Dems advertising in several GOP Senate primaries
Democrats have their thumbs on Republican scales in
Senate primaries in Missouri and Wisconsin this summer, hoping to improve their
own chances of maintaining a majority in November.
The idea isn't quite as far-fetched as it might sound.
Two years ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's allies
invested heavily in an effort to help Sharron Angle win a contested GOP primary
in Nevada after deciding she would be the easiest Republican to defeat in the
fall. She won the nomination, but ultimately lost to Reid.
Now Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri is
running a series of television advertisements that strategists in both parties
say indicates a preference for Rep. Todd Akin over primary rivals John Brunner
and Sarah Steelman.
At the same time, Majority PAC, a group with ties to
Reid, has run television commercials selectively attacking Republican
contenders in Missouri and Wisconsin, where primaries are set for next month.
At first glance, each of the three ads run by McCaskill's
campaign appears to be an attack, one at each of her potential rivals.
Yet one calls Akin "too conservative" to be a
senator and says he once referred to President Barack Obama as a "complete
menace to our civilization" — characteristics that seem more likely to
appeal to Republican primary voters than to repulse them.
In a brief interview in the Capitol, McCaskill said she
decided to advertise before the primary because she has been attacked heavily
by Republican outside groups and didn't want to wait any longer before telling
voters "how extremist, how flawed" the GOP field is.
She sidestepped when asked if she has a preferred
opponent, saying they were "three of a kind, one and the same."
Republicans as well as some Democrats said the ad
relating to Akin was running more often than the others, and one GOP official,
citing detailed advertising information, said it was shown about five times for
each airing of the others.
McCaskill's campaign declined to discuss the issue,
except to say that all ads are airing statewide.
Democrats now hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate,
including the support of two independents. Republicans must gain four seats
this fall to be assured of winning control, although a pickup of three would be
sufficient if Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney defeats Obama.
Beginning with a Republican runoff Tuesday in Texas,
there are Senate primaries in 15 states through mid-September.
Most of the contested races involve Republicans, although
Democrats have a competitive primary in Hawaii on Aug. 11 between Rep. Mazie
Hirono and former Rep. Ed Case. The campaign is notable for the cross-party
endorsement Hirono recently received from Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska,
a rarity in a hyperpartisan political environment.
Former Gov. Linda Lingle is the Republican in the race.
Missouri and Wisconsin figure to be among the most
competitive Senate races this fall, and Republicans have unpredictable
multi-candidate primaries in both. McCaskill has trailed in many public polls
and has been hit with more than $8 million in attack ads so far by the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce and other Republican-aligned groups.
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