Facing Shadegg, Lord builds campaign infrastructure

Today’s news that Democrat Bob Lord, running in the Third Congressional District, just wrapped his best fundraising quarter to date pleases his campaign. "Today we thanked our supporters for all the help they gave us last year,” campaign manager Andrew Eldredge-Martin said. “They raised more money for our campaign than in any other quarter in 2007. We cannot thank them enough."

The campaign surely feels that the numbers back up what has been a main selling point: that their campaign has a strong fundraising base. The campaign raised about $142K in the third quarter – a number large enough to catch the eye of some political observers.

Another selling point for the campaign: hires. Veteran pollster Anna Bennett has signed on, and Keren Petel, who worked on multiple Democratic campaigns in the 2006 cycle, will handle mail. Campaign manager Eldredge-Martin is fresh off running U.S. Rep. Chris Carney’s victorious 2006 campaign against incumbent Don Sherwood. A media consultant is set to come aboard soon.

Still, the campaign has had mixed success in convincing the Arizona and Washington political establishment that it has a realistic shot at defeating Shadegg, a popular six-term incumbent whose seat encompasses the largely conservative Phoenix area. While Lord’s campaign may be raising some eyebrows, it has not yet pierced the most competitive races lists that odds makers like Charlie Cook and Stu Rothenberg draw up.

Shadegg pulled in $495K in the fourth quarter, with $945K raised for the year.

Lord advisers point to numbers that show the District potentially competitive. They note that in 2006 voters in the Third Congressional District voted overwhelmingly for Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano and Democratic Attorney General Terry Goddard and for an increase in the minimum wage.

Moving forward, the Lord campaign will focus on Shadegg’s record on issues like immigration, energy, and the economy. “He’s got some bizarre votes,” a Lord adviser says.

And the Lord campaign will hammer home the message of change. It plans to talk about Lord’s plans for national security and how to handle the federal deficit and the energy crisis.

“We want to talk about the future and change,” says Eldredge-Martin.