Susan Bitter Smith

Up until a week ago, the 5th Congressional District primary has been most notable for the amazingly quiet contest the Republicans have been running.  But over the last week the theme seems to have shifted to whacky publicity stunts.

First we had Susan Bitter Smith accusing Harry Mitchell of push-polling against her. 

Joshua Kilroy has run a great campaign early for Tim Nelson.  Find out why this week he is a winner and why Susan Bitter Smith makes the losers list. This week's Winners and Losers.

Earlier this week congressional candidate Susan Bitter Smith accused Congressman Harry Mitchell of producing push calls against herself and David Schweikert.  Smith and Schweikert both claim supporters have received the call.  Mitchell’s campaign denied any involvement and asked for an apology.

A lot of attention has been paid to these calls, but to date no one has been able to produce any proof of the call.  If you received the call we would like to hear from you.  We want to know exactly what was asked, and depending on your answers to the questions what was said about either candidate.

The David Schweikert campaign has confirmed to PolitickerAZ.com that some Schweikert supporters have received "push poll" calls aimed at Schweikert and fellow 5th Congressional District Republican candidate Susan Bitter Smith. The Bitter Smith campaign reported the calls Tuesday. Yet neither campaign can say exactly what was asked.

"A bunch of our supporters have gotten the same call Susan’s have," said Michael Juel, Schweikert's finance director who was acting as spokesperson for the campaign. He also said most of the questions asked were directed at Schweikert.

Juel initially agreed that, from what those who heard the call told him, he would characterize it as a push poll, but then qualified his statement.

Seth Scott, campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell's re-election bid, told PolitickerAZ.com he is calling for the Susan Bitter Smith campaign to apologize for accusations made in a press release Tuesday.

The Bitter Smith campaign claimed several residents reported receiving calls that were "unflattering" toward Bitter Smith and another 5th district Republican, David Schweikert.

Brian Hummell, Smith's campaign manager, sent out a press release Tuesday saying Mitchell's campaign had "initiated" the calls, but offered no evidence to support the claim. Mitchell's campaign has denied having anything to do with them.

Hummell admitted to PolitickerAZ.com that whoever was conducting the poll would likely not be traced back to Mitchell's campaign, but maintained that the source had to originally lie with the incumbent's organization.

AZ-5 Republican primary candidate and Arizona cable industry lobbyist Susan Bitter Smith is charging that the campaign of U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe) has been "push polling" in the 5th Congressional District - a charge the Mitchell campaign denies.

"Reports have surfaced that the Mitchell campaign has initiated a push pull [sic] in the District specifically targeting Susan," read a press release put out by the Bitter Smith campaign. 

"This is coming from supporters of ours who say they’ve gotten calls from people saying unflattering things about Susan and another candidate," said Brian Hummell, Bitter Smith's campaign manager, to PolitickerAZ.com. When asked if the other candidate was fellow 5th district competitor David Schweikert, Hummell said, "I believe so."

David Schweikert, the former state legislator and Maricopa County treasurer, has become the first of the Republican contenders in the 5th Congressional District primary to open a campaign office, announcing the milestone today.

The announcement came days after CQPolitics.com named Schweikert as one of the two leading contenders in the five-person race.

"Local pundits say the latest entrant into the race, Susan Bitter Smith, appears to be in the lead along with former Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert," asserted CQPolitics.com, which pointed to Schweikert's assumed fundraising advantage as a key factor in rating him the leading contender.

Susan Bitter Smith, U.S. House candidate in AZ-5, has worked to set up meetings between telecommunications executives and three Democratic Arizona members of the U.S. House, while campaigning to replace one of them.

Bitter Smith, who is executive director of the lobbying organization Arizona-New Mexico Cable Communications Association, lobbied her would-be opponent and two other members of the Arizona delegation. She requested meetings between executives at Cox Cable and U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell (D-Tempe), Ed Pastor (D-Phoenix) and Raul Grijalva (D-Tucson). Bitter Smith is running for the Republican nomination in the 5th District, and will face Mitchell in the general election if she gets the nod.

Mitchell's office confirmed the meeting, but said it was only between Mitchell staff and the Cox executives. Mitchell spokesman Robbie Sherwood described the meeting as "positive," but said no specific legislation was discussed. Sherwood wouldn't comment on whether Mitchell's campaign thought it was appropriate for Bitter Smith to be currying favor on behalf of her clients with the member of Congress she hopes to defeat.

Last week, PolitickerAZ.com sent out a questionaire asking the Republican candidates in the 5th Congressional District about their takes on some key questions currently facing Congress and the nation.

In parts 1-3, four of the five candidates discussed the Iraq War, diplomacy toward "rogue states," veterans care, tax breaks for oil companies and global climate change (the fifth candidate, David Schweikert, chose not to participate).

In the last installment, the candidates present their views on 2nd Amendment rights and whether or not a national anti-gay marriage amendment should be pursued.