06 State House Races

I was on jury duty the last two days which is why the posts were happening at the bookends of my days. During our breaks I was able to have a few hurried conversations. One was with Clint Zweifel who's heading up the House Democratic Campaign Committee. He's optimistic. Of course I'm naturally skeptical after having gone through this drill last cycle with Shoemyer and Johnson insisting that the Dems were going to take the House back.

Clint seems more realistic, less rhetoric-driven. Here's what he told me - HDCC targeting 10-15 races this time around, versus 25-30 last time. Hopes that the focus will translate into better batting average. They've been hitting their fundraising target - latest quarter about $100,000.

They've made three "structural" changes to HDCC that he thinks will improve its effectiveness over the long-term:

1. Decoupled the HDCC apparatus from the party's House leader. Because term limits mean that the leadership rotates relatively fast, this will allow more continuity.
2. Hired a national talent to head up the campaign. The job went to Ronny Richardson who was successful recently in North Carolina.
3. Trying to recruit for beyond 2006. That means more emphasis on small local races, like school board that will eventual culminate into higher offices. It also means thinking about 2008 and 2010 today.