Meffert seizes on Pennsylvania Dem’s win in campaign push

Photo: Jim Meffert for Congress

Pundits are trying to glean meaning from yesterday’s elections, which included surprising successes for Democrats and liberals. One race in particular has drawn the attention of a Minnesota candidate: Democrat Jim Meffert sees hope for his effort to unseat 3rd Congressional District Rep. Erik Paulsen in Mark Critz’s defeat of Republican Tim Burns in Pennsylvania’s special election.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the DFL’s endorsed candidate said Critz’s win “directly refutes the spin from Washington that 2010 is destined to be a bad year for Democrats.”

The special election to fill Pennsylvania’s 12th District seat after the death of Rep. John Murtha was considered a bellwether by Republicans. “If you can’t win a seat that is trending Republican in a year like this, then where is the wave?” the GOP’s top strategist, Tom Davis, asked prior to the election. “It would be a huge upset not to win this seat.”

Writing that Republicans “failed spectacularly” in the race, Politico notes a poll that shows  Barack Obama’s in-district approval rating at 35 percent, while Huffington Post’s Andy Ostroy reminds that “the 12th is the only district McCain carried in 2008 that John Kerry had carried in 2004.”

Meffert’s rhetoric is similar. His campaign issued a press release drawing parallels between Critz’s district and CD3 — and suggesting his own strategy from now ’til November:

As a district that voted for John McCain in 2008, Pennsylvania’s 12th is the kind of district that Republicans are supposed to win in 2010. The dynamics in Minnesota’s Third District are even better for the Democrats, as this was one of just nineteen districts the President Obama carried while the House seat went Republican. The district also voted for Senator Amy Klobuchar, has more Democratic state legislators than Republicans, and is rated at a Cook Index of zero.

“Minnesota’s Third District is not unlike Pennsylvania’s 12th District, and the winning strategy Critz used is a vote of confidence for our strategy.  Our campaign will continue to maintain a strong focus on the local issues that Erik Paulsen has ignored as our Congressman: namely job creation, homeowner security and protecting consumers from the abuses of giant Wall Street banks.  We will show that while Paulsen represents Washington values and priorities, we are standing up for Minnesota values and solving problems for Minnesota families.  That is the message that will win this race in November.”