The seat was created in 2002 and a carpetbagger Republican came in from Virginia with all the help of the extreme right to take the seat. The Republican won in a district that has more Democrats than Republicans. The Republican won against a weak democratic candidate who had to go through a fracturing primary, who still only lost by 3%.
But this time around, we have a strong local candidate, Paul Babbitt. Paul has lived here all his life, has been the mayor of the largest city in the district, Flagstaff, as well as the County Supervisor for years. To learn more about Paul, please view my diaries.
I wish all of you could have been at the meetup last night. The enthusiasm for taking the seat was something you could see in the air. Twenty-two supporters showed up for the event and we are ready to write editorials, canvas, assist in rallies and do whatever it takes.
But we are going to have to compete with the Bush money machine. Cheney is coming to Phoenix, which is not even in this district, to raise money for the Republican incumbent. So we have the people, the ideas, the candidate and the opportunity but what we really need from progressives is a little money. Please take a moment to send whatever you can to Paul Babbitt's campaign by clicking here. And if you do donate, please add 3 cents to the donation, for example make $20 into $20.03, so that they know the contribution is coming from progressive blogs. Thank you so much for your time and let me know if you have any questions.