Congressional Quarterly has the story:
As the latest entrant to the GOP field to challenge first-term Democratic Rep. Harry E. Mitchell , former Arizona legislator and Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert argues that 2008 will be an obvious chance for his party to regain the Republican-leaning 5th District, and that he’s the strong candidate to do so.Mitchell is another of the Democratic 'majority makers' -- one that analyst Stu Rothenberg puts in the 'opportunity that will not fall easily' catergory. Charlie Cook calls it a district that 'leans Democratic,' which is pretty much the worst rating an incumbent can get from Cook, until the challenger is leading in money and polls just a few months from election day.
Schweikert said longstanding political presence in the area — beginning with his first run for the state Legislature at the age of 26 in 1988 — have helped cement his ties in the district. “I’ve been really lucky but I’ve also been in literally this same area for 20 years in politics. .... I have gained a certain benefit by being a known commodity and that’s helped,” he said.
Sean McCaffrey, executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, said there were now “three very positive, very forward-thinking candidates who have big dreams about what could happen” in Schweikert, lobbyist and former congressional aide Jim Ogsbury, and former state legislator Laura Knaperek.
Mitchell's district has a Republican tilt. If in a presidential year, the state returns to its GOP roots, Mitchell is likely to find himself in a real race.
Just another demonstration that the seats are there for the GOP to retake the House in 2008.
I think it's going to be a great shock when the media at large discovers this in August or September.
3 comments:
There are 3 other strong candidates that will be announcing for the race in January. State Representative Mark Anderson, Corporation Commissioner Jeff Hatchmiller, and lobbyist Susan Bitter-Smith.
If you know about the race and would be interested in giving a quick summary of how it might play out and who the best candidate is, I'll post it.
Brian
I just read that The Club for Growth, a pro-growth and anti-tax group has endorsed Schweikert recently. This group is well known for getting invovled in congressional races and has the ability to throw a large amount of money into a race. Right now, I say advantage goes to Schweikert given this recent information.
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