Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn’t the only party leader on Capitol Hill with a target on his back this year. According to CQ, NRCC chair and conservative darling Pete Sessions (R-TX) has now been targeted for defeat by national Democrats.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer will be among the guests at a fundraiser for the Democratic nominee running against Sessions, lawyer Grier Raggio. A DCCC source told CQ that the stop isn’t just a formality — the organization has put Sessions on its list of potentially targeted races this year and has been hammering him in press releases.
Even with the backing of the national party, however, Raggio faces an uphill climb against the well-funded and even more well-connected Sessions, who’s a fixture on the national scene. But Sessions faces a slew of tea party-inspired conservative opponents on the right before the general election, which DCCC officials have called a sign that Sessions position is weakening.
Democrats say Sessions is weakened by scandal as well. Sessions has been tied to alleged Ponzi-schemer Allen Stanford, who the SEC suspects of stealing $7 billion from investors. In the current anti-corporate political climate, such a link might be what it takes to knock out of the House, Democrats say.
The professional prognosticators are not so sure yet. The Cook Political report rates the seat as Solid Republican, as does CQ. But national Democrats say that like Reid, Sessions is one party leader that just might get kicked out of Congress come November.
