May 24, 2008 - ON THE BATTLEFIELD: Grudge Matches

Five former House Republicans are trying to win back their seats from the Democrats who ousted them in 2006.

National Journal
by Richard E. Cohen

May 24, 2008

Did the 2006 Democratic tidal wave catch some innocent Republican victims in its tow? This November, five former House GOP members hope to prove that was the case. But the freshman Democrats who defeated them two years ago are confident that the rematches will have the same outcome.

 

"In 2006, my district voted against [then-Rep.] Melissa Hart, and not so much for me," said Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., one of the 30 Democrats who took a Republican-held seat. "In 2008, I will remind people of her record. And I will be happy to talk about what I have done."

Hart responded that her successor is ignoring the unique nature of the last election and the conservative leaning of their suburban Pittsburgh district.

"Altmire twisted my record, with the help of MoveOn.org, to try to remake me.... Now, people are learning that he took positions as a candidate and that he's gone in a different direction," she said. "Before, he was the box marked 'other.' He's running in a district that is socially conservative and fiscally moderate, and his votes have been wrong."

For House Republicans, these five rematches are among their best prospects to reclaim seats in November. "When you lose 30 seats and don't win any from the other side, that shows something bigger than individual campaign failures," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the National Republican Congressional Committee chairman. "Last time, we were the issue. Now, Democrats have cast votes, and they are running with a polarizing presidential candidate."

But Democratic strategists contend that Republican fortunes--and popularity--haven't improved during the last two years, as the GOP losses in three recent special elections have shown. "These retreads got fired last time because they put President Bush and the special interests ahead of their district," said Jennifer Crider, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Rematches involving defeated incumbents are relatively unusual in congressional politics. (More commonly, incumbents may face the same unsuccessful challenger from a previous election.) Given their histories and track records, the two candidates may have difficulty reshaping their public images--and privately, they may harbor considerable animosity toward each other.

The House currently has seven members who returned after losing their seats. But only Reps. David Price, D-N.C., and Baron Hill, D-Ind., won back their seats from the members who ousted them. The others either ran in a different district or sought an open seat after the incumbent departed. Five other House members voluntarily exited to seek another office and eventually returned.

Here is a look at this year's five congressional rematches...

Click here to read the complete story on all the rematches.  Story on Hart race continues below.

Hart says that her Democratic opponent's contention that she was too conservative during her three terms in the House was "wrong then and now," and she intends to make that point more effectively during this year's campaign than she did in 2006. She has highlighted Altmire's positions on higher taxes and gas prices in an area with a long history as an industrial base.

The prospect that Altmire will have a big fundraising edge does not worry Hart. "I have no illusions that incumbents raise more than challengers. But I have run before as a challenger." Still, she voiced unhappiness with the "heavy-handed" tactics of Democratic leaders who, she said, have used "absurd pressure and intimidation against people who have contributed to me in the past."

Altmire, for his part, complained that Hart has been "no holds barred and negative from the start." He cited her relatively weak fundraising and poll numbers to argue that her efforts have not gained traction. And he expects to benefit from the national political climate, even though Obama won only 35 percent of the local vote in the Pennsylvania primary. Altmire appeared with Obama at events but did not make an endorsement before the primary.

Altmire said he has heard through the political grapevine that he is no longer among the most vulnerable House Democrats from Pennsylvania. Republicans "will have to make difficult decisions," he said. "I may not be a high target." NRCC chief Cole, however, discounted such speculation. "I hope he continues to have that view," he said. "Anyone running against Melissa Hart who thinks he is safe may have another thing coming."

This article originally appeared at the following link:  http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/cs_20080524_9021.php