Posted on 04/03/2014 2:40:52 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Republican U.S. Senate candidates need to define themselves quickly against their better known opponents, or else Democratic PACs will sully them, GOP strategist Karl Rove wrote in a commentary in The Wall Street Journal.
In West Virginia, South Dakota, and Montana — red states where incumbent Democrats retired — Republican candidates have solid leads. By mid-April, Democratic donors may decide to back off rather than squander additional resources. This means West Virginia's Shelley Moore Capito, South Dakota's Mike Rounds, and Montana's Steve Daines "are positioned to win if they keep the pressure on," Rove wrote.
Incumbent Democratic senators in four red states, Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina, with strong name recognition, are struggling against lesser known GOP challengers.
GOP contender Dan Sullivan is tied with Sen. Mark Begich in Alaska. Rep. Tom Cotton in Arkansas is just slightly behind Sen. Mark Pryor. In North Carolina, State House Speaker Thom Tillis is narrowly trailing Sen. Kay Hagan. Rep. Bill Cassidy is ahead of Sen. Mary Landrieu in Louisiana.
Even in blue state Colorado where the Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Udall has strong name recognition challenger Rep. Cory Gardner trails by just 2 points.
"An incumbent with much higher name recognition than an opponent— but only a narrow lead this early on— is evidence of a low ceiling of support. It also suggests that the challenger can rise as his background, values and agenda becomes better known," Rove wrote.
That is why Sen. Harry Reid's Majority PAC will "want to define the GOP candidates before they define themselves," Rove wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Tillis has the guts to vote against Pat McCrory and with 100% of Democrats reward illegals and the Chamber of Commerce.
Tea party candidates: Define yourselves before Tokyo Rove does.
I know people here hate Rove, but he’s right on this one.
We’ve got to get out in front first. Fortunately, I think there are some candidates, at least at the national level, who realize this. Jindal, for example, whether you like his health care plan or not, has at least come out with something that is a positive plan and has attracted interest and comment.
Tokyo Rove is a worthless POS. No one knows who Harriet Ried is.
AMEN!
That's NOT a good thing.
It would seem the estimable Mr. Rove finds himself doing battle on TWO fronts.
Considering how much effort Karl is putting in on the one front, Harry Reid has little to fear from Mr. Rove.
Funny how lines of allegiance can shift so subtly. And yet affect things so profoundly.
Rove is just doing prep work for selling consulting time.
You’re right. These candidates need to get focused, get and stay on message and get all the free publicity they can. Radio interviews and news making press releases, too.
Please define yourself as either a Tea Party member or as a Moderate Democrat.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.