State by State

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) will take part in a series of district events this week for candidates in Illinois and Michigan.

After holding economy-focused events for challengers Mark Schauer and Gary Peters in southeastern Michigan on Wednesday, Van Hollen will attend an Iraq event for Democrat Dan Seals on Thursday in the Prairie State.

{mosads}The Schauer and Peters events will focus on the economy in light of the recently passed economic stimulus package.

The events are part of a larger national effort by the DCCC to push economic issues during the current recess.

The campaign included a fundraising appeal from former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) last week.

Schauer and Peters are running in Rep. Tim Walberg’s (R) and Rep. Joe Knollenberg’s (R), districts, respectively.

Seals won a primary two weeks ago and will take on Rep. Mark Kirk (R) for the second straight election.

— Aaron Blake

Kansas

Democrat Greg Orman, who had raised nearly a half-million dollars for his race against Sen. Pat Roberts (R), has withdrawn from the race.

Orman, who runs a private equity firm, informed party leaders that he would be dropping out last week. He raised the significant sum of money relatively quickly after joining the race in December.

Orman’s exit leaves former Senate candidate Lee Jones as the only candidate in the race.  Jones lost to Sen. Sam Brownback (R) 69-27 in 2004 and spent just $100,000 on the race.

— A.B.

Minnesota

Comedian and Senate candidate Al Franken (D) is narrowly leading Sen. Norm Coleman (R) in a potential general election match-up, according to the latest Rasmussen poll in the state.

After Coleman led early polls in the race by substantial margins, his Democratic opponents appear to have eliminated the gap, and the Rasmussen poll is the latest to show a statistically tied race.

Franken leads Coleman 49 percent to 46, but Franken is still engaged in a battle for the nomination against attorney Mike Ciresi.

The poll found that Ciresi would also give Coleman a fight, as he was found to be trailing the incumbent 47 percent to 45.

Franken and Ciresi have said they will abide by the state party’s convention endorsement in June.

Franken will also be in Washington, D.C., on March 5 for a big-dollar fundraiser, which costs $1,000 per supporter and $500 per “friend.”

— Sam Youngman

New York

Republicans have their first candidate to replace retiring Rep. James Walsh (R).

Former New York State Fair Director James Cappuccilli announced his bid for Walsh’s seat over the weekend, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard. Cappuccilli touted his outsider status and his administrative experience in announcing his bid.

He will likely be joined in the Republican primary by Randy Wolken, the Manufacturers Association of Central New York president, who said he has plans for an announcement next week.

Walsh has been in Congress since 1989. He barely won reelection in 2006, defeating Democratic challenger Dan Maffei by just 2 percentage points. Maffei, a former congressional aide who started running again for the seat long before Walsh announced his retirement, has already raised more than $518,000, with $439,243 cash on hand.

Walsh had raised $761,000 and had $511,611 cash on hand.

Maffei is the only Democrat running so far, though Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll has said that he is also considering a bid.

— Walter Alarkon

South Dakota

Former Lt. Gov. Steve Kirby (R) is still weighing a run against Sen. Tim Johnson (D) and expects to decide by the end of the month, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported this week.

Kirby represents something of a last hope for Republicans in one of their top-targeted states. The businessman could also self-fund his campaign, which could be a major plus for a GOP that is struggling to raise money at the candidate and campaign committee levels.

Two under-funded candidates, assistant state House Majority Leader Joel Dykstra and businessman Sam Kephart, are already in the primary. Gov. Mike Rounds (R), the Republicans’ top hope, has passed on a Senate run.

Kirby finished third in the 2002 GOP gubernatorial primary with 26 percent. Rounds won the race and later the governorship.

— A.B.