchar. Bell's withdrawal clears the path for Klobuchar to focus all her resources on defeating Kennedy and winning this seat in November.

Gov. Granholm, EMILY's List, rally with Michigan women

EMILY's List President Ellen R. Malcolm spoke alongside Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm at a July 19 campaign stop in Lansing, MI. Granholm and Malcolm spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of 250 Granholm supporters who attended the event, focusing on the governor's commitment to protecting women's rights and the importance of Granholm's re-election in November. "The Republicans want to go in your bedroom, in your doctor's office, and in the confessional," Granholm told the crowd. Her opponent, anti-choice billionaire Dick DeVos, has already poured over $10 million into television ads attacking Granholm.

EMILY's List candidates flex fundraising muscles

Our pro-choice Democratic women candidates are running smart campaigns and inspiring voters who are ready for change. Recently, the press focused a great deal on EMILY's List recommended candidates like Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-08), Patty Wetterling (MN-06), and Diane Farrell (CT-04), who convincingly outraised their opponents in the second fundraising quarter. This momentum is crucial in the waning summer months as candidates prepare for the home stretch of their campaigns.

But Republicans will counter by spending heavily to overcome low approval ratings. Democrats, especially pro-choice Democratic women candidates, will face an onslaught of negative attacks and the deep pockets of the extreme right. With your help, EMILY's List will continue to help pro-choice Democratic women fight back and take advantage of this historic opportunity to regain control of our government.

Candidate television ads on the web

In recent weeks, EMILY's List has been featuring our pro-choice Democratic women candidates' campaign television ads on our website.

Visit www.emilyslist.org/multimedia/video/ to view the television spots and see how your direct contributions benefit our candidates. Your support helps build winning campaigns and gets our candidates' positive message for change out to voters.

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