Posted on 09/23/2006 8:09:18 AM PDT by SandRat
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole spent Friday morning in Tucson, rallying support for fellow Republican Sen. Jon Kyl in his bid for re-election.
Dole headlined an entourage of female U.S. senators at the Arizona Inn, pledging their support for Kyl in his race against Democratic challenger Jim Pederson.
"Sen. Kyl is a proven leader on important issues such as homeland security, victims' rights, immigration and health-care reform," she told about 150 supporters.
Dole, of North Carolina, was joined by Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Hutchison and Collins offered similar comments, each focusing on Kyl's record on cutting taxes and supporting victims' rights.
Outside of introducing each of the senators, Kyl made few remarks, instead letting the others vouch for his record.
The rally and attention from Dole reflected the tightening race between Kyl and Pederson, who had been in Tucson Wednesday for a town hall meeting on homeland security spending.
Polls have shown Pederson closing to within 10 points of Kyl, and the two have been swapping attack ads against each other. Earlier in the week, each candidate attempted ¡ª inaccurately ¡ª to characterize the other as supporting amnesty for illegal entrants.
Not surprisingly, such intense attacks were brought up at the rally.
"The opponent (Pederson) has a lot of money and is distorting the record in many ways," Hutchison said. Although Pederson has poured millions of dollars of his own money into the campaign, Kyl has raised $3.3 million more in contributions than his opponent.
Emcee Christine Olson, wife of UA basketball coach Lute Olson, said voters will have a clear choice when they decide who will represent the state and what that means in terms of taxes and spending.
With about seven weeks remaining until the Nov. 7 elec-tion, Christine Olson characterized the race as having a significant impact on the balance of power between the two major parties.
"This is war," she said.
¡ñ Contact reporter Josh Brodesky at 434-4086 or jbrodesky@azstarnet.com.
Now this is interesting
It would be nice to see the GOP ladies campaign in Seattle for Mike McGavick who is running against Maria Cantwell.
I sure hope Kyl wins - one of my favorite Senators.
Current Poll data has an avg Kyl +9.5 (sorry, I don't know how to format):
Polling Data
Poll Date Sample Kyl (R) Pederson (D) Und. Spread
RCP Average 07/14-09/18 - 49.0 39.5 11.3 Kyl +9.5
Rasmussen 09/18-09/18 500LV 50 39 11 Kyl +11.0
SurveyUSA 09/16 - 09/18 472 LV 48 43 7 Kyl +5.0
Ariz. State 08/24 - 08/29 846 RV 46 36 18 Kyl +10.0
SurveyUSA 07/14 - 07/16 531 RV 52 40 9 Kyl +12.0
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2006/senate/az/arizona_senate_race-35.html
Especially since candidates like Kyl don't appear to need much help.
Kyl might be the best senator in office, especially on the issue that really matters: national security.
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