| Good news. CQ Politics has upgraded the Massa/ Kuhl race from"'No clear favorite"' to "Leans Democratic".
New York's 29th District (New Rating: Leans Democratic. Previous Rating: No Clear Favorite)
Massa, a Navy veteran and former Pentagon aide, is in a rematch challenge after making a striking debut as a candidate in the 2006 race, holding Kuhl to 51 percent and a 3 percentage-point margin - in what arguably is New York's strongest Republican district, in the state's Southern Tier, where Bush won 56 percent in 2004. And two separate polls in early October showed Massa, who essentially never stopped running, with a 7 percentage-point lead in the race.
Massa had topped Kuhl in total fundraising receipts - $1.8 million and $1.3 million - through Oct. 15, and had a slight lead in cash-on-hand through the same date ($234,000 to $209,000). Kuhl probably didn't help himself by making national news with comments suggesting that the Democrats want the American people to hurt economically so they can make gains at the polls.
Still, Republican strategists sees the race as salvageable, as evidenced by the NRCC's sizable independent expenditures in the district over the past month, including more than $200,000 for ads over the past week.
Bring it home, folks.
On the web: Eric Massa for Congress. |
