by andrewalker08 [courtesy of MyDD]

Interesting debate bumped, jerome

On the front page of MyDD today, there are some who are touting the win of Scott Kleeb over Tony Raimondo in the Nebraska Democratic U.S. Senate primary [Source:  5/13/2008 MyDD blog "Scott Kleeb Wins Nebraska Democratic Senate Primary!"].

Let me begin by congratulating Scott Kleeb on becoming the Democratic Party of Nebraska's U.S. Senate nominee.  I wish him much luck in November.

Now, look at the vote totals for that primary...

...In the U.S. Senate race, more than 90,000 people participated in that Democratic primary.  Just to put that number into perspective, in the February 9th Nebraska Democratic Presidential Caucuses, less than half of the people (38,571) who voted in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary participated in the caucuses [Source:  2/10/2008 Nebraska Democratic Party 2008 Presidential Caucus Results].

To put things into further perspective, if Nebraska had held a primary instead of a caucus to choose its national convention delegates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would have been virtually tied.  Below are the results of Nebraska's Democratic Presidential Preference Primary:

Democrat - President  

Hillary Clinton - 43,614 or 47%
Mike Gravel -  3,864 or 4%
Barack Obama 46,279 or 49%

Source:  5/13/2008 Unofficial Nebraska Presidential Preference Primary Results

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by brownsox [courtesy of Daily Kos]

Obviously, the biggest news today is the special election in MS-01, which we will be liveblogging tonight.

Senate Races

OR-Sen: It's Dueling Poll Day, as a Portland Tribune/FOX poll shows Steve Novick leading Jeff Merkley, 29% to 23%, in the Democratic primary...while the ever-reliable SUSA has Merkley topping Novick, 31% to 27%. With the primary a week away, things are getting very exciting in Oregon. The best news is that polling shows both candidates to be competitive against incumbent Gordon Smith.

TX-Sen: Kossack clammyc has interviewed Democratic candidate (and Blue Majority candidate) Rick Noriega for BlogTalkRadio, as part of their excellent series of interviews with Democratic candidates. Check out clammyc's diary for context and links to the interview.

KY-Sen: Polling indicates that Mitch "France is the F-Word" McConnell may in fact be somewhat vulnerable against Democrats Greg Fischer and Bruce Lunsford this fall. He has twelve point leads over both men (48-36 over Lunsford, 47-35 over Fischer), and in both cases fails to garner 50%.

MI-Sen: Meanwhile, Rasmussen indicates that Michigan Democrat Carl Levin is safe. This will surprise no one.

by Todd Beeton [courtesy of MyDD]

In addition to West Virginia's presidential primary, there will also be two high-stakes elections tomorrow that we'll be following closely.

• NE-Sen The first is the Nebraska Democratic primary for senate. Voters will be choosing between netroots allstar Scott Kleeb, who made a name for himself in 2006 during his impressive run for the 3rd district congressional seat, and life-long Republican businessman Tony Raimondo who switched parties just to run for the senate. The choice is clear. Not only is Kleeb a champion of the netroots, but he is a proud Democrat in reddest of red Nebraska.

  New Nebraska Network has a rundown on the distinctions Kleeb is drawing between himself and Raimondo.

  This  editorial from the Lincoln Journal Star calls it a horserace -- it could go any way tomorrow, so go HERE to phonebank for Scott to get the vote out for him tomorrow.

  Also, here's Scott's final ad of the primary:


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by brownsox [courtesy of Daily Kos]

NE-Sen: Congratulations to the dKos community for rising to the challenge, and raising well over $20,000 for Scott Kleeb last week. You did a remarkable job, and hopefully we'll see the fruits of your labor on primary day.

Here's Kleeb's last ad as he heads into his primary against self-funding opportunist Tony Raimondo:

NC-Sen: Public Pollicy Polling is now the third pollster in a row to show a tight race in North Carolina. PPP's latest has Sen. Elizabeth Dole leading Democrat Kay Hagan by just five points, 48-43. This is on the heels of a Rasmussen poll which showed Hagan leading by a point, 48-47, and a Research 2000 poll for Daily Kos which had Dole leading 47-41.

