Right on cue, CQ Politics reports about the MN-01 race in GOP Crowd Forming for Shot at Freshman Walz in Minnesota 1. Here's the New York Times/CQ Politics version.
It seems as if the Minnesota GOP is going use the same unsuccessful playbook from 2006: labeling Walz a liberal and repeating this mantra over and over and over again. CQPolitics notes that Day and Demmer have "A" ratings from the NRA, but fails to note that Walz, too, received an "A" from the same organization on his candidate questionnaire in 2006.
Republican candidate fundraising has been lackluster as well:
But none of the GOP has of yet struck gold in the fundraising arena.
Through March 31, Day had raised $22,000 and had $11,000 in cash, according to his filing with the FEC. Of that money, $7,000 came from the candidate himself.
Meyer reported raising $6,450 during the first quarter, ending with $5,600 in cash on hand.
Demmer, who established himself as a candidate April 9, after the March 31 cutoff for the first-quarter campaign finance reports, has not yet filed any fundraising numbers.
Facing sure competition from Republicans, Walz had raised $187,000 and had $156,000 on April 1, his FEC filings indicate.
Andy O’Leary, executive director of the state Democratic Party, said retaining Walz was a top goal in 2008. That task would be made easier, he said, by Walz’s “fabulous first four months in Congress” during which the congressman established himself as a leading voice against the war, for veterans rights, and on transportation and agricultural issues.
“His voice and expertise, we are confident, will be returned in November 2008,” he said.
Walz “is focused on still learning his new job and on accomplishing some of the things he promised he would work on during the campaign,” said Meredith Salsbery, the spokeswoman for the congressman.
With three candidates in the race and others rumored to be considering it, Salsbery said the incumbent’s campaign would “kind of wait and see how things shake out.”
So which of three candidates is NRCC chair Representative Tom Cole so enthusiastic about, as per the WaPo article? Mark Meyer, the social moderate, or self-styled conservatives Day and Demmer?
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