Elizabeth Dole

Neither of these is particularly surprising, but Democrats are two seats closer to 60—Jeanne Shaheen is now projected to oust John Sununu in a rematch of their 2002 New Hampshire race, and Kay Hagan has defeated Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina. The real test of whether this is becomes a great night for Senate Democrats—and for DSCC chair Chuck Schumer—is whether they can pull an upset in Kentucky, Georgia or Mississippi.

When Walter Mondale plucked Geraldine Ferraro from her Queens Congressional district and placed her on the Democratic ticket in 1984, it was hailed as a fundamentally transformative occasion: From that moment on, women seeking national office would be the norm.

It hasn’t quite work out that way.

In the 24 years since, all of the presidential and vice-presidential nominee from the two major parties have been men, and it wasn’t until 2000—16 years after Ferraro’s selection—that a woman, Republican Elizabeth Dole, sought the nomination of a major party. Another woman, Carol Moseley-Braun, campaigned for the 2004 Democratic nomination, but built no discernible organization, raised little money and generated scant interest.  read more »

Morgan Ortagus, KT McFarland's usually mild-mannered and sweet-natured spokeswoman, just sent Ryan an angry letter accusing the Spencer campaign of falsely claiming the support of National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Elizabeth Dole. Here's are a couple of samples:

"The fact that he needs to pretend he has Mrs. Dole's support is a little sad, frankly."

"Trying to gain advantage in the Republican Primary by spreading falsehoods--wrongly using the good name of a prominent and respected U.S. Senator in the process--only belittles your candidate. It makes him look small. Please stop doing it."

The NRSC folks must be thrilled.  read more »

(Full text after the jump.)

The latest national senatorial campaign committee numbers are out, and it looks like the DSCC -- which Schumer chairs -- has once again outraised its Republican alter ego, the NRSC. No doubt the committee also owes some credit to the various White House and Congressional scandals that have rocked the GOP these last few months.

According to the committees' March filings, the DSCC raised nearly $ 7 million in March, bringing the total amount raised for the 2006 campaign cycle $56.4 million. The committee has spent $24.6 million and now has $32.1 million on hand.

But the NRSC -- chaired by North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole -- has also done a decent job of milking its donors this past month. The committee raised $5,043,456 in March, bringing its 2006 total to $50.4 million, the Hotline reports. It has $16.5 million on hand.

Now it remains to see what both committees do with all their loot.