Republican
Main Street Partnership
PAC Update
Oct. 20, 2004
Alaska
Senate Race – Lisa Murkowski (incumbent)
USA Today
(10/19, Stone) reports Alaska Sen. Lisa
Murkowski "has reason to feel targeted.
Democrats in Washington are sending slings
and arrows her way in their bid to take back
control of the closely divided Senate.
President Bush is expected to win in a
landslide here, and no Senate race has been
competitive for a generation. Yet polls show
Murkowski and" Democrat Tony Knowles, a
"popular, former two- term governor, in a
statistical tie.
Knowles
has pulled even with Murkowski in
fundraising, according to third quarter
reports. Knowles raised $1.8M in the last
quarter, compared to Murkowski's $1.2M,
raising each's total to $4.5M. To date, the
DSCC has bought no time in Kentucky,
focusing its resources instead on the eight
open-seat contests and the challenge to Sen.
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
This race
is one of the most important for our RMSP
candidates and Sen. Murkowski needs all the
help she can get. With control of the
Senate at stake this race is crucial.
Washington Senate race – George Nethercutt
(challenger)
A SurveyUSA
automated poll of 634 likely Washington
voters (+/-4%) taken 10/15-10/17 for KING-TV
Seattle and KHQ-TV Spokane shows Sen. Patty
Murray (D) leading challenger Rep. George
Nethercutt (R) 56%-38% with 6% undecided or
backing someone else. This seat could likely
determine which party controls the Senate,
so please try to do all you can to support
one of our strong members and a top
candidate for U.S. Senate.
New York
House Seat (NY-27) – Nancy Naples (open
seat)
New York's
27th district, where Democrat Brian Higgins
and Republican Nancy Naples are locked in a
tight contest to replace retiring Rep. Jack
Quinn (R), may be the most even contest
in the country. Naples is the better
candidate, but the district strongly favors
Higgins. Neither candidate has established
much momentum in this must-win race for the
Democrats.
Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is scheduled
to host a second fundraiser for Higgins.
Clinton and Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.)
will headline an Oct. 26 fundraiser for
Higgins in Manhattan. The former first lady
already hosted a fundraiser for Higgins in
her Washington, D.C., home in late
September. The race between Higgins and Erie
County Comptroller Nancy Naples (R) is
considered one of the true tossups of the
cycle. This is an important seat to keep in
moderate hands and Nancy Naples will be a
strong RMSP member, so please try to provide
whatever support you can.
Pennsylvania House Seat (PA-13) – Melissa
Brown (open seat)
The 13th
District, where Republican eye surgeon
Melissa Brown and Democratic state Sen.
Allyson Y. Schwartz are slugging it out in
the nation's most competitive House race
between two women. The seat in Montgomery
County and northeast Philadelphia is being
vacated by Democratic Rep. Joe Hoeffel, who
is running for the U.S. Senate. The race
took a nasty turn in recent weeks, with
Brown calling Schwartz a "radical" and
Schwartz labeling Brown "sleazy." The
district has a slight Democratic advantage,
although national Republicans are spending
twice as much - $696,700 to $387,400 - than
national Democrats. This is an open seat
where we have an excellent chance to both
pick up a Democratic seat, and gain another
moderate Republican to make up for the loss
of Rep. Jim Greenwood. Please consider
doing all you can to help Melissa
Brown as we head into the final stages of
this campaign cycle.
Connecticut House Seat (CT-02) – Rob Simmons
(incumbent)
The
AP reports today that a new UConn poll
shows CT2 Rep. Rob Simmons (R) leading
challenger Jim Sullivan (D) 43%-34% with 23%
undecided. A similar poll in September
showed Simmons up 38%-34%. Simmons
represents a district where only 22 percent
of registered voters are Republican -
holding a seat that Democrats held for 20
years before his victory over former
Congressman Sam Gejdenson. MoveOn.Org's
political action committee endorsed Sullivan
last month and sent an e-mail to its 2
million members on Sept. 23 asking them to
donate money to Sullivan, whom they called
an anti-war antidote to Republican incumbent
Rob Simmons. In less than a week, members
from across the country donated more than
$80,000.
Please do
all you can for Rob.
Connecticut House Seat (CT-04) – Chris Shays
(incumbent)
A UConn
poll of 411 likely CT4 voters taken
10/11-10/15 shows Rep. Chris Shays (R)
leading Diane Farrell (D) 44%-37%. One of
the Democrats' best hopes for picking up
seats in the House is Connecticut's 4th
District race. Democratic challenger Diane
Farrell is making a strong challenge in the
4th District, trailing incumbent Congressman
Chris Shays by only 8 percentage points
entering the final three weeks of the
campaign. This seat is critical to having a
moderate Republican voice in New England,
please help Chris!
Pennsylvania House Seat (PA-15) – Charlie
Dent (open seat)
The 15th
District is the Lehigh Valley, where
Republican Rep. Pat Toomey is stepping down
after three terms. Republican state Sen.
Charlie Dent is running as the hometown
candidate against wealthy Democratic
businessman Joe Driscoll, who moved to the
district earlier this year. Dent, a moderate
Republican, is widely considered the
favorite, but the Driscoll campaign is
pointing to narrowing polls and a slight
fund-raising edge as signs of the Democrat's
momentum.
RMSP has
supported Dent and he is in good shape for
Nov. 2nd.
Melissa
K. Carlson
Communications Director
Republican Main Street Partnership
1350 I Street, NW,
Suite
560
Washington,
DC 20005
202.682.3139(w)
RMSP PAC is a political action committee
that supports Republican candidates who are
fiscally conservative and take a pragmatic,
common-sense approach to social issues. For
more information on RMSP PAC, visit
www.mainstreetpac.com
