Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

As Executive Director, it's my responsibility to make sure the DSCC is doing its job - watching every Senate race every day and making sure our Democratic candidates have the resources they need to win. I get more updates from races around the country than anyone and I know that we're in a great position to take back the Senate in November.

The bottom line is that we can win. Let me tell you why:

Pennsylvania

First of all, we're in great shape to beat Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania. The latest polling shows Democratic challenger Bob Casey with a solid double-digit lead over Santorum, 52% - 36%. In my experience, 50% is the magic number. Once a challenger gets there, it becomes very difficult for an incumbent like Santorum to make a comeback.

It's going to be even tougher for Santorum after this week's revelations that he was on the receiving end of a sweetheart half-million dollar mortgage deal that appears to be in violation of Senate ethics. And to think, Santorum was the best guy Senate Republicans could find to sponsor their ethics reforms. Unbelievable.

Ohio

Ohio is yet another state where the Democratic challenger is defeating a longtime Republican incumbent. The newest DSCC poll was released last week and showed Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown leading Republican Senator Mike DeWine by three points.

The polling just confirms what I've known all along. Mike DeWine is vulnerable and Sherrod Brown can beat him. The Republican Party in Ohio is in disarray on the heels of major corruption scandals, so we're making major gains in this battle ground state. I've been in politics for a long time, and I know this is a race we can win.

Missouri

In Missouri, we have a fantastic candidate in Claire McCaskill ready to topple Jim Talent, the Republican incumbent. McCaskill already has a slim lead in the polls, but Talent just keeps giving our side more ammunition.

Talent is quickly becoming entangled in the Jack Abramoff scandal. It turns out that Talent's campaign finance chairman, lobbyist Jack Oliver, has close ties to Abramoff, a top Republican lobbyist who plead guilty to felony conspiracy and corruption charges in January.

Additionally, Talent is coming under fire for his sudden flip-flop on stem cell research. For years, he's been one of the extreme right wing's most reliable forces opposing this important medical research. Yet recently, he suddenly softened his stance on the issue in the midst of a tough reelection fight. You've got to wonder if Talent really believes anything he says.

With his close ties to lobbyists and his flip-flopping on major issues, is it any wonder that just 49% of Missouri voters give Talent a favorable job performance rating? Anytime a Republican incumbent slips under 50%, that gives our Democratic challenger an opening.

Arizona

Jim Talent isn't the only Republican incumbent with lobbyist problems. In Arizona, Jon Kyl is under fire for allowing former senator and current corporate lobbyist Lauch Faircloth to sit in on an official Republican luncheon while his clients had business on the Senate floor. It's just another example of the culture of corruption Republicans have created in Washington.

I'm going to make sure that every voter in Arizona knows that Jon Kyl is just one more Republican with ethics troubles, so we can replace Kyl with Democrat Jim Pederson. We've got to elect a Democratic Senate in November so we can clean up this mess.

New Jersey

And finally, some good news from New Jersey, where the newest Democratic Senator, Bob Menendez, is already leading his likely Republican opponent in early polling. Last week, a new Zogby poll showed Menendez leading Tom Kean, Jr. by 5 points.

Menendez hasn't really even started campaigning yet, but New Jersey voters already like what they see from Democrats. Like I said, the bottom line is that we can win. There's a lot of work to do between now and Election Day, but with your help, I am confident we can take back the Senate in November.

Sincerely,



J.B. Poersch
Executive Director