Hafen looks like a go against Porter

Tessa Hafen has resigned from her post as a Harry Reid spokestress, which means in all likelihood she's going to take on Republican Rep. Jon Porter in CD3, reports the AP, citing two unnamed Democratic sources:

Hafen, 29, did not immediately respond to a call and e-mail seeking comment. The sources, both of whom have discussed the move with Hafen, spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt an official announcement.

No other Democratic candidate has announced plans to challenge Porter, a Republican in his second term who won re-election last year with 54 percent of the vote compared with 40 percent for Democrat Tom Gallagher.

"She's going to have to move to Nevada from D.C. and she's in her 20s, she'll have to re-establish herself and stand on her own two feet," Porter campaign consultant Mike Slanker said.

"I'm sure the senator's going to help her and that can't be underestimated, but at the end of the day she's going to have to be on the ballot as her own person, and we'll see."

Hafen is a native of Henderson, Nev., who started working for Reid as an intern eight years ago. Her father, Andy Hafen, serves on the Henderson City Council.

In case you missed the clever nuance of Darth Slanker's remarks, the Porter campaign is going to bash her for being a mere puppet of Harry Reid.

Our earlier take on a potential Hafen candidacy, discussing the relative advantages/disadvantages of a) her youth and b) her job, is here. One more quick gleanette: It might behoove the erstwhile Reid spokestress to find some places where she disagrees with Harry, and that abominable bankruptcy bill that Reid -- and Porter -- voted for would be one place to start. Being pro-choice would be another.

Comments

[mc]

YES

THANK GOD

[Diogenes]

Are we dealing with a female Pinocchio? Know who plays the part of Geppetto, but who will be Jimmy Cricket? And where is the Blue Fairy? Where do we send the mincemeat after the election? Eight year out of the area, twenty something, where's the money coming from, too close to the puppeteer, no legislative history. Is this a joke or just an insult?

[VegasFirst]

This town could for sure use a fresh face in Congress and all.

But, for one thing, it's the fourth week of January, and kind of late. That decision should have been made a couple of months ago. Seems the Dems were struggling to find someone to take on Porter in an even-voter reg district, and at a time when a lame-duck Bush is low in the polls.

Young Tessa would have to contend with, aside from lots of real-quick fundraising, CD3 itself.

CD3 has a large and very lazy group of middle and low income and minority Democratic voters. It will be very, very expensive for her campaign just to get many of them to notice it's an election year, much less take the time to vote.

Conversely, CD3 has an enthusiastic conservative-Republican, Green Valley/Boulder City voteforce for Porter, coupled with lots of socially-conservative Mormons who vote for the man (sorry, Tessa) in Harry but few others with a "D" next to them, especially a pro-choicer. (Shelley Berkley got the easy-Dem district, remember?)

Even worse, if Tessa goes wishy-washy on abortion like Gibson, those Dem party activists -- well, they'll agree to follow Harry's lead and support her, but they won't be too gassed about it, and it'll creep into the overall campaign.

And, the state and Clark County Democratic groups are very weak as political organizations. This would be an expensive, consultant-driven process, meaning that it would involve expensive out-of-state consultants, not the weak local ones. How much Shelley would be willing to shell out of her enormous (unneeded) war chest -- or refer her valuable donors -- to Tessa, who knows.

Tessa can't simply rely on uninspired union members and elderly feminists strutting around in printed T-shirts, a visit by Hillary Clinton and other D.C. pols, groups chanting on Telemondo and the college/high school kids walking precincts off of Nellis.

And, Harry's got to stay out of it, or play it real, real smart, and behind the scenes. His track record in CD3 ain't so hot.

[Michael Green]

I said this for a news story, so it may be in the R-J tomorrow. No matter what Hafen does, she will be painted as Reid's puppet. No matter who ran against Porter, his campaign would slime her (or him) while Porter sailed above it all as a nice guy. So, Hafen can come out swinging. And it might just help that Porter and his thuggish gang (and I say that with the respect that any politically thuggish gang should get, because, frankly, we should be more thuggish) would be attacking a young woman and a Mormon.

[Not Bob Beers]

I think the angle missed by the thoughtfullly pessimistic posts above is that Hafen's candidacy is clearly very different from Gallagher in 2 respects

1. She's got a bright political future ahead of her if she isn't destroyed -- she has an asset to protect that Gallagher didn't. He seemed to wilt when Porter went ugly, and I can't imagine her doing that.

2. More importantly, her campaign is a response to Porter becoming the RNC's Man in Nevada to take on Reid re: Abramoff. The point of the the campaign is not only to win the seat; its to keep Porter from going on the road nationally and saying "Harry Reid from my home state took 'Abramoff money' so the Dems can't claim to be against corruption." In other words, the issue she'll run on, no matter what, is republican corruption. Gallagher tried to run on health care, or some sort of wonky issue; she's going to run on old fashioned "throw the rascal out".

Not saying she'll win but there's a lot more reason to expect, as Mike Green points out, that she'll come out swinging and not let up.

[Diogenes]

Swinging doesn't do it, winning is what its all about. It will be an uphill battle. Just check how brain dead the Dems are by looking at who they selected to respond to the State of the Union address, Gov Tim Kaine of Virgina. (See Huffingtonpost of Jan 20th.) If this typical of the strategy the Dems will use to win the public and seats in Congress, there is real trouble in River City. I like chopped liver, as long as it isn't mine or people I care about. And there will be plenty of it in this race.

[Tom]

If I were Tessa's campaign manager, I would hit Porter hard. If he decides to run an ad calling her a puppet of Harry Reid, I'd hit back with an ad with Porter as a puppet with President Bush pulling the strings.

[Michael Green]

I wanted to thank Not Bob (I have to ask whether you are related to Not Dead Fred!) for calling my post thoughtful. I don't THINK I was pessimistic, but I think I was realistic about how Porter will try to fly above what Slanker does to his opponent, just as he has before--and, not coincidentally, as the MSM let Bush do in connection with Karl Rove. I think Tessa Hafen can beat Jon Porter, especially if she follows Tom's advice, except for one thing: I'd run the puppet ad first, early and often.

[joe]

Governor candidate Gibson sits on the same Henderson City Council as Ms Hafen's dad and Gibson doesn't seem to be short of campaign cash from those who wish to prosper in Henderson. I'm sure Ms Hafen will get $500,000 + before it is all said and done.

[Tiffany Ongsiaco]

I don't care anymore. Hafen & Hafen rules!!! =) oooh yeah

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