Vic Snyder: Most endangered House Democrat?
| Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) is one of the most endangered Democratic members of the House, with a new poll highlighting his perilous political situation.
The SurveyUSA poll, commissioned by the liberal blog Firedoglake, shows Snyder badly trailing Republican Tim Griffin by 17 points, 56 to 39 percent. President Obama sports dismal approval ratings with the Little Rock district, with only 33 percent approving and 63 percent disapproving.
It’s a change of fortune for the seven-term congressman, who didn’t even face any Republican opposition in 2008, his last election.
Snyder, despite representing a Republican-leaning seat, has lined up with his party’s leadership on most pivotal votes this year. Snyder, unlike many of his fellow Democrats in Republican-leaning districts, supported the Democratic health care legislation and has publicly defended it. He also voted for cap-and-trade energy bill that’s also proving to be unpopular back home.
The poll showed 79 percent of Ark. 2nd voters satisfied with the health care they receive and significant majorities opposing mandates that require individuals to purchase health care.
Snyder also is facing problems on the fundraising front, of his own making. He refuses to fundraise for reelection until February of the election year, and he ended last September with a virtually empty campaign account.
Griffin, a former U.S. attorney and political operative with former President George W. Bush, has been one of the Republicans’ more successful fundraisers and starts the year with more than $300,000 in the bank, according to a GOP operative. |