The last Senate race of 2016 just ended two days ago in Louisiana. That means we’re already in the 2018 election cycle — time to start scaring small donors into opening their wallets yet again!
It’s possible that I missed someone else’s panic fundraising email, but it looks like the honor of first out of the gate goes to Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, whose state just went to Donald Trump by eight points.
Brown, who faces re-election in 23 months, might be exaggerating his predicament. But the flattening of his state party in two consecutive elections cannot be an encouraging sign as he potentially faces a rematch against Republican State Treasurer Josh Mandel.
“There’s already a poll of Josh Mandel vs. Sherrod,” the email notes, “and it shows us down …”
The email then highlights a journalist’s tweet about the poll from last week. The survey, by WPA Research, shows Brown trailing Mandel by one point, 40 to 39 percent.
“We need to be ready to play from behind — and that means we need $5,000 by midnight,” the email states, requesting small contributions of various sizes. It goes on:
If you take one thing away from this poll, it’s this: Sherrod’s race is going to be close. And we all know what happens in close races — millions of dollars in outside spending and attack ads. It’s never too early to prepare. If this is going to be a close race, we’re going to be ready. And that work starts right now.