Hagan has looked very good over the past month or so; her paid media blitz vaulted her not only to an impressive victory in the Democratic primary, but has apparently made her a serious contender to win a U.S. Senate seat in a red state, over a Republican incumbent senator who was once touted as a potential presidential candidate.

by mcjoan [courtesy of Daily Kos]

Excellent work making our monetary goal. But I still want to get us over the 450 donations hump. We need 450 donations--one for every $1,000 of his own money Raimondo has put into this race.

Now part of this is personal. See, Tony Raimondo, Scott's DINO (and I really mean DINO--he changed his party registration specifically to run in this primary) is on the board of trustees for the National Association of Manufacturers. This organization, for no immediately apparent reason, has been committed to making sure AT&T and the other telcos get amnesty for their lawbreaking.

And the NAM has this blog that they call the "Shop Floor." (Stay with me here.) So on this blog, in support of the lawbreaking telcos, they've said some not so nice things about the bloggers (specifically me) working on the side of the Constitution. I admit it, I'm not above seeking revenge.

Reject the NAM, reject the corporate hijacking of our public policy. Do it with $5 or $10 to Scott. Show them what people power can do.

On the Web:
Kleeb for Senate
Daily Kos for Scott Kleeb ActBlue page

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.

by mcjoan [courtesy of Daily Kos]

Scott Kleeb made a great impression with the Lincoln Journal Star editorial board:

Nebraska Democrats should choose Scott Kleeb as their nominee for the U.S. Senate race.

Kleeb offers an appealing blend of intelligence, drive to get things done and thoughtfulness on the issues....

The other major contender for the Democratic nomination is Columbus industrialist Tony Raimondo, who recently changed his political registration from Republican. Raimondo also is a strong candidate who has a track record of creating jobs. Raimondo would be especially effective on business and economic issues.

Kleeb, however, has the ability to inspire. Smart, focused and talented, he has great growth potential. The Journal Star editorial board believes Kleeb is best suited to carry the Democratic banner in the general election race for the U.S. Senate.

Anybody who had the opportunity to meet Scott in Chicago at the Yearly Kos convention last summer will recognize the man the Journal Star editors describe. He would be an asset to Nebraska, to the party, and to the nation in the Senate.

The primary is next Tuesday. You can help send a real Democrat to the Senate.

by mcjoan [courtesy of Daily Kos]

We're over half of the way to our goal of raising $20,000 this week for Kleeb's campaign to win the Democratic nomination for Nebraska's open Senate seat.

The primary is next Tuesday, and his opponent, Tony Raimondo has opened up his seemingly bottomless checkbook,  loaning his own campaign $450,000. We're trying to help Scott contend with his opponent's personal weatch through people-power: $20,000 or 450 donations (one for every $1,000 of Raimondo's money), whichever comes first. (Though both would be pretty cool.)

Contribute if you can. Help help send a real Democrat to the Senate, and send the message that people power can compete with big money.

On the Web:
Kleeb for Senate
Daily Kos for Scott Kleeb ActBlue page

by mcjoan [courtesy of Daily Kos]

Poor fundraising numbers won't deter a rich Republican like Tony Raimondo from trying to hoodwink Nebraska's Democrats in next week's primary. He's the former Republican and buddy of Bush (who nearly got the appointment of Manufacturing Czar in this adminstration) who decided it'd be easier to buy the Senate seat being vacated by Hagel as a Democrat than a Republican. So that's what he's doing.

U.S. Senate contender Tony Raimondo is well on his way to becoming the half-million-dollar man.  The Columbus, Neb., chairman of Behlen Manufacturing Co. has pumped $450,000 of his own money into his campaign.

That means about 82 percent of Raimondo's total campaign funds have come from his wallet, based on disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission....

[Scott] Kleeb, a teacher at Hastings College, had raised about $364,000 from 1,500 donors through April 23, said Joe Zepecki, a campaign spokesman. Raimondo had raised about $552,000 as of that date. Of that amount, about $102,000 came from individual donors.

"I think this shows there is a very, very stark contrast between a guy who's giving $450,000 to himself and a guy who has 1,500 people willing to contribute," Zepecki said.

Raimondo is going to throw a big chunk of his own personal fortune--and now that he's invoked the Millionaire's amendment, a big chunk of the personal fortunes of a lot of his Republican buddies--into buying this seat.