Guess it took this picture for the big boys to notice the CD28 primary, but Kos (here, here, and here) and Atrios (here, here, here, and here) have really been pounding on Rep. Henry Cuellar lately. They're also touting his primary opponent, former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, who gets into the act himself with this Kos diary. They're also asking for donations to Rodriguez, who as you can see needs the help.
Cuellar raised $167,900 from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 and posted year-end cash on hand totaling $293,833, according to his latest campaign finance report heading into the March 7 Democratic primary."It'll give us every advantage," Cuellar's campaign manager, Colin Strother, said of the fundraising effort. "It will allow us to execute a comprehensive campaign strategy."
In the meantime, Rodriguez raised $84,631 and ended the year with $43,000 on hand.
In a written statement, Rodriguez acknowledged the amount raised was "token" but said that since Jan. 1 his campaign has raised more than it did in the final quarter of 2005.
Campaign manager Oscar Sanchez said the former congressman's camp now has more than $100,000 at its disposal.
"The pace is picking up quite a bit, especially after that picture last night," Sanchez quipped.
He was referring to a Washington Post photograph taken Tuesday night at President Bush's State of the Union address. It showed Bush holding a smiling Cuellar's head between his hands during a stop on his way to the dais.
UPDATE: Jane Hamsher joins in, with her own ActBlue page as well. Counting that, plus Atrios' page and this page, I count about $15K raised for Rodriguez. Can't say how much came from the last couple of days, but that's not too shabby.
UPDATE: Kos again. He reports $11K in four hours from the two non-Hamsher ActBlue pages. Like I said, not too shabby.
UPDATE: The Express News picks up the story. Via Atrios.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 02, 2006 to Election 2006 | TrackBackJust sent Ciro $25 (and ActBlue $1.25) I can barely afford. (Well, I could afford the $1.25 part.) Another $25 is on its way just before the primary.
Firedoglake noticed too, btw. Texas needs Ciro back in the House.
Posted by: Mathwiz on February 2, 2006 5:08 PMEarth to Democrats...South Texas has nothing but conservative Democrats. Cuellar has been a Democrat and a major supporter of education and health care in South Texas and along the border for about two decades. He is a free-trader, as is just about everybody in South Texas. The border generally gains jobs from free trade, so free trade agreements are vary poular among voters there. This race is not about a psuedo-Democrat vs. a real Democrat, it is about San Antonio vs. Laredo...remember, all politics are local. San Antonio has many congressmen, Laredo only has one.
Posted by: Chito on February 3, 2006 11:49 AMOne more thing, if anybody is the people's candidate in this race, it is Victor Morales, who I would vote for if I lived in CD28. He has always been an independent outsider that has never been embraced by the Democrats. He is the school teacher in the pick-up truck that gave Phil Gramm a run for his money. He is the vocal critic of the corruption and special interests that are rampant in politics today. He is the man who the netroots should be donating money to. Ciro is a plain vanilla Democrat with no ideas and nothing to offer. That is why he lost in 2004.
Posted by: Chito on February 3, 2006 11:57 AMYou are correct chito .Ciro when in office voted for abortions for teenagers , the man is anti god hater.He sides with labor leaders who pockets the dues from the memebers.vote for h.c.
Posted by: juan carlos on February 4, 2006 12:50 PM