NRCC Names 6 New Young Guns
The NRCC will add 6 candidates to its “Young Gun” roster on Tuesday, bringing the total to 52 for the program so far this cycle.
This fifth round of “Young Guns,” provided to Hotline On Call, is primarily composed of candidates who emerged from recent primaries and represents some of the GOP’s top pickup opportunities this fall.
The candidates are state Rep. Sandy Adams (R) in FL-24, surgeon Dan Benishek (R) in MI-01, ret. Army Col. Chris Gibson (R) in NY-20, auto dealer Mike Kelly (R) in PA-03, funeral homes owner Steve Southerland in FL-02 (R) and ex-state Sen. Daniel Webster (R) in FL-08.
In FL-24, Adams will take take on Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D). Adams benefitted from GOP infighting in the primary between ex-Winter Park Commis. Karen Diebel and ex-Ruth’s Chris CEO Craig Miller. Notably, NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX) waded into that fight, defending Diebel from attacks on her character made by Miller in a last minute mailer. Sessions didn’t endorse any candidate in the primary, however.
Republicans view this district as a prime pick up opportunity, but Adams will have to step up her fundraising in a big way. She finished the primary with $115K CoH while Kosmas has $1.2M in her bank account.
Benishek is facing off against state Rep. Gary McDowell (D) for the seat vacated by retiring Rep. Bart Stupak (D) in MI-01. Both candidates have raised about the same amount and this district is about as swing as you can get: Pres. Obama carried the district with 50% and most prognosticators consider it a toss up.
If there’s a surprise on the list, it’s Gibson, who came out of nowhere to post an extremely strong second quarter fundraising haul. He represents the GOP’s top shot at avenging the special election loss last year when Kristin Gillilbrand (D) was appointed to the Senate. Gibson is at a CoH disadvantage to Rep. Scott Murphy (D), though, having $452K to Murphy’s $1.3M. A conservative American Action Forum poll released last week showed Murphy holding a 45% to 40% lead.
Kelly is another GOPer in a swing district. He is running against Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (D), who won her first term in ’08 by unseating 7-term GOP Rep. Phil English (R). Dahlkemper also has a cash advantage, with $1M in the bank to Kelly’s $103K, but Kelly may be able to self-fund. A recent polling by the American Action Forum showed Kelly leading Dahlkemper 52% to 38%.
FL-02 is another top opportunity for the GOP, and Southerland cruised through the GOP primary last week while Boyd eked out a tough primary victory from state Sen. Al Lawson (D). Southerland will benefit from the competitive Dem primary in this GOP-leaning district — John McCain (R-AZ) won 54% of the vote here in ’08. Southerland is at a CoH disadvantage, however, as Boyd emerged from the primary with $762K in his bank account while Southerland has just $85K.
Finally, Webster cruised to victory in the GOP primary last week in the race to take on liberal firebrand Alan Grayson (D). Grayson is a top target for Republicans — part because of his outlandish statements and part because his Orlando district leans Republican. Webster will have to raise money rapidly, however, as Grayson has been one of the Dems best fundraisers and has $1.36M in the bank.
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