Home

Join

Main Menu



blog advertising is good for you
Powered by Disqus

Links

«
»

Was The U.S. Senate Race Over Before It Started?

With 70+ days until Election Day, what polling data has been done is showing a bleak picture for Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Brad Ellsworth.

The chart below, courtesy of pollster.com shows Republican Dan Coats with a very comfortable lead over Ellsworth and Libertarian challenger Rebecca Sink-Burris.

And while polls are snapshots in time, take enough snapshots and you can get the full picture.   Coats has maintained a 14-21 point lead over Ellsworth since early this year.   And the longer that goes,  the harder it will be for Ellsworth to get ahead.  My colleague Mike O’Brien pontificated on this in a recent blog post.

Now the good news for Ellsworth is that we’re still a long way from Election Day  and Democrats have yet to launch a massive television campaign attacking Coats on his lobbyist ties.

However, a someone who teaches school, there comes a point where the grade you have is the grade you’re going to get, so someone is going to have to step up real quick.

Posted: 08|16|10 at 12:00 pm by Abdul Hakim-Shabazz
Follow this entry via RSS 2.0. Comment | Trackback

  • Taxpayer 834512

    It was unthinkable during Bush/Cheney to imagine a bigger political boat anchor for an aspiring candidate to align with.

    Ellsworth managed to find one.

  • pascal

    A lot of Catholics in Indiana would have been willing to give him a look…..since he is some kind of a Catholic…. but his idea that taxpayers should now fund abortions is an issue they will find difficult to swallow. Last I heard Muslims were not very much in favor of abortions either and so Andre might, being some kind of muslim, have some issues-at least with his muslim bretheren. Too, he has 100,000 Catholics in his district who usually voted for a Carson but might have second thoughts about his dissing them.

  • Anonymous

    Ellsworth and Carson are both Pelosi PUNKS. Carson’s votes almost mirror Ellsworth’s. It seems that everyone is slapping Ellsworth around for his voting record but those same folks seem to be giving Carson a pass. Andre Carson is playing this hand well but we need not give up on the 7th just to take Ellsworth down. Both are venerable with just a little planning and some hard work. Remember it’s as easy as A B C…Anybody But Carson. Let’s make some real change come November and send both of these clowns packing.

  • TVGizmo

    Anybody notice that NONE of Ellsworth’s campaign literature, TV commercials, ZhuZhu’s, Crocs, etc. identifies him as a Democrat?

  • TVGizmo

    Being “some kind of Catholic” doesn’t give anyone a free pass. I’m Catholic and wouldn’t vote for either of these guys because of how they vote, not by what church they may show up at. Hopefully everybody is judged by their merit, not what group they fall into.

  • Think Again

    I don’t know whose voting charts you’re following, but Ellsworth’s voting record doe snot mirror Carson’s. I wish it did. I realize we disagree on the Carson cimparison, and you can certainly have your own opinion, but you cannot have your own facts. Ellsworth is far too conservative for me, but favorable to Coats.

    I worked with Coats’s office when he was in the Senate. Only one hair smarter than Quayle’s, and that’s not saying much.

    I still can’t believe Indiana is poise dot send a has-been former senator/millionaire lobbyist back to the Senate. Disgusting.

  • Think Again

    Nah. Not even close to the Bush/Cheney anchor.

    But, an anchor nonetheles,s sad to say.

  • pascal

    Nothing dishonorable about being a lobbyist and WHOGAS? It is not like being a Thespian…..if you remember the old joke. What did Pete Visclosky ever do before getting into bed with Maglicchetti/PMA/Murtha the stench of which wafts even here to Indiana. Next you all will be telling us that Susan Bayh is a very effective Board Member bringing vast talents to her positions?

  • Taxpayer 834512

    Don’t take my word for it. Try what this guy says from “across the pond”. He’s got commentary for NPR among his other credits. I don’t imagine he’s got Palin bumper stickers on his car:
    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100050412/the-stunning-decline-of-barack-obama-10-key-reasons-why-the-obama-presidency-is-in-meltdown/

  • Taxpayer 834512
  • Arc7

    Uncle. I can’t paste this link. Live to fight another day.

  • TVGizmo

    “the Carson cimparison” Is that a Freudian slip? Maybe “Chimparison”? Monkey see Monkey do!

