Special House Elections Could Reflect on Obama
By CARL HULSE
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Most Americans have never heard of Don Cazayoux or Travis Childers, two Southern politicians with names that could have been lifted from a John Grisham novel. But the electoral fate of those two gentlemen could be of some consequence in the ongoing presidential race.
Mr. Cazayoux is the Democratic candidate for a Louisiana House seat centered around Baton Rouge that will be awarded in a special election on Saturday. Mr. Childers is the surprisingly strong Democratic candidate in an upcoming special House election to represent a swath of northern Mississippi.
Since both seats were vacated by Republicans, Democratic victories would be good news for the party, padding the House majority and providing Republicans with even more reason to worry about November.
But wins might be better news for Senator Barack Obama, since Democratic successes would be interpreted as evidence that his candidacy is not an anchor for Democrats in conservative parts of the country. Conversely, Democratic defeats in those races could create real problems for Mr. Obama’s campaign.
Why will the races have implications for Mr. Obama and not Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton? Because Republicans have sought to tie both Mr. Cazayoux and Mr. Childers to Mr. Obama through ads that paint the Illinois lawmaker as an extreme liberal and resurrect his ties to the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Mrs. Clinton’s name has not come up.
(Continued here.)
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Most Americans have never heard of Don Cazayoux or Travis Childers, two Southern politicians with names that could have been lifted from a John Grisham novel. But the electoral fate of those two gentlemen could be of some consequence in the ongoing presidential race.
Mr. Cazayoux is the Democratic candidate for a Louisiana House seat centered around Baton Rouge that will be awarded in a special election on Saturday. Mr. Childers is the surprisingly strong Democratic candidate in an upcoming special House election to represent a swath of northern Mississippi.
Since both seats were vacated by Republicans, Democratic victories would be good news for the party, padding the House majority and providing Republicans with even more reason to worry about November.
But wins might be better news for Senator Barack Obama, since Democratic successes would be interpreted as evidence that his candidacy is not an anchor for Democrats in conservative parts of the country. Conversely, Democratic defeats in those races could create real problems for Mr. Obama’s campaign.
Why will the races have implications for Mr. Obama and not Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton? Because Republicans have sought to tie both Mr. Cazayoux and Mr. Childers to Mr. Obama through ads that paint the Illinois lawmaker as an extreme liberal and resurrect his ties to the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. Mrs. Clinton’s name has not come up.
(Continued here.)
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