Dems Lose Kansas Recruit

From Hotline: “For the second time in a week, a strong Dem candidate against an incumbent GOPer has ended their campaign. State Sen. Laura Kelly (D) said Thursday she would end her bid against Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), citing a previous commitment to serve out her term at the state capitol. The move leaves Dems without a major candidate against the freshman Jenkins. Dems have seen a string of key recruits drop their bids in recent weeks. A week ago, businessman Jack McDonald (D), who had raised good money in his bid against Rep. Michael McCaul (R-tX), ended his campaign. In their efforts to avoid an electoral sweep on par with ’94, Dems have touted their success in keeping some GOPers on defense — something the party failed to do 16 years ago. The DCCC cited both Kelly and McDonald as prominent challengers in a recent memo. Meanwhile, Dems have also lost candidates running against Reps. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) and Brian Bilbray (R-CA), as well as a leading contender for Rep. Zach Wamp’s (R-TN) open seat. …”