DCCC spends $1 million in Texas

Special election (0.00 / 0)

You're right about the undue attention being given to other states, but this one was a special election for a runoff and was the only game in town after November's election; we beat a 7-term incumbent in Bonilla, and Rodriguez adds another hispanic face to our inclusive party.

Stender would have probably won with the level of financial commitment the DCC provided Rodriguez.  We absolutely must write letters and lobby the DCC in 2008 for a financial commitment to NJ House candidates, because we received very little support in 2006.  Stender certainly got the DCC's attention, though, with her strong showing and near victory.  Rich Sexton would have also made it even more competitive, if not outright win, in NJ-03 had he the same financial backing.

Interestingly enough, the TX Supreme Court ruled that this San Antonio district was changed unconstitutionally by the GOP in redistricting, so further hispanic areas were included in a new redistricting.

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by: Martin @ Fri Dec 15, 2006 at 13:54:11 PM UTC

It Was the US Supremes (0.00 / 0)

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by: huntsu @ Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 16:03:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Stender would have probably won with more money (0.00 / 0)

I absolutely agree that Stender would have probably won with even half level of financial commitment the DCC provided Rodriguez.  In 2008 the Dems will have more money and having Steny Hoyer as the Majority leader is another plus which can bode well for a successful Stender run.

I spoke briefly with Linda this past Thursday, she seemed very upbeat.

A number of the successes in the last election can be attributed to Howard Dean's 50 state strategy.The DNC sent 4 staffers to New Jersey, I'd like to see how well the new E.D. of the State committee, whoever that is, utilizes these folks.

Babs

"Discrimination caused by ignorance and fear is a tax on human progress" - Barbra Casbar Siperstein

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by: Babs NJSD @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 06:50:22 AM UTC

Re (4.00 / 1)

For Stender:

The DCCC spent $33,750 on coordinated expenditures and the NJ Dem State Committee spent $26,980.  The DCCC gave another $340 in in-kind contributions.

Ferguson raised $2,917,431 and spent $2,922,627.  Stender raised $1,929,565 and spent $1,893,712.

Before you go crazy on the DCCC for jumping into Tx-23 and not NJ-7, you have to understand why they went into Tx-23.

First - Tx-23 had been redrawn in 2003 specifically to get Ciro Rodriguez out of office.  The court-ordered redrawing meant that more of his old constituents would be in this election.  To the extent that voters vote for someone they know, Ciro was going to get support no one else could.  He'd also run a primary in this district and was well-known throughout it.

Second - Tx-23 extends over 550 miles from San Antonio to El Paso.  The district runs through parts of four media markets.  Yeah, media is cheaper out there, but when you start to add it all up, it's still big money.  How would you like your candidate to drive 500 miles and then run to a campaign event? 

Third - Having fought four elections in two years, Rodriguez was pretty broke.  There was simply no way to even compete without a massive cash infusion from the DCCC.  NO ONE in the country was looking at the run-off and no one was donating.  Rodriguez had a month to raise enough to fund another mini-campaign.

Fourth - the DCCC was running up to the election with $10 million in debt.  While they were looking at last minute ad buys for the Philly 'burbs, they had to cut people from their list in November.  The December election in Tx-23 gave them time to structure their debt and ensured there was no one else vying for DCCC funds.

If Stender runs again - and I surely hope she does - she should have no trouble getting better funding.  The key is to start early and run hard - like next month. 

The fact is that we (meaning the Democratic activist-voters in NJ) need to seriously organize and fundraise so we don't have to depend on outside sources to help our people compete.  I would have loved to see Stender win, but I understand that the decisions were made for good reasons.

XT

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by: Thurman Hart @ Sun Dec 17, 2006 at 19:40:42 PM UTC