Lee Terry, Nebraska’s longest-serving (doesn’t that seem weird) Congressman had some good fundraising numbers this last Quarter.
According to the latest FEC filings, Terry raised, $147,679 and 92 cents.
His current Cash on Hand (CoH) is $215,229.
If he runs for Senate in ‘08 (which will only happen if Hagel decides not to) then he’s going to make sure he has a lot of Cash to do it. And if he runs for reelection, it’s going to be tough to take him down. Another problem we’ve got right now is that, unlike in ‘06 with Jim Esch, I don’t think Terry is going to be caught off-guard by a grassroots candidate again.
So what can we do?
Organize, organize, organize.
We’ve got to register more voters, organize more Democrats, start more Nebraska Young Democrats chapters, and all around get ready to roll. We’ve got to call Terry out (on this blog and in the mainstream media) when he votes against our interests, warmongers, flip-flops, and all the other things he does on a regular basis.
Terry may have more money, but his positions are out of step with this District.
Viva Jim Esch ‘08!
UPDATE (4/17/07 12:19 CDT by Dave):
Just thought I’d put all the rest of this information into one post.
Chuck Hagel: $142,460 raised, $230,214 cash-on-hand.
Jeff Fortenberry: $121,245.23 raised, $118,593.48 cash-on-hand.
Adrian Smith: $99,189.64 raised, $94,122.43 cash-on-hand.
Oh, the intrigue. It’s a blessing and a curse to be junkies for this kind of stuff, but a number of things stick out – some of them you pointed out to me earlier…
Kermit Brashear, $1000.
Jon Bruning, $1000.
Hal Daub, $1015.
Jeff Fortenberry, $1527.92.
John McCollister, $1000.
Pete Ricketts, $500.
Ted Seldin (remember him from the Pflug Road pork project?), $1000.
The first six names are interesting because of their potential roles in an open Senate race. McCollister obviously won’t run, but he’s put himself into the discussion by calling out Hagel last month, so his endorsement should carry some weight. The other five have all been mentioned as candidates, so their donations to Terry directly help him build his warchest should he decide to run for Senate.
Ricketts gave Fortenberry the maximum, $2300. Other than that, the only prominent Republican I saw in this report was Mark Quandahl, the state chair. Not sure what to make of it – but I’m starting to think that Terry’s running for reelection, and we better be prepared for it.
I’ll be real interested to see Hagel’s numbers – unfortunately, the Senate filings are not submitted electronically yet.