Panic at the DNC: Dems could lose 2 congressional seats next

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Democrats are worried

Panic at the DNC: Dems could lose two congressional seats next month

By News on the Net Tuesday, April 6, 2010
- Mark Hemingway

Politico has the skinny on the two special congressional elections next month. It seems that Democrats are worried: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/04 ... z0kKg9RQIm

The prospect of losing two House seats in back-to-back special elections next month has sparked a vigorous, behind-the-scenes Democratic effort, designed to avoid an outcome that could lead to panic among the rank and file and stall the momentum generated by the recent passage of landmark health care legislation.

The trajectories of the two elections, which will take place in Pennsylvania and Hawaii over a span of four days next month, have raised alarm bells among top party officials who fear that a pair of defeats in the Democratic-held seats could amount to a Massachusetts Senate sequel, overshadowing President Barack Obama’s health care reform plan and reinforcing a narrative that the Democratic Party is on track for severe losses in November.

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POLITICO

Democrats' special-election scramble

By ALEX ISENSTADT & JOSH KRAUSHAAR | 4/6/10 4:59 AM EDT

The prospect of losing two House seats in back-to-back special elections next month has sparked a vigorous, behind-the-scenes Democratic effort, designed to avoid an outcome that could lead to panic among the rank and file and stall the momentum generated by the recent passage of landmark health care legislation.

The trajectories of the two elections, which will take place in Pennsylvania and Hawaii over a span of four days next month, have raised alarm bells among top party officials who fear that a pair of defeats in the Democratic-held seats could amount to a Massachusetts Senate sequel, overshadowing President Barack Obama’s health care reform plan and reinforcing a narrative that the Democratic Party is on track for severe losses in November.

According to sources familiar with the effort, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already assembled teams of top party operatives — including veteran pollster John Anzalone and longtime ad man Saul Shorr to work on the Pennsylvania campaign, and media strategist David Dixon, who signed on to work the Hawaii race — to oversee what are expected to be large and expensive independent expenditure operations.

More important, two Democratic sources told POLITICO that the DCCC is working feverishly to prevent a very real scenario in which the two top Democrats split the party vote and enable Republican Charles Djou to capture the heavily Democratic seat in Hawaii’s May 22 all-party special election.

“Djou has a real chance of winning because it only takes a plurality of the votes,â€