Twenty Candidates Who Need Help

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National Review:

Twenty Candidates Who Need Help
For some GOP challengers, victory is just barely within reach.


In late July, my discussions with Republican strategists and conservatives who were closely watching the 2010 House races yielded a list of “The Underfunded 20”: GOP challengers who had favorable conditions such as a conservative-leaning district, or strong issues to run on, but who needed enough cash to ensure their chances of victory weren’t swept away by a deluge of negative ads.

Mid-September is a good time to revisit that list, salute a few candidates for improving their standing, remind folks of the ones who still need help, and spotlight another handful who could be on the verge of key victories.

Many campaigns will bristle at any analysis that suggests they don’t need additional funds, but there’s a lot of momentum behind Rick Crawford in Arkansas’s 1st district, Cory Gardner in Colorado’s 4th congressional district, Adam Kinzinger in Illinois’s 11th district, Randy Hultgren in Illinois’s 14th district, Lou Barletta in Pennsylvania’s 11th district, and Rob Hurt in Virginia’s 5th district. This isn’t to say all of these races are foregone conclusions or even easy GOP wins, but all have received good polling news in recent weeks and are sliding down the “needs help now” scale. A strategist closely watching the races in Illinois made the argument that Bobby Schilling’s surging bid against incumbent Phil Hare in that state’s 17th district — now classified a toss-up by most race-watchers — probably will come down to the district’s political environment and anger over high unemployment, rather than the spending race. (If you listen carefully, you can hear Schilling supporters cry, “Hit the donate button anyway!”)
Here are the 13 members of the original Underfunded 20 who still belong on a list of important GOP challengers who need every bit of help they can get:

[Stella]

This is a difficult year because so many people are having trouble meeting ends meet. As much as we would like to help everyone we have a limited election budget as do most people.

[AceRimmer]

This is a difficult year because so many people are having trouble meeting ends meet. As much as we would like to help everyone we have a limited election budget as do most people.

 

It is a tight squeeze. I've narrowed my budget to about three or four I can send a donation to, but I'm trying to focus on winnable candidates who need the cash as opposed to those who can afford to finance themselves. That's why I'm skipping Fiorina's race(though I'd love to see Boxer go down), and looking more at Sharon Angle in Nevada, Dino Rossi in WA, and though I don't think he really needs it, I'm going to wait for the October polls before contributing to Pat Toomey.

 

Christine O'Donnell needs to close that poll gap before I send her any money. I can't afford to just make an online contribution to somebody who is fighting a lost cause. Like Toomey, I'll wait a few weeks before making a decision. I think she can win, but I'm not throwing cash into a money hole without some indication she can pull it off.

[Stella]

This is a difficult year because so many people are having trouble meeting ends meet. As much as we would like to help everyone we have a limited election budget as do most people.

 

It is a tight squeeze. I've narrowed my budget to about three or four I can send a donation to, but I'm trying to focus on winnable candidates who need the cash as opposed to those who can afford to finance themselves. That's why I'm skipping Fiorina's race(though I'd love to see Boxer go down), and looking more at Sharon Angle in Nevada, Dino Rossi in WA, and though I don't think he really needs it, I'm going to wait for the October polls before contributing to Pat Toomey.

 

Christine O'Donnell needs to close that poll gap before I send her any money. I can't afford to just make an online contribution to somebody who is fighting a lost cause. Like Toomey, I'll wait a few weeks before making a decision. I think she can win, but I'm not throwing cash into a money hole without some indication she can pull it off.

 

That sounds like a good strategy. The House races are always difficult to know what to do unless you know the district.

[Valin]

NRO: The Corner:

For some GOP challengers, victory is just barely within reach.
Jim Geraghty
9/21/10

In late July, my discussions with Republican strategists and conservatives who were closely watching the 2010 House races yielded a list of “The Underfunded 20”: GOP challengers who had favorable conditions such as a conservative-leaning district, or strong issues to run on, but who needed enough cash to ensure their chances of victory weren’t swept away by a deluge of negative ads.

Mid-September is a good time to revisit that list, salute a few candidates for improving their standing, remind folks of the ones who still need help, and spotlight another handful who could be on the verge of key victories.

Many campaigns will bristle at any analysis that suggests they don’t need additional funds, but there’s a lot of momentum behind Rick Crawford in Arkansas’s 1st district, Cory Gardner in Colorado’s 4th congressional district, Adam Kinzinger in Illinois’s 11th district, Randy Hultgren in Illinois’s 14th district, Lou Barletta in Pennsylvania’s 11th district, and Rob Hurt in Virginia’s 5th district. This isn’t to say all of these races are foregone conclusions or even easy GOP wins, but all have received good polling news in recent weeks and are sliding down the “needs help now” scale. A strategist closely watching the races in Illinois made the argument that Bobby Schilling’s surging bid against incumbent Phil Hare in that state’s 17th district — now classified a toss-up by most race-watchers — probably will come down to the district’s political environment and anger over high unemployment, rather than the spending race. (If you listen carefully, you can hear Schilling supporters cry, “Hit the donate button anyway!”)

(Snip)