Dems, DCCC want to turn the 7th from "Red to Blue"

CQ Politics reports today on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC, the campaign arm of U.S. House Democrats) and its efforts to expand its majority in the House in 2008. They announced the 2008 version of its "Red to Blue" program, which specifically sends extra cash to Republican congressional Districts that the Dems want to take over. There were 30 such districts targeted in 2006, and here are the ten for 2008:

• New Jersey-03.  Rep. H. James Saxton (R) is retiring.
• Ohio-16. Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Canton) is retiring.
• California-04. Rep. John  Doolittle (R-Roseville) is retiring.
• Indiana-07. Seat is vacant due to death of Rep. Julia Carson (D-Indianapolis)
• Illinois-11. Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Morris) is retiring.
• Illinois-14. Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Aurora) is retiring.
• Louisiana-06. Rep. Richard Baker (R-Baton Rouge) is retiring.
• Ohio-15. Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Columbus) is retiring.
• New Jersey-07. Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-Warren Township) is retiring.
• Wyoming (At-Large). Rep. Barbara Cubin (R) is retiring.

That's right! The Dems have the 7th in their list of Districts they want to turn from "Red to Blue." Their defense is that it is a close district that they cannot afford to lose. CQ Politics provided the 2004 presidential baselines:

• NJ-03: Bush 51-48.
• OH-16: Bush 54-46.
• CA-04: Bush 61-37.
• IN-07: Kerry 58-41.
• IL-11: Bush 53-46.
• IL-14: Bush 55-44.
• LA-06: Bush 59-40.
• OH-15: Bush 50-49.
• NJ-07: Bush 53-46.
• WY-AL: Bush 69-29.

So why are the Dems sending extra money from a fund to win Republican congressional districts into a Democrat held district that John Kerry won by 17 points? If your read the CQ Politics article, the decisions were made based on the candidates recruited (ex. The Dem candidate in CA-04, Charlie Brown, only lost to Doolittle by 3 points in  2006). In other words, when looking at the slated candidate in the 7th, the DCCC felt Andre Carson needs a bit of extra help in order to keep the seat in Democrat hands.

Not exactly a sparkling endorsement less than a week into your first contested race...

Comments

[Joel]

Or...they are anticipating losing the special election...

[anonymous]

Oh, that fabulous organization DCCC, that should have "sleaze" as its middle name.