DCCC Is A Day Late But Armed With Dollars

Well, I’d heard this story and was holding out for a more substantial announcement, but since Hank Shaw has posted it on his blog, here goes. It appears that the DCCC has finally decided to hop on the McNerney train, now that it’s pulled out of the station.

National Democrats are finally recognizing that Pleasanton wind energy consultant Jerry McNerney's campaign against Tracy Rep. Ricard Pombo is for real: They are polling in the district right now, and this survey will determine whether they're in for a penny, or in for a pound.

They're reportedly in for at least $100,000, however, according to several sources both here and in Washington DC. Should the D-Trip's polling show something similar to McNerney's survey (41% Pombo, 40% McNerney) you can bet they'll start slinging the cash the way the National Republican Campaign Committee already has been doing since late August.

According to Shaw, there are also rumors that either Al Gore or Bill Clinton may come out to campaign with McNerney in CA-11, and he also speculates about a return visit by President Bush.

It’s a fairly amazing thing to watch. The Pombo/McNerney race has turned into THE sexy race, certainly in California and possibly nationally. Part of this is because McNerney’s campaign has run a “tough and smart” (his new catch-phrase) race. But beyond that, from where I sit there are really two major factors that have brought us this far.

First, we have the outstanding work by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. Those of us who are local have long understood the impact of the Pombo In Their Pocket campaign throughout all of 2006, but the pundits in DC seem to have been blissfully unaware of the effect they are having in this race. From running TV and radio ads to staging earned media events to organizing massive canvassing efforts, their work has shown a bright light on Pombo’s abysmal record in Congress.

Second, and most important IMHO, are the grassroots supporters who have been at McNerney’s back all along. A year ago at this time, we were being told that the candidate who could bring in the DCCC backing/money was the only one who had a fighting chance of carrying CA-11. Well, the grassroots went up against the money machine, and now, to borrow from Markos, we’re crashing the gates. Folks, it's four and a half weeks to election day. Absentee ballots will be mailed early next week. We’ve come this far — let’s get out there and finish the job.

Tags: CA-11, Jerry McNerney, Richard Pombo, DCCC, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, Pombo In Their Pocket