DCCC adds targets, launches program

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has added two
new seats to its Red to Blue program for challengers and open-seat
candidates.

In Florida’s 25th district, former Miami-Dade County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Garcia is going after the open seat left by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), who is running for his retiring brother’s seat in a neighboring district. And in Kansas’s 3rd district, retiring Rep. Dennis Moore’s (D-Kan.) wife, Stephene, is running for his seat.

{mosads}The DCCC is targeting 15 districts with the program, although more can be added. Of those 15, three are open seats currently held by Democrats.

“Stephene Moore and Joe Garcia have come out of the gate strong and built a lot of early excitement for their campaigns from voters across the political spectrum,” said DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.). “Red to Blue will give them the financial and structural edge they need to remain on the road to victory in November.”

The DCCC is also staffing up its independent expenditure (IE) program this cycle.

The committee announced Monday that political director Robby Mook will run its IE program, which is tasked with disbursing the committee’s money across the country.

Mook is in charge of independent expenditures in the Hawaii and Pennsylvania special elections. He ran Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-N.H.) successful 2008 campaign.

A well-regarded former DCCC executive director and a former IE director, John Lapp, will be a senior adviser to the IE program.

Incumbent Retention director Jennifer Pihlaja will take Mook’s spot as the committee’s new political director.

— A.B.

Massachusetts: Romney backs Perry in House primary

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) is backing state Rep. Jeff Perry in the GOP primary in Rep. Bill Delahunt’s (D-Mass.) district.

Delahunt’s retirement has led candidates to flood the race, including on the GOP side, where Perry faces a primary with former state Treasurer Joe Malone.

Romney chose Perry over Malone on Monday, citing their work together when Romney was governor in the mid-2000s.

“As governor, I worked closely with Jeff on initiatives to reduce spending, lower taxes and reform government,” Romney said. “He will be a strong conservative voice against the Washington culture of higher taxes, higher spending and higher debt. I am looking forward to the contributions he will make in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Romney’s political action committee is donating $2,500 to Perry’s campaign, with the funds being devoted to the primary.

— A.B.

Illinois: Embattled former Lt. Gov. candidate to run for governor as Independent

After being forced from the Illinois lieutenant governor’s race amid revelations of domestic abuse, Scott Lee Cohen is out for some revenge.

{mosads}Cohen will be running for governor as an Independent, he announced Monday. He will be pitted against Gov. Pat Quinn (D) and state Sen. Bill Brady (R).

Cohen won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor in February but was forced from that race shortly thereafter, when attention was drawn to his 2005 arrest. His girlfriend, a convicted prostitute, said Cohen held a knife to her throat.

Cohen has denied it and said he didn’t know she was a prostitute.

It’s hard to see Cohen getting much traction as a third-party candidate, but whatever votes he can muster will likely be at Quinn’s expense.

— A.B.

Kentucky: Grayson poll shows tie in Senate primary

Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson’s (R) Senate campaign released a poll showing his primary with ophthalmologist Rand Paul is a tie.

The Voter/Consumer Research poll shows each candidate at 40 percent, with 20 percent of voters undecided. Six hundred likely primary voters were surveyed on Wednesday and Thursday.

The poll does not include cross-tabs detailing either candidate’s strengths, and it did not include any of the minor candidates, who took a combined 6 percent in a recent SurveyUSA poll.

That Grayson needs to release a poll showing him tied with Paul, the son of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), shows that Grayson’s campaign feels the need to assure donors the race is competitive. Paul has shown a wide lead in other recent polling, and Grayson’s campaign is dealing with Dr. James Dobson switching his endorsement Monday, which he originally made last week, from Grayson to Paul.

Paul campaign manager David Adams said: “No one, at this point, expects anything but a big Rand Paul lead based on his support for balanced budgets, term limits, a pro-life and pro-family agenda and a strong national defense.”

The primary is May 18.

— A.B.

Louisiana: Sen. Vitter grows lead on Dem opponent Melancon

Sen. David Vitter’s (R-La.) lead on Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.) has grown to 18 points, according to a new Southern Media Research and Opinion Research poll.

The pollster last surveyed the race in October, when Vitter led 48-36. The lead, since then, has grown to 49-31.

Melancon has room to grow; he is still unknown to 41 percent of voters, compared to just 10 percent for Vitter. Vitter’s approval rating, though, is solid, at 54 percent positive and 36 percent negative.

The survey was conducted for Baton Rouge businessman Lane Grigsby, a Republican donor who has contributed to Vitter. Grigsby also paid for the last poll.

— A.B.