BluegrassReport.org

KY-2 race: Lewis surprises everyone by dropping out

Well, I don't think anybody saw THAT coming.

"That" was the surprise, last-minute withdrawal of Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Cecilia) from the Second District race.  Instead, claiming that Washington wasn't as fun since the Democrats took over last year, he pulled out and put his chief of staff, Daniel London, in his place.

Now McConnell's in a tizzy, and he's thrown his weight behind state Sen. Brett Guthrie (R-Bowling Green) who filed after somehow hearing that Lewis was going to get out.  I'm still wondering how he found out.

And, of course, let's not forget that the Democrats in the race are both from Daviess County.  While I'd rather have avoided a primary in this race, evidently Daviess County Judge-Executive Reid Haire, who will face state Sen. David Boswell in that very primary, didn't care what I thought.

Bear in mind, though, that Boswell has much more name recognition in the district and has a good, sound record on which to run.  Haire, however, is almost totally unknown outside of Daviess County.  For those unfamiliar with him, it should be known that Haire was the driving force behind a relatively unpopular countywide smoking ban a couple of years ago, and he has also been dead set against even the discussion of consolidating the governments of Owensboro and Daviess County.  The latter stand comes at a time when many at the grass roots level want to at least explore the concept.

With his greater name recognition and connections in and out of the district, and the fact that Boswell has not taken any seriously unpopular stands on the issues through the years, I've gotta believe that David has a huge advantage here.

Kentucky's Clear Blue Shift

One of the recent signs that have made more predict that U.S. Sen. McConnell (R) is in for a rougher re-election fight than expected is the fact that President Bush's (R) job approval numbers in Kentucky have plummeted to a disastrously low 35% approve and 65% disapprove.

Indeed, those numbers do suggest that the man who has proudly defended and advanced the Bush agenda ought to be very concerned. But a closer look at those numbers tell an even more problematic story for McConnell.

You see, while Bush is becoming less popular in Kentucky, he's also getting less popular in the other 49 states, so simply using Bush's plunging numbers in Kentucky only tell part of the story. But where things are much more instructive is to see where Bush has dropped more than elsewhere over the past few years.

When you do that, you'll notice that in only one state (New Mexico) has Bush's job performance tumbled more than it has in Kentucky -- among those states which SurveyUSA has been testing monthly since May 2005 -- when you compare the differences in President Bush's net rating (approval minus disapproval):

State	Nov 2007	May 2005	Diff
New Mexico	-35 (32/67)	-4 (46/50)	-31
Kentucky	-27 (35/62)	+2 (49/47)	-29
California	-44 (26/70)	-15 (39/54)	-29
New York	-54 (22/76)	-25 (35/60)	-29
Minnesota	-30 (34/64)	-2 (47/49)	-28
Massachusetts	-54 (22/76)	-26 (35/61)	-28
Virginia	-32 (33/65)	-6 (44/50)	-26
Kansas	-21 (38/59)	+4 (49/45)	-25
Washington	-35 (31/66)	-10 (42/52)	-25
Oregon	-36 (31/67)	-13 (42/55)	-23
Alabama	-16 (41/57)	+6 (50/44)	-22
Wisconsin	-33 (32/65)	-12 (42/54)	-21
Missouri	-28 (35/63)	-10 (42/52)	-18
Iowa	-33 (32/65)	-17 (39/56)	-16
Ohio	-29 (34/63)	-20 (38/58)	-9
AVERAGE	-33.8	-9.9	-23.9

That - along with the plummeting of new Kentucky Republican voters over the past two years and this month's landslide defeat of Governor Fletcher (R) -- really paints a picture that a political realignment is happening here in a noticeable way and these dynamics couldn't be happening to McConnell at a worse time.

Does that lead me to believe that Kentucky is becoming a Democratic state again? No, I wouldn't go that far.

But I do believe these trends tell us that Kentucky is much more politically comparable to the Midwest swing states than it is to the South, which is how the state seemed to behave for much of the past decade, until around 2005 when we began to see a subtle but steady change in the political attitudes of Kentucky voters, leading to John Yarmuth's (D) defeat of Anne Northup (R) in the 3rd congressional district and this year's defeat of Fletcher and plunging approval numbers for McConnell.

