I'll need more info on when Obama will be campaigning for Mary Burke (D. WI) and Tom Wolf (D. PA) but here's some info on two other races:Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy is counting on President Barack Obama to help him win, and Obama is counting on Malloy to give him a warm welcome.This fall, even as other Democrats are distancing themselves from the unpopular president, Malloy is embracing him. The first-term governor isn’t afraid to be linked to the president’s policies — he signed a gun control bill into law in 2013 and earlier this year raised the state’s minimum wage to the White House’s proposed rate of $10.10 an hour — or to him personally. And on Wednesday, he’ll become the first candidate this fall to host Obama for a campaign rally, something he asked for since he sees the president as much more of an asset than a liability in the Nutmeg State.
With polls tight and his own unfavorable ratings just as high as Obama’s, Malloy is hoping that the president still has real pull where it matters — among the Democratic base, especially the large concentrations of African-Americans in cities such as Bridgeport, the state’s most populous, where Wednesday’s rally will take place.
It’s the same role Obama is expected to play over the next three weeks in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and a handful of other states that he won in 2008 and 2012, places where he’ll be stumping for gubernatorial candidates who have a strong shot of winning so long as Democratic turnout stays high. - Politico, 10/14/14
Malloy has also had another big name hit the campaign trail for him:Obama will appear at a campaign event on Sunday in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, for Anthony Brown, the state's Democratic candidate for governor. Opinion polls in the usually reliable Democratic state have tightened in recent weeks between Brown, and Republican candidate Larry Hogan.Also on Sunday, Obama will travel to Chicago in his home state of Illinois to attend a campaign event for Democratic Governor Pat Quinn, who is in a close race with Republican challenger Bruce Rauner. - Reuters, 10/14/14
African American turnout will be key for these races, especially in Illinois:With Democrats claiming momentum, Bill Clinton came to Hartford on Monday to keep the ball rolling, telling a partisan crowd that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy deserves re-election, a message President Obama intends to reinforce Wednesday night in Bridgeport at his first campaign rally of 2014.Malloy, a first-term Democrat who raised taxes by more than $1.5 billion in his first year in office, is locked in a dead heat with Republican Tom Foley. The rematch of their 2010 cliffhanger is drawing more than $7 million in super PAC spending, including $1.2 million over just the past four days.
Clinton freshened the pitch he made in New Haven a month ago for Malloy and at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., for President Obama in 2012: Hard times called for tough medicine, but both are leading voters on the right track.
“He did the things necessary to move Connecticut forward,” Clinton said of Malloy. “He got you through this rough time, and I’ve been following this race pretty closely.”
Clinton said governors in other states who faced deficits smaller than what confront Malloy his first year slashed state spending on local education.
"He didn’t do that," Clinton said. "He kept supporting your schools, and you are way better off because of it.”
Clinton spoke in the same gymnasium at the Learning Corridor, an educational complex near Trinity College, where his wife, Hillary, held a rally during her presidential run in 2008, a magical political year when Obama drew a capacity crowd of 17,000 to the XL Center in downtown Hartford. - The CT Mirror, 10/13/14
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/...
Also in the news, Anthony Brown (D. MD) scored a major endorsement from the Washington Post:Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn faces Republican Bruce Rauner in next month’s race for governor. Both are vying for African-American votes.Four years ago, African-American voters in Chicago delivered a win for Quinn, who defeated Bill Brady. Yesterday, Quinn appeared at an event for veterans at Soldier Field and greeted folks at the Columbus Day Parade. Rauner also shook hands and waved at the parade.
Lights and signs and microphones and podiums are up for tonight’s debate at the DuSable Museum Auditorium and crews are putting the final touches on preparations
CBS 2 has partnered with two prominent African-American community groups, the Chicago Urban League and business leadership council to bring you the hour long debate tonight.
“We have two candidates that have very different thoughts and perspectives on how to manage the state and we want to have opportunity for those two candidates to speak to our community,” said Andrea Zopp, Chicago Urban League CEO.
On Tuesday, Governor Quinn was at the Merchandise Mart celebrating the expansion of 1871, Chicago’s digital startup hub. A spokesperson said Quinn wasn’t going to talk about the debate until it’s over.
Across town in Chatham, Bruce Rauner had coffee with several religious leaders in the Black community at Fleck’s Coffee Shop. Rauner told Song he’s excited about the debate at the DuSable Museum. - CBS Chicago, 10/14/14
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Click here to donate and get involved with Malloy's, Quinn's and Brown's campaigns:As lieutenant governor for eight years, Mr. Brown championed legislation cracking down on domestic abuse and promoting private financing of major transportation projects. By contrast, Mr. Hogan’s record of achievement in public office is slight.Mindful that many Maryland voters feel overtaxed, and that the state is widely seen as hostile to business, Mr. Brown has laid out an agenda that blends caution and ambition. Its centerpiece is a plan to expand pre-kindergarten for thousands more 4-year-olds. He has also advocated expanding the state’s transit infrastructure, notably by building the Red Line in Baltimore and the Purple Line in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties — projects Mr. Hogan opposes.
Mr. Brown is the more serious and substantial candidate. He has a better grasp of how to operate the levers of government and how to bolster Maryland’s competitiveness while tending to basic needs. - Washington Post, 10/12/14
