Week of May 12, 2008
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From exciting wins in Indiana and North Carolina to chilling words from John McCain and more, there is lots of news from the field to share. Nothin' could be finer than our wins in CarolinaI don't know about you, but I'm ready to put a Liddy on Dole -- and North Carolina challenger Kay Hagan scored a blowout, 42-point win in her primary for the chance to face the incumbent Senator. Hagan, Democrats's secret weapon in the battle for a working majority in the Senate, is just single digits behind Dole in a recent poll. It was a great night for our statewide executive candidates, too. Bev Perdue scored a decisive primary win in her gubernatorial bid and Janet Cowell, one of our Political Opportunity Program candidates, took 46 percent of the vote in a three-way primary for state treasurer. Six out of seven of our POP candidates won Tuesday night -- Cowell, three state House candidates and two state Senate candidates -- and the seventh, another state Senate candidate, is in a runoff. Nail-biter  I am thrilled to share with you another amazing EMILY's List victory: gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson scored a come-from-behind victory over her well-funded opponent in Tuesday's Indiana primary. Long Thompson, vastly outspent, won in a nail-biter that had us checking online for returns, bleary-eyed, until 2 a.m. While close races certainly leave me sleepless, they also remind me how important every last vote is. I'm so proud of our WOMEN VOTE! campaign in Indiana, which encouraged likely Democratic women voters over 65 to vote via absentee ballot, contributing to a record month of absentee voting. Now we have pro-choice Democratic women running in three out of the four competitive gubernatorial races this cycle!Green Nod for Shaheen  New Hampshire Senate challenger Jeanne Shaheen got a great Earth Day present - an endorsement from the Sierra Club for her environmental leadership during her three terms as governor. Sen. John Sununu immediately knocked the nod from the group, which along with other environmental groups is calling for his defeat. Sununu has a lifetime League of Conservation Voters record of 35 percent and it's no wonder -- he voted for $13 billion in tax breaks for big oil companies on the same day he accepted a large contribution from the Chevron political action committee.Meanwhile, a new UNH poll shows Shaheen with a nine-point lead over Sununu -- even more telling, his favorability rating has dropped under 50 percent. It may be too late for the Senator to whitewash -- or greenwash -- his record. A real Zinga in Illinois  With an original opponent who dropped out following the Republican primary and others declining to run, state Senate Majority Leader and 11th Congressional district candidate Debbie Halvorson has finally drawn a general election opponent. The Illinois State GOP anointed cement magnate Martin Ozinga as their candidate for the seat vacated by retiring Republican Rep. Jerry Weller. Ozinga, who declared, "I am pro-Second Amendment, pro-life, pro-traditional marriage" in his announcement speech last week, has already made it clear he is willing to spend his own money on the campaign. When asked whether he has ever been awarded contracts in return for political contributions, Ozinga offered a cryptic quip: "We hear things like pay to play, and I believe that happens, but it's also been an interesting experience of ours. The city of Chicago and how it works is a story of intrigue and inside deals and that sort of thing.' All-righty, then. Brownback in Action -- for McCain GOP presumptive nominee John McCain worked to shore up his anti-choice credentials and placate conservative critics this week with a much-anticipated speech on judicial nominations. McCain avoided mentioning Roe specifically, preferring a wink-and-nod approach in which he promised to embrace President Bush's philosophy and nominate jurists of the ilk of W's disastrous duo, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. Later that day, McCain announced the co-chairs of his "Justice Advisory Committee": ex-Solicitor General Ted Olson, and former primary rival and anti-choice crusader Sen. Sam Brownback, who has attempted to roll back Roe in more ways than we can count. This speech, which former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed called "outstanding," reminds us all of how much is at stake this year and how hard we need to work to elect a Democratic president. Thank you for all you are doing to support EMILY's List in this exciting election year. If I haven't covered a race you’re interested in, or if you have a question, please get in touch with us. We’d love to hear from you. Warmly, Britt Cocanour Chief of Staff |