Chuck Schumer

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Brian X. Foley with David Paterson.

A new poll from Siena College [PDF] of six key State Senate races show Democrats on the verge of ousting an incumbent on Long Island, and successfully defending a seat in Erie County, but losing in Buffalo--and possibly even in Queens.

If the results of the Siena poll hold on Election Day, Democrats will gain one State Senate seat, and have a decent chance of winning a second--and the coveted majority. But many races are tight.

Democratic challenger Brian Foley has opened up a twenty two-point lead (56-34) against incumbent Republican Caesar Trunzo [clarified]. In Siena's September poll, Trunzo led Foley 46 to 40 percent.

WASHINGTON - Four years after the GOP successfully sunk the Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate, Democrats are giving Republicans the reverse treatment by going after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

For the last three weeks, national Democrats have barraged Kentucky media markets with television advertisements slamming McConnell (R-Louisville). The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's newest TV ad, out this week, shows McConnell as a delivery truck driver while a narrator says the Republican "backed George Bush's crazy spending and delivered a $10 trillion debt."

In a press conference today, DSCC Chairman Chuck Schumer was repeatedly pressed on whether the decision to target the opposing party's leader was proper. He responded that after Republicans succeeded in targeting then-party leader Tom Daschle in 2004, Democrats had a free hand to go after McConnell.

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If you ask Chuck Schumer or Harry Reid, they’ll give you a cautious answer about their party’s prospects of attaining a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate next Tuesday. It’s possible and it would be great if it happened, they have said over and over, but it will by no means be a disappointment if we fall short of it.

But it will be.  read more »

Last night, after Hillary Clinton presented an award to Iris Weinshall at the 38th annual Women Write the World gala, Weinshall's husband, Chuck Schumer, explained how valuable his wife has been to his political career.

Taking the stage, Schumer recounted a night years ago, during Ed Koch's third term as mayor.

Koch, Schumer said, “sometimes, he would say these things that were a little bit off the deep end." One night, Weinshall turned to Schumer and said of Koch, “Do you know what his problem is?”

According to Schumer, she went on, "When he goes to bed at night there’s no one laying in bed next to him saying, ‘You know what a jerk you made out of yourself?’”

The crowd laughed.

U.S. Sen. John Ensign (R-Las Vegas) isn't exactly making an endorsement in the race to succeed him as National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, but he does seem to think U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) would be a good fit.

In a conference call with reporters today, Ensign said Cornyn and U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who are both said to be gunning for the post, "would be fantastic" in heading up the GOP's Senate campaign arm. But the Nevada Senator reserved particular praise for Cornyn, a first-term Senator who currently serves as the Republican Conference vice chairman.

Ensign explained that having a strong geographical fundraising base would was key for the job and Cornyn, "would bring a lot of people from Texas."

John Ensign

U.S. Sen. John Ensign (R-Las Vegas) isn't exactly making an endorsement in the race to succeed him as National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, but he does seem to think U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) would be a good fit.

In a conference call with reporters today, Ensign said Cornyn and U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who are both said to be gunning for the post, "would be fantastic" in heading up the GOP's Senate campaign arm. But the Nevada Senator reserved particular praise for Cornyn, a first-term Senator who currently serves as the Republican Conference vice chairman.

Ensign explained that having a strong geographical fundraising base would was key for the job and Cornyn, "would bring a lot of people from Texas."

WASHINGTON - National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign (R-Nev.) wants to make it absolutely clear: national Republicans are in Colorado's Senate race for good.

"The Colorado race has closed up, and that's the reason we're going to stay there. We're going to stay there up until the end," Ensign told an audience at a National Press Club breakfast Tuesday morning.

Pointing to internal polling figures showing Republican candidate Bob Schaffer five points down, Ensign said, "Basically, that's a very winnable race. It's a battleground in the presidential race and we're going to be there until the end."

Check back next week to view my Convention Sketchpads from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.:

• View all four Convention Sketchpads from the Democratic National Convention
  

DENVER – Attorney General Jack Conway (D-Louisville) is attending his first Democratic National Convention as a delegate this year, though he was previously at the three previous conventions in different capacities.

“I think this one is the best,” Conway told PolitickerKY.com. “There is an energy here that was missing at some previous conventions.”

Conway is making the convention rounds as an Obama delegate, but he said that discussion among those he meets at events often turns to Kentucky’s Senate race between Bruce Lunsford (D-Louisville) and incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville).

At a reception earlier in the week, Conway said even Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wanted information on Lunsford’s bid.

“Everyone is asking me about Bruce Lusnford’s race,” said Conway. “Chuck Schumer, the Senator from New York, grabbed me by the arm and said ‘tell me about that Lunsford race.’ He was very interested in it. A lot of people focus on Bruce’s race.”

Schumer had earlier encouraged Lunsford to jump in the Democratic senate primary.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez might not have received a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention, but apparently he’s still poised to enhance his clout in the Senate over the next few years. As Vice Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Menendez is expected to move up to the chairmanship next year when incumbent Charles Schumer moves on after two cycles on the job. That puts the junior Senator from New Jersey into a nationally visible role for the 2010 elections – when (based on historical precedent) Menendez will either be defending seats in Barack Obama’s mid-term election, or looking to pick some up in John McCain’s.