AP: Neb. Rep. Lee Terry faces challenge early

Margery Gibbs, Associated Press
July 26, 2009

Rep. Lee Terry hardly had time to return to his Washington office after winning his sixth term in November before being confronted with challengers for 2010.

With that election a year and a half out, the Nebraska Republican is already finding himself a target of Democrats hoping to gain control of his 2nd Congressional District seat.

Democratic state Sen. Tom White of Omaha announced earlier this month that he is forming an exploratory committee to consider a run against Terry.

Also this summer, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee aired a radio ad critical of Terry's vote against a $106 billion emergency war bill under the Obama administration. The ad noted Terry had supported funding for troops under George W. Bush's presidency and that Republicans had been quick to criticize anyone who voted against the troop-funding supplementals.

"Barack Obama did win the district," said DCCC spokeswoman Gabby Adler. "The demographics of this city are changing. The voting preference of this city is changing."

University of Nebraska at Omaha political science professor Randall Adkins said that both parties will perceive Terry as vulnerable.

"So while the Democrats may come after him, Republicans will be more likely to support him," he added.

Indeed, Republicans have already responded. The National Republican Congressional Committee has added Terry to its incumbent retention effort, giving him an opportunity to participate in a fall fundraiser that could add to his war chest. A similar fundraiser in June brought in nearly $100,000 in contributions for each of the program's 10 participants.

"Lee Terry is taking his re-election seriously and is building an effective campaign to help him do it," said the RNCC's Paul Lindsay.

Dave Boomer, campaign spokesman for Terry, said that by next year's election, Republicans will have had time to distance themselves from an unpopular GOP president and many of the nation's woes will be "owned" by a new Democratic president.

"We've already shown we can get hit with the best and survive," Boomer said. "If they really, really target us, we're ready for them."

Nevertheless, the GOP has challenges to overcome. President Obama's popularity could carry into next year, and the Democrats will still hold control of Congress. And last fall, for the first time in 14 years, more Democrats than Republicans registered to vote in Douglas County, which is home to Omaha and makes up a large chunk of the district.

Nebraska's two other House seats are also held by Republicans. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who holds the Lincoln-based 1st District seat, so far faces no serious challenge for 2010. Rep. Adrian Smith, whose vast 3rd District covers the central and western part of the state, faces a challenge from Democrat Rebekah Davis of Alliance, a political unknown. That race has drawn little national attention.

Terry has faced increasingly formidable challenges in his last two elections. Democrat Jim Esch gave Terry a fright in 2006, initially leading in polls before eventually losing by about 9 percentage points. Esch launched a rematch in 2008, and came within 4 percentage points of knocking the incumbent off.

Anyone who wins by less than 5 percentage points is perceived nationally as being vulnerable, Adkins said.

"So what it means is, we can expect at least in the next election cycle or two to see some competition here."

And Democrats aren't the only ones getting in on the act. Republican businessman Matt Sakalosky announced earlier this year that he'll run against Terry in the 2010 primary election. Sakalosky said he is disappointed with some of Terry's votes, including one for Bush's $700 billion bank bailout last year.

Still, Adkins said Terry has a number of factors working in his favor. One is that Esch's challenges forced the incumbent to improve his campaign organization.

Adkins noted that Terry also is no longer "saddled with Bush," whose approval ratings hovered around 25 percent during last year's election. Also, Republicans still outnumber Democrats among the district's registered voters by about 7,000.

"I think the negatives he's had to deal with in recent election cycles are gone. Now the issue is: There aren't any positives for him to pick up on," Adkins said. "He can't ride Barack Obama's popularity to office. Being in the minority party, he can't claim credit for legislation that the Democrats are passing. His position becomes that of: He's there to help stop the Democrats from doing things that voters in the district do not think is a good idea."