The campaigns of both 2nd Congressional District candidates are undergoing changes in leadership this month.
Republican Ed Tinsley’s campaign already has a new manager. Chris Collins, who managed Heather Wilson’s unsuccessful primary bid for U.S. Senate, has taken over for Grant Hewitt, who is now deputy campaign manager. Meanwhile, Democrat Harry Teague has fired former campaign manager Brad Foster, who has yet to be replaced.
“We wish Brad well. He did a fine job on the campaign, but looking forward we had a difference of opinion about how to run the campaign,” said Teague communications director Alex Cole.
Collins pointed out that Hewitt is still on Tinsley’s staff and coordinating political activities.
“Grant did a terrific job managing the primary effort. Ed won by 10 points. Now we are shifting gears into the general,” said Collins, who is also a former staffer for Sen. Pete Domenici. “… I came on board as an extra set of hands to help out with some of the management and organizational work. We have added several new staff in the last couple of weeks. Everybody is working hard to make sure Ed Tinsley is elected to Congress.”
Tinsley and Teague both won hotly contested primaries. The race has drawn heavy national attention, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee set to spend $1.2 million on television ads in the district in September and October.
That’s good news for Teague, who is seeking to win a seat that has been held by a Republican for more than 25 years. Many Democrats think they have their best shot in years at retaking the seat.
Not counting the DCCC involvement, Tinsley had a slight financial advantage over Teague as of June 30, the end of the last reporting period. He had $111,530 on hand to Teague’s $75,303. Though Teague outraised Tinsley from May 15 to June 30, that’s only because he loaned his campaign $80,000. Tinsley had more individual contributions.
But the involvement of the DCCC is significant. The group has a huge fundraising advantage this year over its Republican counterpart, and Tinsley can’t expect as much help from the National Republican Congressional Committee.