Week of December 7, 2005
New EMILY's List candidates prepare to usher in congressional change
EMILY's List is launching the New Year with a new slate of dynamic women who will help Democrats regain control of Congress in 2006! Four of the five congressional candidates are running for Republican-held seats.
New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid will take on anti-choice GOP Rep. Heather Wilson in the first congressional district, based in Albuquerque. Madrid is widely viewed as the Democrats' recruiting coup of the cycle. The state's first woman attorney general, she has a solid record of aggressively prosecuting violent crime, particularly domestic violence. Wilson is facing her strongest-ever challenger in Madrid.
Democrats have a great opportunity in Colorado's seventh district, where Peggy Lamm is running for the seat currently held by GOP Rep. Bob Beauprez, who is running for governor. The Rothenberg Report calls this "a potential headache for Republicans -- and an excellent opportunity for Democrats" to pick up a Republican seat. While serving in the Colorado House, Lamm was named one of the Democrats' "rising stars" by the Denver Post.
Maryland state Sen. Paula Hollinger, a 26-year veteran of the legislature, leads the pack of Democrats vying to replace Rep. Ben Cardin, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Hollinger, a nurse who practiced before abortion was legal, is a fervent defender of a woman's right to choose. Her 4'9'' height belies her towering strength as one of the state's most effective lawmakers -- Hollinger is an accomplished legislator and skilled campaigner. She is popular among her state Senate colleagues, many of whom helped draft her to run for this safely Democratic open seat.
Former Brown County Executive Nancy Nusbaum is running for Wisconsin's open eighth district, a GOP seat that is ripe for a Democratic pick up. The likely Republican nominee is conservative state Assembly Speaker John Gard, who has been dubbed by some as the "Tom DeLay of Wisconsin." Nusbaum brings a wealth of experience to this campaign, including four terms as mayor of De Pere and two terms as Brown County executive. During her term as mayor, 1,821 new jobs were directly created due to her leadership. Along with providing jobs, Nusbaum, a fierce advocate for reducing debt and lowering taxes, helped to reduce the city's debt by $7 million and the tax rate by 29 percent.
EMILY's List candidate well-positioned to replace "Duke" Cunningham in upcoming special election
Francine Busby is leading the charge for Democrats to recapture the House in 2006 by seeking a GOP-held seat in San Diego, California.
An elected trustee of the Cardiff School District Board and past president of the Cardiff Education Foundation, Busby is running to replace Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who recently pleaded guilty to bribery, fraud and tax evasion, in California's 50th district. Busby mounted a spirited challenge to Cunningham in 2004 and has strong momentum heading into a 2006 special election. Already she's raised more money this cycle than she spent on her entire 2004 campaign.
Judging from a November Gallup Poll, which found that 46 percent of adults polled would prefer that Democrats control of Congress (only 34 percent said Republicans), a Busby victory in the special election could be a good omen for Democrats in 2006.
And voters in the 50th district could be in the mood for change, surmises Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post, after the Cunningham debacle and the resignation of San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy last spring amid scandal.
While Democrats, including EMILY's List and the DCCC, have coalesced behind Busby, Republicans are jockeying for position in a potentially crowded field. All await Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to pick a date for the special election, when candidates of all political parties are on the same ballot. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in the primary election, there is a runoff among the top vote-getters of each political party. Schwarzenegger is expected to schedule the special election four to six months from now.
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