Downballot Derby: Ga. Incumbents Survive
Despite what was thought to be some tough competition in a few races, five House incumbents from Georgia all cruised to victory over primary challengers on Tuesday.
The most notable race was that of Rep. John Lewis of the 5th district in Atlanta, who faced his first primary challenge in 16 years. Lewis, the civil rights leader who has been in Congress since 1987, had received criticism in his district for his initial support of Sen. Hillary Clinton instead of Barack Obama in the Democratic primary. Two younger black candidates -- Rev. Markel Hutchins and state Rep. "Able" Mable Thomas -- challenged Lewis in the primary, but Lewis won with about 70 percent of the vote. He is unopposed in the general election.
The other notable Democratic race was in the 12th district in Eastern Georgia, where Rep. John Barrow defeated state Sen. Regina Thomas with about three-quarters of the vote. As we wrote about earlier in this space, this race was significant because Obama endorsed and recorded a radio ad for Barrow, a white centrist Democrat, over the more liberal black challenger, Thomas, in a district that is 42 percent black. But Barrow, who won his 2006 race by less than 1000 votes, can't rest easy now – he now faces Republican John Stone, a former congressional aide who won the GOP primary.
On the Republican side, the most notable race was that of Rep. Paul Broun in the 10th district in northeast Georgia. Broun, who first won his seat in a special election last year, easily defeated state Rep. Barry Fleming, despite the fact that the challenger had much of the party establishment behind him. Broun is favored to win over Democrat Bobby Saxon in November.
In other Georgia races, Democrats Rep. Jim Marshall and Rep. David Scott also defeated primary challengers. And no Democrats got the needed 50 percent in a Democratic primary for the right to take on incumbent Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. So there now will be an Aug. 5 runoff election between DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones and former state lawmaker Jim Martin.
Alabama Primaries: Two open-seat districts had GOP primary runoffs on Tuesday. In the 5th district, Huntsville insurance executive Wayne Parker defeated Huntsville lawyer Cheryl Baswell Guthrie. In the 2nd district, state Rep. Jay Love defeated state Sen. Harri Anne Smith. Both winning Republicans now turn their attention to November for races that are shaping up to be completive against Democrats state Sen. Parker Griffith (in the 5th district) and Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright (in the 2nd district).
Minnesota Senate: The intrigue in the race this week has been whether former governor Jesse Ventura was going to jump into the race between incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and comedian Al Franken. Ventura, the former wrestler who served as governor as an independent from 1999 to 2003, had to declare by Tuesday to get in -- and he made his announcement on Monday night's Larry King Live on CNN. Despite weeks of hinting that he might run, Ventura instead said he decided against it, saying he did not want to subject his family from attacks from the media. He did leave the door slightly open on the show, however, saying his answer was contingent upon "assuming that God doesn't call" by the deadline. But the answer to that appears to be "no" as well -- the deadline has passed and Ventura is still not a candidate.
But nine new candidates did enter the race by that deadline. Most are minor candidates and Coleman and Franken are expected to win their primaries in September. But of particular note is Dean Barkley, who filed to run for the Independence Party nomination along with six other candidates. Barkley is an ex-adviser to Ventura who pushed for the former governor to run and said he wouldn't run if Ventura did. He is also running to regain the seat he held himself for brief time in 2002-2003 when Ventura appointed him to the job for the time between the late Sen. Paul Wellstone's death and when Coleman was sworn after his 2002 win.
Pennsylvania 11th District: The House Democrats' campaign arm has unleashed the first TV ad by either party in this year's battle for Congress, reports the Associated Press. The ad tries to connect Rep. Paul Kanjorski's Republican challenger Lou Barletta to President Bush's low approval ratings, and the president's image never leaves the screen during the 30-second ad. This early move by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is a key sign that this will be a heated battle in the weeks and months to come between the 12-term congressman and Barletta, the mayor of Hazleton, Pa., who has gained national attention for his tough stands against illegal immigrants.
Also of note, the AP reports that the DCCC has already reserved nearly $35 million in advertising for the fall campaign in 31 congressional contests across the country. The final decisions on where to spend can be made later, but this advance planning, including in 19 current Republican-held seats, is another indicator of how Democrats plan to be very active nationwide this year.