Kissell's Seat

Dome reports today that the NRCC has spent a lot of energy lately trying to criticize Larry Kissell.

Good luck with that. Kissell showed he was a remarkable candidate in 2006 by nearly pulling off the upset of Robin Hayes with very little money. And it's not like he squeaked by when he got the resources he needed to run a strong campaign...he won by ten points.

It should also be noted that Kissell's district is more Democratic at the federal level than Heath Shuler, Bob Etheridge, and Mike McIntyre's. All three of those guys appear to be unbeatable in their districts, in Shuler's case despite the fact that the seat was Republican for 16 years before he won and that John McCain won in his district.

It would take a major tide shift toward the Republicans to get this district back next year, and there are a lot of other Congressional districts across the country being represented by Democrats that would flip before this one does. I think Mr. Kissell will be in Washington for a while.