Politics Tuesday (on Thursday): Gilchrest Race Heats Up

Posted by Jack Sterne, jack@oceanchampions.org

Lots of interesting developments in the Gilchrest race this week.

The Politico has this story about the massive amount of direct mail being directed at Gilchrest by hard-core anti-environmentalist Andy Harris.

Gilchrest's other primary primary opponent (no, that's not a typo - I meant to say "primary" twice), E.J. Pipkin, triggered the "millionaire's amendment" to campaign finance rules, allowing Gilchrest and Harris to raise three times the legal limit from individuals. That's because Pipkin has already pumped over $350,000 of his own money into the race (that's the legal cutoff - he's actually put in more than half a million).

And perhaps the biggest news, Gilchrest got the endorsement of Pres. Bush. I suppose it goes without saying that the value of this endorsement is not what it once was, even in safe Republican districts like this one. This story in The Hill discusses the pros and cons of Bush campaigning for you, and discusses the Gilchrest race specifically.

Putting aside your own political biases, if you were in Gilchrest's shoes (and they're not necessarily the best shoes to be in, given some of the poll numbers coming out of his district), would you want Bush campaigning for you?