Courtney on List of Vulnerable House Members to Receive Aid
FRONTLINE
The New London Day
Renée Dudley
Washington News Service
15 February 2007
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15– Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) is on a list of Democratic House members who are already considered vulnerable in 2008 and are being tapped to receive extra fund raising and organizational help by a Democratic campaign organization trying to insure their re-election.
“Frontline” is a program devised by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) which aims to keep incumbent Democrats in their House seats. The committee has selected Courtney as well as nearly 30 other members of Congress, mostly freshmen, to participate in the program.
A spokesman from the DCCC, said the members were chosen for the program because they ran successful campaigns in 2006 despite coming from competitive districts and are likely to have competitive races again in 2008.
“Frontline’s success in the last cycle speaks for itself,” said a party spokesman. “By the fall of 2005, half the seats on the [2006 election] Frontline program were considered safe.”
The spokesman said that the program has been running since 2002. “All the candidates on the list know this is a competitive program,” he said.
The spokesman explained that the candidates are selected and interviewed by the campaign committee, but once they agree to be on the Frontline list, they are required to meet demanding fundraising goals.
“The candidates are chosen based on how competitive their races were, but they enter into this exclusive program of their own accord,” he said. In exchange, the DCCC provides them with fundraising and organizational support.
Another spokesman from the DCCC said that the organization has a significantly larger Frontline list this year than in previous election cycles because the Democrats won more seats in the last election, and therefore have more incumbents to support.
When asked if any of the members are offended at being tagged as vulnerable, the spokesman said: “Absolutely not, it’s just to show that there is strong support for them and that the party is backing these individuals.”
“The whole point is that the candidates know they’re in a vulnerable situation, we at the DCCC know, and the Republicans know,” he said, adding that members agree to be part of the Frontline program before the list is publicly released. “The point is to make sure they know they’re not alone.”
He added: “We’re preparing to back them up, but we don’t want the efforts to be one-sided. It gives us that warm feeling that both sides are working together for the same purpose to accomplish the same goal.”
Jennifer Crider, the committee’s communications director, said that the members are expected to raise between $600,000 and $1 million in campaign funds by the end of June.
Rep. Courtney was not available for comment, but Brian Farber, communications director for Courtney’s office, wrote in a statement: “Congressman Courtney appreciates the support that the Democratic Party has offered for the next election cycle.” He would not comment on the specifics of the program, such as fundraising requirements.
Chris Healy, managed the campaign of ex-Rep. Rob Simmons, whom Courtney defeated in November, and is now chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party. Healy said he was not surprised about Courtney’s appearance on the list.
“For someone who won by 83 votes in the most Democratic district in the country against a Republican, and your views are still outside the political mainstream, then you should be considered vulnerable,” Healy said in reference to Courtney’s defeat of Simmons. “He obviously has big shoes to fill and right now he’s barely filling a size six.”
He added: “In fairness to Joe, first-termers are always vulnerable. This is just a way for Democrats to gather support from special interest early so they can go out and protect their own. Nationally, the Democrats have been very effective in bundling money.”
Other House members from New England on the Frontline list include Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH). Over 80 percent of the members on the list are freshmen.
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