CD8

Rep. John BoehnerU.S. House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) will be the featured guest at a fundraiser for Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) later this month. The June 28 event will be the second major Reichert benefit of the month, with former Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) in town for a Father's Day event this Sunday.

Boehner will appear at a $100 a plate breakfast at the Bellevue Westin, helping Reichert stock up for what looks to be an expensive race in a rematch with Democrat Darcy Burner (D-Carnation). Burner has been outraising Reichert of late, and her campaign continues to use instances like these to tie Reichert to prominent national Republicans, despite his efforts to paint himself as a moderate in the purple-tinged 8th Congressional District.

"First Bush in August last year and the first lady in February. Now Gingrich this Sunday and Boehner on the 28th," Burner spokesman Sandeep Kaushik said of Reichert's past and future fundraising events. "For a guy who is working to position himself publicly as an independent -- notably, his campaign web site seems scrubbed of any easily discernable references to Reichert being a Republican -- he seems to have close ties to Republican leaders in DC."

The Cook Political Report has released its latest installment of U.S House election rankings, where is lists the nation's most competitive congressional races, to account for the recent conclusion of the Democratic presidential primary. Notably, Washington's 8th District race between Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) and Darcy Burner (D-Carnation) has moved up from "Lean Republican to Toss Up."

According to the Report, there are twenty-seven toss-ups in the country, twenty-one of which are seats held by Republicans. The Burner campaign released a statement on the change in the rankings.

Today former U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-8) bestowed his blessing upon CD5 Republican congressional candidate Jim Ogsbury, who is currently engaged in a five-way primary.

"Jim Ogsbury is a principled conservative with deep Arizona roots and an understanding of the issues that face our state and our nation,” said Kolbe.  “He has the toughness and the experience needed to get the Congress working for the interests of people again."

Ogsbury responded with kind words of his own toward the former congressman.

"I am sincerely grateful to sreceive the support of a statesman like Jim Kolbe,” said Ogsbury. “Congressman Kolbe served his district honorably for more than two decades, advancing free trade, protecting military institutions in his district and attending to the needs of his constituents.”

State Sen. Tim Bee (R-Tucson) today got two boosts to his CD8 congressional campaign: He filed 6,604 signatures, which his campaign claims is the most ever filed by a Republican running for that seat; and a one-time rival, former independent candidate Derek Tidball, dropped out of the race by way of endorsing Bee.

"I am endorsing Senator Tim Bee," said Tidball in a statement, "because he is clearly the strongest candidate in the race for the 8th Congressional District. After discussions with Tim Bee, he made it clear to me that he is committed to veterans and their families. I pledge my full support and ask veterans and all the voters of the district to do the same. Who we send to Washington does matter, and Tim Bee is the person that can best represent us."

Tidball is a former 101st Airborne Division paratrooper and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.

As the Democratic primary winds down and Barack Obama more than likely moves towards the nomination tonight, it is worth looking at the three superdelegates in Arizona who avoided taking a stance. 

Democratic Party Chairman Don Bivens is uncommitted, and of the three uncommitted he probably has the best reason to remain so.  His Governor is with Obama, some of his biggest donors are with Hillary Clinton and his delegation is split.

The news of Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) being called the "Greenest Republican in Congress" today by the interest group Republicans for Environmental Protection may have gone over well in some circles across the 8th District, but the Darcy Burner campaign was not one of them.

Burner spokesman Sandeep Kaushik responded pointedly and at length to Reichert's award, as well as the general perception that he is a green-leaning, moderate Republican. Kaushik suggests that Reichert frequently conspires to pass anti-environmental legislation during the primary procedural voting periods, and that once they become destined for a floor vote he switches his position and votes with the Democrats.

Read the full statement below the fold.

Republicans for Environmental Protection, a non-profit interest group dedicated to preserving "both our environment and our economy for current and future generations of Americans," today awarded U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn), along with Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) with the honor of "Greenest Republican in Congress".

The group also says Reichert has "become a champion of America's parks and wilderness heritage" for his co-sponsorship of the Wild Sky Wilderness Act, which is also the boost that gave him the extra three points on his score.

Darcy BurnerDarcy Burner (D-Carnation) has made a habit of using U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert's big name fundraising events as a rally cry in her bid to unseat Reichert in the 8th District.

Last August, Burner made a youtube video criticizing Reichert's GOP ties and set up an online ActBlue account to call attention to a fundraising visit President Bush made to the 8th District on Reichert's behalf, and then did the same thing this past February when first lady Laura Bush came to town. The Democrat has used these occasions to bring in more than $200,000 to her campaign.

That trend continues today.

The Washington Post's Chris Cilizza, whose "Friday Line" feature on his blog The Fix handicaps the U.S. House races most likely to change parties in the upcoming election every few weeks, today expanded from his usual top ten up to twenty because of the current political climate.

"Democrats now appear well positioned to make double digit gains in the House -- 20 plus seats is not out of the question -- and, to reflect the widened playing field, The Fix is doubling the Friday House Line from 10 to 20 districts," Cilizza said.

That expanded jurisdiction allowed for one of Washington's top political races to get some Fix face time. The 8th District race between Rep. Dave Reichert and challenger Darcy Burner made it to 19 on Cilizza's list this week. Here is what he had to say about it:

19. WA-08 (GOP-held): Rep. Dave Reichert (R) is a very strong candidate but the demographics of this Seattle-area district are trending in the wrong direction for the incumbent. Democrat Darcy Burner came within 7,000 votes of beating Reichert in 2006 and is back for a rematch. Reichert could do everything right in the next five months and still lose. (Previous ranking: N/A)

There's a new blog on the block, and this one is all about State Senate President Tim Bee (R-Tucson) and his run against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-8)... and it's not from the Bee campaign.

The week-old Southern Arizona Sting bills itself as "Supporting Tim Bee and the commonsense GOP," who include, to date, Tim Bee, Tim Bee and Tim Bee. The Stinger, as the site administrator goes by, is so far a one-person cheering section for Bee, but promises to support more candidates as the season progresses.