7/18/08

Childers Fundraising Up; Davis On Hold

Clarion Ledger - 1st District candidate putting off fundraising - Republican Greg Davis has taken a break from fundraising. The latest filings with the Federal Election Commission show Davis, the mayor of Southaven, has raised only $6,644 since he was defeated by Childers in a special election in May. Davis said he has put his fundraising on hold "to spend some time with the family and regroup." He also said he's changing campaign managers. Former manager Ted Prill has left the campaign, and his replacement will be announced soon, Davis said. Davis ended the reporting period with about $54,000 in cash on hand, close to the $55,000 he lent his campaign. But the mayor said he resumed fundraising efforts after July 4 and plans to stay in what he considers a competitive race. Childers reported raising about $169,000 since his May 13 election. Contributors included Delta Pride Catfish owner Bill Allen, who donated $500; the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, who donated $1,000; and former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore.

Daily Journal - Childers' campaign money numbers go up after win

7/15/08

Davis for 'smart growth'

Mayor Davis works to create 610-acre mixed-use development in Southaven

Commercial Appeal - Southaven plans 'smart growth' community

Childers for ANWR

Conservatives must be thinking maybe Childers isn't so bad while liberals might be wondering what they have wrought.

Y'all Politics - Congressman Travis Childers (D) - Drill offshore & in ANWR . . . build more refineries

7/10/08

Too Long

A long, long, long post on the "The Story and Lessons of Travis Childers and MS-01" by TrumantoLong

Davis, GOP change strategy on MS-1

Campaigns and Elections - Davis Says Running Against Obama Won't Work - The incumbent candidate in Mississippi's 1st district congressional race is a pro-gun, pro-life, fiscal conservative-and he's the Democrat. Therein lies the challenge for Republican Greg Davis, who is running again this fall in a re-match of the most highly publicized special election that the GOP lost this spring. In May, Democrat Travis Childers beat Davis in a district where George Bush won 62 percent of the vote in 2004. That defeat, says Davis, provides a valuable strategic lesson. "We're going to spend more time going out there and meeting with voters and letting them know who I am, and less on the contrast ads which just didn't work," Davis says, referring to ads that tried to link Childers to presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Both Davis and the Mississippi GOP say they realize the negative ads linking Childers to Obama and the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright didn't do the trick for conservative voters in northern Mississippi. "The campaign this time around has to be about what Davis is-not what Childers isn't," says Cory Adair, a spokesman for the Mississippi Republican Party. "They completely hijacked the Republican platform," he says, referring to Childers' successful marketing of himself as a conservative during the special election on such issues as the second amendment, abortion, and immigration.

Whatever the Republican strategy, Childers is going out of his way to not provide the GOP any opening to link him to the presumptive Democratic nominee. Rep. Childers says he will not even attend the party's national convention in Denver this August. "It's reflective of who he is, he's not a party guy," says John Rowley, a media consultant for the Childers campaign, who insists the decision not to attend the convention stemmed from the congressman's busy schedule and was not part of a campaign strategy to deliberately shy away from Obama.

Both sides agree that the race in Mississippi 1 will come down to who's better on the economy. Rowley says Childers will continue to hit home on his message of fiscal responsibility from the special election. Similarly, Davis says he'll put more emphasis on his economic record as mayor of Southaven, including the $5.2 million surplus he presided over there.

Childers on Oil Speculation

DeSoto Times - In Brief: Childers presides over U.S. House - Just back from his first official visit to Iraq over the July Fourth recess, U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, D-Miss., had another first as a congressman Wednesday when he presided over the House of Representatives. Childers, who took office May 20 after winning a special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., took up the Speaker's gavel to rule on motions from the floor during votes on legislation calling for housing assistance to very low income veterans, which passed, and a bill providing for minting quarter coins engraved with images of national parks.

Daily Journal - Childers pushes for energy solutions - In the face of ever-increasing gas prices, U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, D-Miss., called on the House Agriculture Committee this week to investigate the practice of oil speculation. "When I was elected, the price of gasoline was $3.61 per gallon. Barely a month later the price of gasoline per gallon has jumped to over $4," Childers said. "Recently, I met with sweet potato farmers from my district who are facing increased production costs as the prices of diesel fuel, fertilizer and gasoline all rise. "These price spikes have placed a tremendous economic pressure on an industry that is vital to my district and is threatening the livelihood of many of the Mississippi working families I represent." Although Childers and other committee members will explore numerous factors leading to today's high energy prices, most have specifically cited oil speculation as a particular concern. Congress this summer has already held about a half dozen hearings on the issue, with lawmakers vowing to tighten restrictions on the practice. This week's hearing in the Agriculture Committee will be the first such hearing that Childers has attended, confirmed his communications director, Dana Edelstein. But the congressman said he’s anxious to work with his colleagues from both parties to come up with a solution.

Y'allPolitics - Travis Childers (D) on Oil Speculation

7/8/08

Davis for 4-day, 10-hour day work weeks

AP - Southaven mayor wants 4-day work week - Southaven Mayor Greg Davis wants city employees on a 4-day work week beginning Oct. 1. The board of aldermen have not set a date for consideration. Davis said clerical workers and other non-salaried employees would work a 4-day week with 10-hour days. He said department heads would be exempt. Davis said he envisions employees coming in at 7:30 a.m. and working until 6 p.m. with a 30-minute lunch break. In addition to weekends, their third day off would rotate. Davis said the police department already works 12-hour shifts, which works well for that department.

7/2/08

Djournal: "Childers: Bring home U.S. troops from Iraq"

NEMS Daily Journal - Childers: Bring home U.S. troops from Iraq - During the third day of his trip to the Middle East, U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, D-Miss., on Tuesday urged the country’s leaders to bring the American troops home. “I remain convinced that the Iraqi government needs to step up its own efforts to strengthen and repair the country’s economic situation,” Childers said in a press release. The congressman, who is part of a six-member congressional delegation on the trip, spent much of his second and third days in meetings on the Iraqi economy. “Our own economy is taking a huge hit every day that we stay in Iraq,” he said. “Funds spent in Iraq are funds we can’t spend at home to invest in sources of alternative energy, job growth, and economic development. “North Mississippians would like to see our troops return home sooner rather than later, and I am for bringing our soldiers back honorably and safely.”

7/1/08

Freedom Watch targets Childers, others

Politico.com - Independence Day week ad blitz - The Freedom’s Watch target list closely approximates the top targets for the National Republican Congressional Committee. The Freedom’s Watch ads are running against: Reps. Don Cazayoux (D-La.), Travis Childers (D-Miss.), Nick Lampson (D-Texas), Nancy Boyda (D-Kansas), Steve Kagen (D-Wis.), Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas), Zack Space (D-Ohio), Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.), Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.), Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), Jim Marshall (D-Ga.), Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) and Carney.