Campaign

State by state

by The Hill Staff - 10/10/07 7:24 PM ET

Arizona

Lobbyist and former congressional staffer Jim Ogsbury (R) announced that he raised $100,000 and loaned his campaign $250,000 in the third quarter for his race for freshman Rep. Harry Mitchell’s (D) 5th district seat.

Ogsbury is part of a very crowded primary field and sought to set himself apart with the substantial sum.

“My message of true conservative experience cutting wasteful government spending, eliminating outdated programs and slashing bureaucratic red tape is resonating with grassroots Republicans,” he said.

Other GOPers in the race or considering a run are state Rep. Mark Anderson, Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman, state Corporation Commissioner Jeff Hatch-Miller, former state legislator Laura Knaperek, Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) Chief of Staff Sean Noble and Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert.

— Aaron Blake

Illinois

State Sen. Chris Lauzen (R) made an unexpected $325,000 loan to his campaign in the third quarter, more than doubling the $210,000 he raised for his bid to replace retiring Rep. Dennis Hastert (R) in the 14th district, according to a campaign source.

In the primary, Lauzen is facing a wealthy self-funder in former Senate and gubernatorial candidate Jim Oberweis, who has contributed millions to each of three failed statewide bids in the last five years. Lauzen contributed $150,000 to his primary bid against another self-funder in the 1998 state comptroller’s race.

The GOPers aren’t the only self-funders in the race. Democrat Bill Foster has said he raised more than $400,000 in the third quarter — about half of which came from a personal loan.

— Aaron Blake

Indiana

Former Rep. Mike Sodrel (R) announced his candidacy in the 9th district race on Tuesday, setting the stage for a fourth straight showdown with Rep. Baron Hill (D).

Hill won the match-up in 2002 and 2006, while Sodrel won in 2004. Another close race is expected.

In announcing his bid, Sodrel said it isn’t a grudge match.

“America has a lot of problems facing us today,” he said. “I have spent most of my professional life anticipating problems or solving problems. This race isn’t about me or my opponent; it is about America. The future of our country and our children is at stake.”

— Aaron Blake

Michigan

State Sen. Mark Schauer (D) said Tuesday his campaign raised more than $220,000 since he entered the race to unseat Rep. Tim Walberg (R) about five weeks ago.

Schauer’s campaign said it has more than $195,000 cash on hand, and 94 percent of the third-quarter receipts came from Michigan residents.

Walberg won the seat in 2006 after the Washington-based anti-tax Club for Growth spent heavily to unseat centrist Rep. Joe Schwarz (R) in the primary. Walberg defeated previously unknown organic farmer Sharon Renier 50-46 in an unexpectedly close general election.

Renier is running in the Democratic primary again.

— Sam Youngman

Nebraska

Former Gov. Mike Johanns (R) will launch a statewide tour Wednesday after a formal announcement in Omaha that he is a candidate to succeed retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R).
Johanns will make similar statements in Lincoln and Beatrice, according to The Omaha World-Herald.

Johanns’s entry could set up a high-profile and expensive race against former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), who is mulling a run. Johanns signaled his intention to run last month by resigning as U.S. secretary of Agriculture after Hagel announced he would not seek a third term.

He must first survive what could be a difficult primary battle with state Attorney General Jon Bruning, who on Tuesday announced he had raised $225,000 in the third quarter. It was a $500,000 drop-off from his second-quarter haul, but it brings his total for the cycle to nearly $1 million.

Both parties are sharpening their knives for a possible Johanns-Kerrey fight. The Nebraska Republican Party’s home page is dedicated to an attack on “Cosmic Bob” Kerrey as being out of touch with Nebraskans. Kerrey is currently president of The New School in New York City, where he considered running for mayor in 2005.

Democrats in Washington, for their part, have criticized Johanns for abandoning farmers by leaving his post in the midst of debate over a new farm bill, an argument that could play well in rural Nebraska.

— Ian Swanson

New Mexico

Rep. Heather Wilson (R) announced this week that she has $754,000 in cash on hand for her intended bid to replace retiring Sen. Pete Domenici (R). Wilson said she raised $238,000 during the third quarter.

Close to 95 percent of her third-quarter contributions came from individuals living in her state, but that is likely to change as the race heats up. Washington-based interest groups and Republican and Democratic donors from around the country are likely to pour money into the race, which represents one of the best opportunities for Democrats to pick up a Republican Senate seat in a swing state.

New polling predicts a competitive contest. A SurveyUSA poll released Tuesday shows Wilson defeating Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez (D) by four points in a hypothetical Senate match-up. Chavez announced his candidacy on Tuesday.

The same poll, however, shows Wilson losing to Rep. Tom Udall (D), who has said he is not running, by 18 points. If Wilson squared off against her 2006 House opponent, former state Attorney General Patricia Madrid (D), voters would be split evenly, according to the new data.

— Alexander Bolton

Pennsylvania

Businessman Chris Hackett, a Republican running to unseat freshman Rep. Chris Carney (D) in the 10th district, has announced he has $245,000 in cash on hand, just as another GOPer entered the race.

Hackett formally launched his campaign in front of the Snyder County Courthouse on Tuesday morning, the same day businessman Dan Meuser (R) filed candidate papers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Carney had $13,700 in stockpiled cash at a similar point in the 2006 election cycle. He had about $450,000 on hand at the end of the second quarter this cycle.

“Pennsylvanians know that they are getting a bad deal from Washington,” Hackett said in a statement. “Liberal politicians are wasting too many of our tax dollars and not effectively securing our borders. They remain mired in partisan bickering. It’s time for a change.”

Meuser looks to run on his time in the corporate world.

“My business record is about setting and accomplishing goals for our employees and our customers,” Meuser said. “I plan for my political record to reflect a pattern of working with all levels of government and community leaders to get things done here at home.”

— Alexander Bolton

Virginia

Kevin O’Neill, a partner at D.C. lobbying firm Patton Boggs, confirmed he is mulling a bid for the seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R), but said he has not decided whether he will officially take the plunge.

O’Neill, who has been active in fundraising for Republicans for several years and is a lifelong Virginian, said he has been contacted by members of Congress and friends in the eastern Virginia district encouraging him to run. He said Tuesday he is taking the advice seriously.

“I’m flattered to have been asked and I think I do have some of the attributes that would make me a [good representative],” O’Neill said. “It would be a great honor to carry on her legacy.”

He said his decision will come within two weeks but added that should Davis’s husband, Chuck Davis, decide to run, many candidates likely will defer to him.

Rep. Davis died Oct. 6 after a long battle with breast cancer. Gov. Tim Kaine (D) said a special-election date will be set after her funeral on Thursday.

— Jackie Kucinich