Schauer, Peters getting major help from Dem establishment in U.S. House races

House Democratic leaders have been working hard on behalf of Democratic challengers, showering them with money and personal attention to expand their majority and to curry favor with future colleagues.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois have contributed thousands of dollars, held countless fund-raisers and traveled across the country for Democratic candidates.

In Michigan, Democratic leaders are campaigning hard to win two seats held by Republican U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg and Joe Knollenberg.

Earlier this month, Emanuel implored Democratic donors in New York and Washington, D.C., to contribute to Democratic challengers Gary Peters, the former state lottery director, and state Sen. Mark Schauer.

If Democrats could not win these seats this year, it is likely they would remain in Republican hands for a very long time.

As a result, Pelosi has given $9,500 to Schauer and $7,500 to Peters; Hoyer has campaigned for both candidates and has given $11,500 to Schauer and $9,000 to Peters; Clyburn has campaigned for both candidates and has contributed $12,000 to Schauer and $14,000 to Peters; and Emanuel has campaigned for both candidates and returned to Michigan this week. He has contributed $9,000 to Schauer and $7,000 to Peters.

Stuart Rothenberg, the author of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Report, said this week that the race between Schauer and Walberg “is likely to be closer because of the GOP nature of the district” even though polling shows Scahuer leading.

A Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee poll released in early October showed Schauer leading Walberg by 8 points, 43 to 35 percent. The poll had a 4.9-percent margin of error.

Rothenberg also called Knollenberg the “underdog” in his race against Peters. A DCCC poll released on Oct. 21 showed Peters leading Knollenberg by 10 points, 46 to 36 percent. The poll had a 4.9 percent margin of error.

The DCCC had spent $1,219,779 as of Monday to help Peters and spent more than $800,000 as of last week to aid Schauer’s bid.

Despite all of this effort by party leadership to increase the size of the Democratic majority, self-interest is at stake, too.

Pelosi, Hoyer, Clyburn and Emanuel are all campaigning hard to curry favor with future colleagues who will have a say in whether they remain Democratic leaders.

In the weeks after the election, Democrats will meet in Washington, D.C., and hold internal party elections (Republicans will hold their own elections, too). When Congress meets in early January, House members will vote to determine who will be Speaker of the House. The vote normally is split along party lines, so Pelosi will be reelected easily if all Democrats support her.

But leadership races are often contentious, revealing a party’s inner turmoil as well as a lawmaker’s political skills. So the allegiance of incoming freshmen can be crucial.

Perhaps no recent congressional leader was better at the care and feeding of future members of Congress than former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who campaigned tirelessly in 1994 for Republican candidates who eventually won.

He not only raised and contributed money to them, but sent them care packages with office supplies, toiletries and snacks. The loyalty he won from GOP candidates helped propel DeLay past then-Speaker Newt Gingrich’s favored candidate to become the majority whip.

The current Democratic leadership has worked well together during the past two years, and the leadership team will remain in place during the 111th Congress. But leaders face a big test in 2010, when Emanuel, the fourth-ranking member of leadership, reaches his two-term limit as caucus chair. It’s either up or out for Emanuel at that point.

Emanuel, a former senior aide to President Clinton before winning a seat in Congress in 2002, led the Democrats to victory in the 2006 midterm elections as chairman of the DCCC.

What Emanuel chooses to do after the 2010 midterm elections, as well as how he manages his relationship with a President Obama, could have far-reaching consequences for the party’s leadership. He normally chooses the most aggressive and ambitious course of action and has let reporters know that he wants to be the first Jewish speaker of the House.

“Both Pelosi and Hoyer are same age, both love their jobs, and both could be there for another six years,” a Democratic lobbyist with close ties to House leaders said. “No question that if [Emanuel] stays, he will be speaker. The question is whether he can wait.”

“He’s on a path to someday be speaker,” another Democratic lobbyist said. “It’s a question of what are stepping stones along the way and how long will it take?”

With days to go before the 2008 election, speculation about the 2010 midterms and future party leadership might appear pointless given how much can change.

But leadership races determine who sets the party’s message and agenda in Washington, as well as who advises the speaker and majority leader. So until the moment comes when Emanuel has to give up his post as Democratic Caucus chairman, he and the other House leaders are busy collecting chits and building new relationships with possible newcomers like Schauer and Peters.

Jonathan E. Kaplan is Washington correspondent for the Center for Independent Media’s network of online news sites.