Burning Murtha in fundraising, and burning through cash (Updated)

Trying to unseat Pennsylvania’s most entrenched congressman, the King of Pork, is an effective rallying cry.

That’s the lesson taken from Republican Bill Russell’s recent fundraising haul. In his second bid against Congressman John Murtha (D-12), Russell has been raising money at a frenetic pace. He’s brought in about $2.8 million since losing to Murtha in 2008, more than three times the amount raised by the nearly 36-year incumbent, who pHolding onto that money, though, is a different story. Russell has sent almost every dollar back out the door, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on direct mail and voter outreach, a href="http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00460048/447088/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://query.nictusa.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nictusa.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fdcdev%2Fforms%2FC00460048%2F447088%2F','according+to+campaign+finance+data')" target="_blank"according to campaign finance data/a. All signs point to a concerted effort to build a fundraising base that could eventually allow Russell to make money without spending so much of it—a tipping point he clearly has yet to reach. Despite his fundraising advantage, he finished the year with about $211,000 left in the bank—$177,00 less than Murtha had./p
pConsidering his skill as a fundraiser, observers could be excused for casting a skeptical eye at Murtha’s relatively small fourth-quarter haul. a href="http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00019075/446927/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://query.nictusa.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nictusa.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fdcdev%2Fforms%2FC00019075%2F446927%2F','He+raised+less+than+%24100%2C000+in+the+last+three+months+of+2009')" target="_blank">He raised less than $100,000 …

February 2, 2010 at 12:15 pm | Comments (3)

Republicans targeting 6 Pa. House members

A list of 70 Congressional incumbents being targeted next year by the National Republican Congressional Committee includes six from the Keystone State.

The list, first reported by …

August 3, 2009 at 12:41 pm | Comments (4)

Murtha’s latest opponent is from his own party

Congressman John Murtha (D-12) has yet another political opponent to face, nothing new for a man who finds himself embroiled in a lobbying scandal and consistently under fire from the right.

The twist: This time it’s a Democrat preparing to go up against the longtime incumbent.

The Post-Gazette reports that Navy veteran Ryan Bucchianeri p“I’m running for Congress to further my lifelong commitment to public service and responsibly address the unprecedented policy challenges we face today, here and abroad,” he told emThe Post-Gazette/em./p
pRepublican Bill Russell, who ran against Murtha last year, is already planning another campaign against him, and Washington County businessman Tim Burns has also said he’ll a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/04/a-primary-challenger-for-russell/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fa-primary-challenger-for-russell%2F','run+for+the+GOP+nomination')" target="_blank"run for the GOP nomination/a./p
pEven with Murtha under continued scrutiny, a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/04/even-under-scruity-few-see-murtha-as-vulnerable/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F04%2Feven-under-scruity-few-see-murtha-as-vulnerable%2F','Even+under+scrutiny%2C+few+see+Murtha+as+vulnerable')" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F04%2Feven-under-scruity-few-see-murtha-as-vulnerable%2F','few+consider+him+politically+vulnerable')" target="_blank"few consider him politically vulnerable/a in 2010. He is deeply entrenched in the district, and Republicans in recent years have mostly avoided putting up serious challengers against him./p
p“The problem is he’s done personal favors for just about every man, woman and child over the years, and that makes him tough to beat,” GOP political consultant Charlie Gerow said recently./p
p•Earlier on empa2010.com/em: a href="http://www.pa2010.com/2009/04/even-under-scruity-few-see-murtha-as-vulnerable/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F04%2Feven-under-scruity-few-see-murtha-as-vulnerable%2F','Even+under+scrutiny%2C+few+see+Murtha+as+vulnerable')" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2F2009%2F04%2Feven-under-scruity-few-see-murtha-as-vulnerable%2F','few+consider+him+politically+vulnerable')" target="_blank">Even under scrutiny, few see Murtha as vulnerable

May 28, 2009 at 8:36 am | Comments (0)

NRCC radio ad highlights Murtha’s airport

A new radio ad by the National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting House Democrats, in part, for their support of Congressman John Murtha’s (D-12) earmarked airport.

Murtha himself is not a target of the ad campaign.

Audio of the ad can be found …

May 13, 2009 at 7:44 am | Comments (0)

A primary challenger for Russell

If Republican Bill Russell wants …

April 29, 2009 at 9:59 am | Comments (0)

Another ‘Embattled Murtha’ story

The New York Times is up with a story about Congressman John Murtha’s (D-12) …

April 26, 2009 at 10:52 am | Comments (0)

Even under scruity, few see Murtha as vulnerable

With Congressman John Murtha (D-12) embroiled in a lobbying scandal, under fire from military groups and again facing the same challenger who opposed him last year, it’s easy to see the longtime incumbent as vulnerable in 2010. But with more than three decades of political entrenchment on his side, even many Republicans are hesitant to say his days are numbered.

“The problem is he’s done personal favors for just about every man, woman and child over the years, and that makes him tough to beat,” GOP political consultant Charlie Gerow said.

April 19, 2009 at 6:08 pm | Comments (0)