July 10, 2006
House Race Hotline Update: In Their Interest...
Reps. Rob Simmons (R-CT 02), Chris Shays (R-CT 04) and Nancy Johnson (R-CT 05) have all won their Dem-leaning seats by chipping off parts of the Dem coalition. But given the poor national environment for GOPers, their Dem challengers looked well-positioned to knock them off this cycle.
-- Yet the GOP incumbents have still managed to secure endorsements from liberal interest groups. Planned Parenthood endorsed both Simmons and Johnson. The League of Conservation Voters is backing Shays and Johnson.
-- And labor is trending towards the CT GOPers. Simmons only raised $8K from labor PACs in his '02 run against Joe Courtney (D). In this year's rematch he's already raised $96K, outdistancing Courtney. And so far, Shays has raised comparable amounts from unions as his Dem opponent Diane Farrell.
-- This illustrates the power of incumbency. Despite these groups' strong disagreements with the GOP, they're still backing the individual members who voted with them. Will that be enough to inoculate the incumbents from a sour national mood? [JOSH KRAUSHAAR]
Posted at 09:20 AM
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