by brownsox [courtesy of Daily Kos]

Jim Ogonowski in Massachusetts was one of the top NRSC recruits for this cycle. An Air Force veteran and brother of one of the pilots who died in the 9/11 tragedy, Ogonowski lost a surprisingly close election for the U.S. House in 2007 to Democrat Niki Tsongas.

Ogonowski's six-point loss to Tsongas, whose husband was the beloved former Congressman and Senator Paul Tsongas, led the NRSC to believe that Ogonowski might just be the man to take down another Massachusetts institution, 2004 presidential nominee John Kerry.

Now, defeating 24-year incumbents who were very nearly elected President of the United States on their overwhelmingly Democratic home turf is never easy. But so feeble is the Republican condition these days that Ogonowski was heralded as a recruiting heist.

NRSC chairman John Ensign raved about his new would-be golden boy, in the absence of anybody else to rave about:

"We have a tremendous person running in Massachusetts. Ogonowski, if you don’t know him I encourage you to get to know him. He is exactly the type of person, that a grassroots campaign can carry to victory, he is very infectious, he has a great story to tell, he is literally a dark horse, it’s a blue state, Kerry has a lot of money, if Ogonowski can get resources, we really think that he can be a very serious candidate, he can come across the finish line in November of this year..."

And what was the return on the NRSC's investment in their new phenom?

Pathetic fundraising.

by brownsox [courtesy of Daily Kos]

NE-Sen: Scott Kleeb now sports an endorsement from the Lincoln, NE Journal-Star. mcjoan has more on Kleeb, who is opposed by millionaire Republican-turned-Democrat Tony Raimondo in the Democratic primary. Raimondo rather cynically switched parties last year, figuring it was his best opportunity to buy a U.S. Senate seat, and he seems intent on doing just that, having dumped $450,000 of his own money into this race.

We're looking to raise $20,000 via 450 donors for Scott Kleeb, by the end of the day Friday. Contribute here!

MA-Sen, MA-05: Having lost a 2007 special election by a relatively narrow six-point margin to current Rep. Niki Tsongas, Republican Jim Ogonowski is making everyone's lives easier by waging a quixotic U.S. Senate run against John Kerry, rather than try again at the 5th District seat.

As a result, everyone is safe. Tsongas' only Republican challenger dropped out of the race, and Kerry is slaughtering Ogonowski, who can't raise enough to be a viable Senate candidate, in all polling so far. Kerry isn't even all that popular, considering how blue Massachusetts is, but the MA GOP is so pathetic that it's tough to imagine them waging a decent Senate challenge anytime soon. They haven't, since 1996.