State by State

Arizona

State Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick was added Thursday to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) Red to Blue program, making her one of the few challengers with a contested primary to receive official national support.

The DCCC justified the unusual move by pointing to Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano’s (D) endorsement of Kirkpatrick two weeks ago.

{mosads}Kirkpatrick faces a crowded primary, which includes attorney Howard Shanker and former television reporter Mary Kim Titla. The primary is set for Sept. 2.

“Ann’s experience in city, county and state government and her commitment to promoting economic development, while protecting Arizona’s environment, will make her an effective voice for clean government and change,” DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) said in a statement.

The GOP front-runner for the seat is businesswoman Sydney Hay.

— Aaron Blake

Minnesota
 
Three Democratic members of the Minnesota congressional delegation are expressing concern over a sexually explicit column Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken wrote for Playboy in 2000.

Reps. Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison and Tim Walz all registered varying degrees of reservation with the column, which depicts a fictional trip to a sex institute and is titled “Porn-O-Rama!” The state GOP has repeatedly hit Franken over the column in recent weeks.

McCollum began the chorus of criticism, telling The Associated Press that the column was a “shocking surprise.”

“As a parent and an aunt, and talking to other parents, people are very concerned about the type of Internet use that’s out there, and how it has a potentially harmful effect on children,” McCollum said.
Ellison told the AP: “I have to ask myself, can I explain it to my 11-year-old daughter? I’d have considerable difficulty.” Walz told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the article was “pretty inappropriate.”

Franken, a former comedy writer and satirist, has seen the GOP parade a laundry list of his divisive and vulgar past statements aired during the Senate campaign. But late last week marked the first time prominent Minnesota Democrats questioned his actions.

Responding to the criticism on KSTP-TV, Franken noted that McCollum was a supporter of another candidate in the Senate race: attorney Mike Ciresi. Ciresi dropped out of the race in March, clearing the way for Franken.

“Politics is politics, but the delegates at the convention and the people around Minnesota — what they want to focus on are real issues that are facing us,” Franken said.

The situation comes at an inopportune time for Franken. The state party’s endorsing convention is scheduled for this weekend.

Franken assisted Walz on the campaign trail in 2006 during his victory over Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R).

— A.B.
 
Walz is polling far ahead of either of his potential GOP rivals, according to a poll released Friday by the Walz campaign.

The Benenson Strategy Group poll, conducted in mid-May, showed Walz leading with 60 percent of the vote compared to 20 percent for physician Brian Davis, and ahead of state Sen. Dick Day, 57 percent to 22 percent.

Davis won his party’s endorsement in March at the district convention, but Day is challenging him in the September primary.

 The district was a top GOP target due to its make-up, but neither Davis nor Day has raised large sums of money.

 — A.B.

New York

Staten Island Republicans have settled on their candidate for the race to replace Rep. Vito Fossella (R).

The GOP on Thursday night chose Frank Powers, whose name had not figured prominently in early discussions about potential candidates. The GOP previously saw Richmond County District Attorney Dan Donovan and state Sen. Andrew Lanza opt not to run.

Powers does fit the 2008 mold of GOP candidates, though, because he is wealthy and could potentially self-fund his candidacy.

Democrats last week selected New York City Councilman Mike McMahon, but 2006 nominee Stephen Harrison has said he will stay in the race and force a contested primary.

Fossella announced last month that he would retire following a DUI arrest and revelations about fathering a child from an extramarital affair.

— A.B.
 

Tennessee
 
For the second time this election cycle, the influential political action committee Emily’s List is taking on a Democratic incumbent.

The group, which backs female candidates who support abortion rights, on Friday announced its support for Democrat Nikki Tinker in her primary challenge to Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.).

Emily’s List helped Democrat Donna Edwards defeat Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.) in a February primary.

Cohen defeated a crowded field of Democrats in 2006 to win an open seat and become one of a very few white representatives from a majority-black district.

Cohen appears to be bolstered again by a crowded primary featuring several black candidates in addition to Tinker.

Tinker is a former campaign manager to Cohen’s predecessor, Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D). She finished second in 2006, six points behind Cohen’s 31 percent.

— A.B.
 
 
Virginia
 
State Republicans nominated former Gov. Jim Gilmore for their state’s open Senate seat on Saturday, but Gilmore’s narrow victory highlighted divisions within the party.

 Despite far outspending state Del. Robert Marshall, Gilmore defeated Marshall by less than 100 votes out of more than 10,000 cast at the state party convention. Marshall ran to Gilmore’s right, criticizing him for supporting abortion rights in the first eight weeks of pregnancy.

Gilmore’s victory sets up an uphill match-up with former Gov. Mark Warner (D), who has polled far ahead of Gilmore in early surveys on the race.

The seat became open when Sen. John Warner (R) announced his retirement last year.

— A.B.