Pombo Campaign One Of Ten Worst

Today, the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza published his list of the ten worst campaigns run by incumbents. Richard Pombo was number nine on the list, but only because it was alphabetical. Here’s the list:

• Sen. George Allen (R-VA)


• Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT)


• Rep. Chris Chocola (R-IN)


• Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL)


• Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN)


• Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT)


• Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ)


• Gov. Frank Murkowski (R-AK)


• Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA)


• Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC)

Specifically with regards to the Pombo campaign, Cillizza had this to say:

Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.): Pombo, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee [sic], has raised nearly $3.8 million for his race against Democrat Jerry McNerney (D). But according to Republican officials, Pombo has committed just $400,000 of that total for a television commercials. Spending roughly 10 percent of your budget on television is the exact reverse of how modern campaigns are typically run; most savvy strategists try to spend between 80 and 90 percent of the total campaign budget on television. Pombo has also taken an extended beating from environmental groups over the past year and it has taken its toll. Even though President Bush carried this district by nine points in 2004, Pombo is in a toss up race with five days left.

While Cillizza may have a point about the TV commercial spending, that’s just one of the many things the Pombo campaign is doing in exact reverse. Most political campaigns don’t send their candidate into virtual seclusion, refusing TV requests for interviews; most campaigns don’t have to pay “volunteers” to precinct walk. Such are the pitfalls of running a campaign for one of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress.

Tags: CA-11, Richard Pombo, Chris Cillizza, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, CREW, lies, ethics, corruption, Jerry McNerney