DCCC Sinking Fast in Yet Another Pennsylvania Race
This week we’re going to highlight the struggles of another top recruit in Pennsylvania – Kevin Strouse. According to the Philadelphia Jewish Voice, provided below, Strouse has had several problems lately:
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Strouse’s name was not on the DCCC’s Red to Blue list and they are not actively helping him with fundraising;
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Strouse had to scramble to get enough signatures to be on the ballot because he listed his “future home in the district, which he is purchasing but in which he does not yet reside.” Remember Strouse just moved there from D.C. last year – this isn’t going to help him in his efforts to erase doubts about his lack of connections to Bucks County.
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Strouse has refused to take stances on issues and has refused to engage in debates unless they are closed to the public, the media and were not filmed.
NRCC Comment: “Kevin Strouse’s candidacy for Congress is as much a joke now as it was when he moved from Washington D.C. to Bucks County to run on the Nancy Pelosi-agenda. Strouse won’t talk issues, won’t debate in public, and now his campaign is such a mess that he can’t even get the DCCC to return his phone calls.” – NRCC Spokesman Ian Prior
Why Did DCCC Endorsement Slip Away From Kevin Strouse? |
| Former Army Ranger Kevin Strouse was named last May as the The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) “jumpstart candidate” to take on Republican incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick in PA-8.
However, this month his name was absent from the DCCC biennial Red to Blue program highlighting the congressional districts they hope to pick up and naming the candidates they have recruited. Strouse’s campaign manager, Brendan Fitzpatrick was dismissive of the importance of being dropped from the DCCC list. He said to the Philadelphia Jewish Voice that while the DCCC is not raising money for their campaign, they still “got a lot of support” in other ways. He suggested that staying on the list was an intricate process, and the campaign had concentrated instead onobtaining the signatures required to get on the ballot. It appears that the campaign needed to scramble to get sufficient signatures on time, since for most of the nomination period the Strouse campaign had circulated invalid petitions listing the address of Strouse’s future home in the district, which he is purchasing but in which he does not yet reside. More after the jump. |
| Publisher :: Why Did DCCC Endorsement Slip Away From Kevin Strouse? |
| Shaughnessy Naughton’s campaign manager, Josh Morrow, lamented Strouse’s unwillingness to engage with voters in the district on the issues.
Naughton has offered to debate Strouse, but until recently he has been only willing to meet her at two forums under rules that not only forbid video and audio recordings, but also were closed to the press and to the general voting public. The only people who were permitted to attend were the Democratic Committee members. Naughton’s campaign staff said that she and Strouse have agreed on a debate next month. One of the criteria by which the DCCC judges the viability of a candidate is their ability of fundraising, through their connections and local appeal. The DCCC can help in fundraising, but it does not want to be “carrying all the water” for a candidate. On April 15, all congressional candidates will report their first quarter figures. Perhaps those figures will shed light on why the DCCC has retreated from its support of Strouse. Brendan Fitzpatrick expressed his hope that the DCCC would endorse Strouse’s campaign when the list is updated in May. Meanwhile, Josh Morrow summarized the state of the race in his interview with Politics PA: The only way to beat [Fitzpatrick] and put us back on the path to prosperity for the middle class is with a candidate who knows this district as well as he does, who understands the issues that Bucks and Montgomery County residents face, and who presents a real contrast on the issues… Only one candidate in this race has said we should never allow fracking in the Delaware River Basin and only one candidate in this race has articulated a plan to save social security. That candidate is Shaughnessy Naughton. |
