Democrats in key Senate states like Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois did a great job of attacking one another this week.
In Illinois, the DSCC thought it would be a great idea to endorse Rep. Tammy Duckworth for Senate before even interviewing other credible candidates, like Andrea Zopp, the former president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. Zopp took offense to the slight:
In a statement, Zopp said she was “saddened and shocked that the DSCC would issue an endorsement without even interviewing me” and accused the group of displaying “total insensitivity to Chicago, African-American women and the democratic process.”
Similarly in Ohio, where Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld is taking on Ted Strickland, formerly of the Center for American Progress, the Democratic Party’s chairman, David Pepper, said Sittenfeld is “making a bad decision.”
[I]n an interview with the Business Courier’s editorial board on Monday, Pepper, who’s been on the job for about six months, discussed the Senate primary extensively in response to questions, including his belief that Sittenfeld is making a mistake by staying in the race.
In Pennsylvania, powerful Philadelphia Democrat Rep. Bob Brady is continuing his campaign against Joe Sestak, who made news this week for running over several children at a Fourth of July parade in Delaware County.
The only problem is, many Democratic leaders, including Brady, are looking for something else. You might call it, ‘Anybody But Sestak.’
Party leaders have been desperately seeking someone to challenge Sestak in the primary.
Finally, in Florida, following Rep. Alan Grayson’s announcement that he will jump in the Democrat Senate primary in Florida, the DSCC completely ignored Grayson’s entry, instead focusing on their preferred candidate, Patrick Murphy. NBC’s Chuck Todd notes:
Make no mistake: Grayson’s entry is the second setback for Senate Democrats, after not getting Kay Hagan to run again in NC SEN. At the very least, Murphy and national Democrats are going to have to spend money on taking down Grayson …
In his defense, Grayson notes: “In the last cycle the DSCC lost every single open seat in the entire country except for one.”
Tough but fair.