From Rob Portman:

Dear Friend,

I am truly humbled by your support for my campaign for the U.S. Senate.  As a close supporter I want you to be one of the first to hear about our campaign’s most recent success.

Today we announced our fundraising total of $3,178,476 for the first quarter 2009. This is an impressive achievement, especially given the tough economy we face here in Ohio and around the country. I am so grateful to you and so many others who are standing with me in this critical campaign.

During the first two months of the campaign we raised more than $1.7 million and transferred approximately $1.4 million from my Congressional campaign account, giving us a campaign war chest that exceeds $3 million.

This means that the Portman for Senate campaign has exceeded the amount Lt. Governor Lee Fisher raised from donors in the first quarter by over 50 percent and we have more than three times the amount of cash on hand. At this time, we cannot be certain what Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has raised but we expect an even greater advantage over her campaign.

Our support came from every region of Ohio, and more than 78 percent of our donors were Ohioans. As impressive as our fundraising efforts have been, I have been even more humbled by the many Ohioans who have stepped forward to volunteer in the effort.

Since we announced this campaign on January 14, we’ve received the endorsements of an overwhelming majority of Republican activists, elected officials and key party leaders.  From every corner of Ohio, thousands of you have come forward to join our campaign for a better future for our great state and country.

As I’ve travelled the state speaking at Lincoln Day Dinners and meeting with the working families and small business owners who are struggling in this economy, it is clear that Ohioans want a better way than the tax, spend and borrow policies of the Democrats in Congress.

We offer a positive alternative that focuses on job creation and economic growth; with your help we’re well on our way to having the resources to share that message in 2010.

Fundraising is an important barometer this early in a campaign. We could never have achieved this initial success without your hard work and the help of thousands of Ohioans. Thank you for all that you’ve done and will do for our campaign.

I look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail.

All best,

Rob Portman

Sometimes I forget just how expensive politics has become these days

At present, it looks like the ball is in Portman’s court, however it’s way to early to be confident in retaining that seat.

I am certain that Ohio will be a state where both the unions and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will be (probably already are) planning a full, well-funded, assault against Portman.

While $3mil+ this far out is a good sign for any campaign, he definitely has a long way to go.

]]> http://dcrepublican.com/2009/04/11/rob-portmans-war-chest-tops-3000000/feed/ 0 http://dcrepublican.com/2009/02/17/is-dodd-in-trouble-in-2010-he-should-be/ http://dcrepublican.com/2009/02/17/is-dodd-in-trouble-in-2010-he-should-be/#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:40:24 +0000 Jo Jensen http://dcrepublican.com/?p=736 The politico reports that:

Is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) really in trouble? At first glance, it’s hard to believe. Since his first election to the House in 1974, he’s won every campaign by double digits. He crushed his last two Senate opponents by landslide 2-to-1 ratios.

But reports about an alleged special mortgage deal from Countrywide Financial and criticism of his tenure as chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee appear to have dented his popularity, as reflected in a new Quinnipiac poll that suggests the five-term Democrat is highly vulnerable heading into his reelection next year.

A 51 percent majority of Connecticut voters said they “definitely” or “probably” won’t be voting for him, with only 42 percent saying they’d likely support him.

A 56 percent majority of Connecticut voters said they were less likely to vote for him because of the mortgage controversy. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they were not satisfied with Dodd’s explanation of allegations that he received preferential mortgage treatment.

If more voters disapprove than approve Senator Dodd, then the GOP may get the break they are looking for in Connecticut. Currently, Connecticut has a very popular republican governor, Jodi Rell, who won re-election in 2006 by over 60% of the vote. That’s good news considering all of Connecticut’s republican congressmen have lost their seats in the past four years – leaving five democratic US House Reps, one democratic Senator (Dodd) and one independent Senator (Lieberman). Rell on the ballot in 2010 will certainly help the Republican challenger to Dodd.

So who would this republican be? The politico speculates former Congressman Rob Simmons (CT-2).

“My consideration of running against Sen. Dodd is not poll-driven,” said Simmons, who criticized Dodd for losing touch with his constituents. “When I first ran for Congress in 1999, the Republican brand was way down in the toilet, and people said I was crazy to run when the GOP was out of favor — and I was able to beat a 20-year incumbent.”

I think it would be a good match, as Simmons has a strong defense record (he’s former CIA) and he saved the New London/Groton Sub base from closing. Not to mention he only lost re-election in 2006 by less than a hundred votes. When in Congress, Simmons hired both republicans and democrats to work for him and opposed Preside Bush’s privatization of Social Security reform. To find out more information about Simmons I recommend reading his exceprt in the book “Why I am a Reagan Conservative” titled “The Freedom to Do What Is Right.”