It's true: DCCC to support Fawcett campaign
The rumor I blogged a few hours ago has been upgraded to fact. From a press release from Fawcett for Congress:
Jay Fawcett today announced that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has elevated the CD-5 race to its "Emerging Race" list - providing the Fawcett campaign with financial and strategic support during the run-up to Election Day."
It's hard to overstate the importance of this decision. The DCCC is stingy with its dollars. The fact that they're investing in a district the Democrats have not held since 1972 says volumes about the strength of the party, the mood of the voters, and the momentum of the Fawcett campaign.
I'll post the whole release in the comments.
Jay Fawcett today announced that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has elevated the CD-5 race to its "Emerging Race" list - providing the Fawcett campaign with financial and strategic support during the run-up to Election Day."
It's hard to overstate the importance of this decision. The DCCC is stingy with its dollars. The fact that they're investing in a district the Democrats have not held since 1972 says volumes about the strength of the party, the mood of the voters, and the momentum of the Fawcett campaign.
I'll post the whole release in the comments.
1 Comments:
A press release from Fawcett for Congress.
COLORADO SPRINGS – Tuesday, October 10, 2006 – With his race building support across the 5th Congressional District and garnering national interest, Jay Fawcett today announced that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has elevated the CD-5 race to its “Emerging Race” list – providing the Fawcett campaign with financial and strategic support during the run-up to Election Day.
“We welcome the support of the DCCC, and we will continue to reach out to all voters who want Congress to solve problems and get things done,” said Fawcett.
The Emerging Race list is made up of candidates who have taken traditionally non-competitive districts and, through the strength of their campaigns, put themselves in a position to win in November, according to the DCCC.
“With just 26 days to go, the DCCC is excited to give our top candidates the necessary strategic and financial boost they will need to win in November,” said Congressman Rahm Emanuel, Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Americans are looking for new leadership and a new direction and these Democratic candidates will put American families first when they get to Washington.”
The campaign committee’s backing comes on the heels of a landmark CD-5 poll showing that Fawcett is in a statistical dead heat with Republican opponent Doug Lamborn. The poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research for the Denver Post, is a strong indicator of a growing voter approval of Fawcett, a decorated military veteran – and a harbinger of trouble for Lamborn, whose extreme views and “sleazy” primary campaign have sparked criticism from fellow Republicans and others.
“In this election, people are voting for the person not the party,” said Fawcett.
The poll results are the latest repudiation of Lamborn, a state legislator with broad name recognition in a largely Republican district – but with critically weak voter favorability.
Last August, outgoing Republican Rep. Joel Hefley refused to endorse Lamborn, saying of Lamborn’s primary campaign, “I feel that he ran the most sleazy, dishonest campaign I’ve seen in a long, long time, and I can not support it.”
Since then, a growing number of prominent Republicans, including Colorado Springs City Councilmen Scott Hente and Jerry Heimlicher, and many others (see www.republicansforfawcett.com) have refused to support Lamborn, choosing instead to back Fawcett.
“Jay’s understanding of the issues and his pro-family, pro-America message ring true with voters, and they are uniting the 5th District,” said James.
The Denver Post poll, fielded Oct. 3-7, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. The poll shows that Fawcett holds a significant advantage among the district’s crucial unaffiliated voters – with 39% backing Fawcett, 27% for Lamborn and 34% undecided. While Lamborn enjoys much wider name recognition than Fawcett, his unfavorable name recognition is nearly four times higher, according to the poll.
The poll was conducted during the release of Fawcett’s television advertising – the first ever for a Democratic Congressional candidate in the district (See the Fawcett TV ad and other clips, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qhUZvGvqdQ)
It also reflects growing voter disgust over the failure of Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, a supporter of Lamborn’s, to take action to protect teenage pages in the U.S. House of Representatives after he had learned of a series of emails that former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) sent to a page. Hastert sent a letter of support to Lamborn just prior to the page scandal broke.
Fawcett’s campaign continues to draw growing interest from local and national observers.
* Under the headline, “5th District No Longer Safe for GOP,” Congressional Quarterly’s CQPolitics.com last week reported that “serious resentment” among Republicans continues to dog Republican candidate Doug Lamborn, making the CD-5 election a horse race.
* Previously, The National Journal’s widely-watched Hotline publication elevated the race to one of its top 50 House races to watch in its 2006 House Race Rankings. The CD-5 race is joined by two other Colorado Front Range Congressional races which are also being closely watched by Hotline – Colorado 07 and Colorado 04.
The full Denver Post article can be found at http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4468226.
About Jay Fawcett
Colorado Springs resident Jay Fawcett is a graduate, former professor, and a former headquarters’ squadron commander of the Air Force Academy. He was deployed in the first Gulf War serving in Desert Shield and the initial helicopter assault into Iraq during Desert Storm. Fawcett was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions. At Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, Jay served on the staff of the Deputy Commander for Operations of Air Combat Command. In 1998, after serving his country in combat and during the Cold War, Lt Col Fawcett retired from the Air Force and began working as a defense contractor including support of US Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base.
Fawcett’s broad appeal – his military background and small business experience – cuts across traditional political boundaries. He has been endorsed by individuals and organizations that represent the needs and wishes of the people of CD-5, including the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the former Supreme Allied Commander; The Retired Enlisted Association Senior Citizens League, VETPAC, organized labor and a number of leading Republicans in CD-5.
For more information on Jay and his campaign, visit http://www.fawcett4congress.com/.
Post a Comment
<< Home