  • Rico

    ‘Disgusting’ defined: Pelosi, Reid, Rangel, Waters, Frank, Dodd, Geithner, Franken, Kennedy, Byrd, Emmanuel, Obama, Soros, etc., etc., etc.

  • http://twitter.com/IndyStudent Matthew Stone

    I’ve actually been noticing that about both parties, TV. Republicans usually use “conservative”, like “I’m the conservative candidate for whatever” in their ads.

  • indyernie

    There isn’t much difference between the two. Coats has forgotten more about good government than these two clowns will ever know.

  • Guest

    They can try to attack Coats lobbyist ties, but how is Ellsworth any different? Isn’t Ellsworth just a lobbyist for the Pelosi/Obama agenda? Not living down in the SW part of the state, I didn’t hear a lot of information on his run for Congress. I have heard he made at least two promises and then broke them once elected. One is said to be that he wouldn’t vote for Nancy Pelosi as house speaker. Does anyone know where he stands on Cap and Trade? Card check?

  • pascal

    And Rico, how could you leave out TA’s preferred Vice President, John Edwards? Of course, given Biden, one ought not talk too much about hair? Biden never struck anyone as being very bright but now is now and then was then?

  • Think Again

    LOL no, a typo. But thanks for the giggle.

  • Think Again

    That settles it. You really aren’t paying attention.

  • Think Again

    Im with you on Waters and Rangel. Charlie needs to retire, and no one’s focusing on Waters’s biggest error: her freaking GRANDSON is her chief of staff. Even Julia didn’t have the balls to do that.

    COS pay is about $130,000 with some MCs, by the way.

    Add to the disgusting list, Rico: Boehner, Bachman, Sen. Chambliss, Sen. Sessions.

    Just trying to be fair.

  • http://twitter.com/IndyStudent Matthew Stone

    I think I can safely say this (coppying my comments from Conservative in the Woods: http://conservativeinthewoods.blogspot.com/2010/08/scott-v-carson-indiana-d7.html#comments):

    Among the people I talked to during the GOP primary, it was almost a uniform consensus: If Coats wins, I’ll reluctantly vote for him, but he won’t be getting my money or my volunteer hours.

    This was me talking to campaign staffers and volunteers at the two Indy area debates, and talking to attendees of said debates. And from what I can tell, that feeling hasn’t changed. Coats hasn’t energized his base.

    Contrast that with Ellsworth. Jon Easter of the blog Indy Democrat was very critical of Ellsworth, mainly on LGBT issues, before and shortly after Ellsworth officially got the nomination. But he gave some big speech when the state Democratic party officially nominated their candidates for races such as treasurer and secretary of state, and ever since then, he has been a full fledged Ellsworth supporter. I mention Jon because he is a Democrat’s Democrat, and how he feels about candidates probably reflects how other party insiders feel.

    Both are working their base up right now and raising funds. I think in the next 2-3 weeks, they’ll start holding events that are more open to the public, and then we’ll start seeing outreach to more center-left, center, center-right voters.

  • Think Again

    This Democrat wasn’t thrilled with Ellsworth. I fumed at Sen. Bayh sometimes, but if Ellsworth gets elected, I’m thinking I’ll feud with him more.

    However…

    That pales in comparison to the possibility of Coats getting another Senate terms. He’s a complete hack for the far-right. He has not lived in this state for 12 years. He publicly, on tape, extolled the retirement beauty of a costal N. Carolina million-dollar home. He lobbied…and his firm, which he co-chaired, repped some disgusting clients.

    If this were a Democrat seeking the Senate seat, the entire far-right crowd would be screaming bloody murder And they’d be correct.

    I’ll support Ellsworth. I’ll send some money. I may get a little more fired-up. Hard to tell.

  • Rico

    Wow, TA, you must be a racist. You only agree with the black members on the list.

  • RAM

    Erstwhile Democrat Ellsworth is now undergoing a sensitive operation to become a trans-political, to give him some non-zero chance in November. His ad guys already get the drift.

  • Just Saying

    I have seen a large energy base in the Indy area and around the State for Coats…other than…Elsworth ad about being a sheriff haven’t seen much on him on any level.