This is why McConnell should be even more concerned and why the environment is right for a serious challenge of both U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis' (R) and U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield's (R) congressional seat, as well as the take-back of the state Senate.

(Note: While SurveyUSA has conducted monthly Bush approval tracking in the states since May 2005, about a year ago it narrowed its month survey from all 50 states to 15 states, which is why the above chart only lists those states.)

KY-2: Dirty Tricks Already Underway, But From Republicans Or Democrats?

With six months until the primary election and a year until the general election, the scummy and dishonest smear efforts are already underway in the 2nd Congressional District race where State Sen. David Boswell (D) and probably Daviess County Judge-Executive Reid Haire (D) hope to defeat U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R).

While we know that Republicans have no problem force-feeding slime to the voters (recall the pathetic robo-calls in the final days of their recent landslide gubernatorial defeat), it's hard to believe they'd start doing so against one candidate in what shapes-up to be a competitive primary election.

While I'm not accusing Haire's camp, I will say if you forced me to place a five dollar wager on this being either the Republicans or Haire supporters, I wouldn't pick the Republicans. I hope I'm wrong. I tilt that way because of all the talk that Haire is furious that Boswell got in the race as he did and Republicans simply would not benefit from one primary candidate quickly falling behind in a competitive race. The GOP would most certainly want a tight, hard-fought, bloody and expensive contest until the bitter end, and a Boswell-Haire match-up pretty much ensures that.

(Note: I have zero preference in the outcome of the Democratic primary, as I simply want to defeat Lewis).

From yesterday's Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer:

Bumper Stickers Target Boswell
Anonymous stickers question candidacy
By Owen Covington, Messenger-Inquirer

When state Sen. David Boswell wanted to test the waters this summer for a possible run for Congress, he distributed 1,000 bumper stickers with "Boswell '08" around Kentucky's 2nd District.

...But in recent weeks, "Boswell '08" bumper stickers of a different breed have been appearing in Daviess County.

Yellow and black stickers containing eight different messages questioning Boswell's possible candidacy have been sent by mail to local elected officials, business leaders and the Messenger-Inquirer.

The bumper stickers have arrived in a plain white envelope with no return address and no indication from where or by whom they have been sent.

The mock campaign stickers peg Boswell as a frequent candidate for different offices despite the fact Boswell has not run for any other office since joining the state Senate in 1991.

Boswell did consider a run first for governor and then lieutenant governor earlier this year. During his nearly 30 years in public service, he has served in the state House of Representatives and as state agricultural commissioner, and made a failed attempt to become lieutenant governor in 1987.

Boswell said he has not seen the bumper stickers but has heard about them and has decided that someone must be trying to scare him away from running for Congress next year.

"That is an underhanded campaign tactic," Boswell said. "Apparently someone's afraid of what I'm looking at doing here."

...Daviess Judge-Executive Reid Haire, a Democrat who is also considering a congressional run next year, said he is not behind the stickers and approached Boswell after he received one of the bumper stickers in the mail.

Just my two cents...

UPDATE (9:47 AM): One other thing, in Wednesday's story in Roll Call (subscription-only) on Lewis dispelling rumors here on BGR that he wasn't running for re-election contained this interesting comment from Haire:

“We’re probably going to go to Frankfort to sit down with Gov.-elect Steve Beshear’s people as well as officials in the state Democratic Party and begin ironing out and looking at the positives and negatives and challenges that each of us would face in the coming months with regards to raising money and waging a successful campaign,” Haire said. “Hopefully ... one of us will decide that it probably is not in his best interest to run for that office and throw his support to the other.”

This doesn't prove anything but does seem noteworthy. While I have no preference who wins the primary, I have little patience for such cowardly and anonymous tactics and sure hope idiot Republicans were behind them and not another Democrat.

KY-2: Is U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R) About To Step-Down From His House Seat And Not Seek Re-Election?

UPDATE (1:50 PM): One prominent Republican in the district who I trust a great deal says Lewis is running and will be filing papers next week. The sale of the homes were just a coincidence. So, I suspect we can put this one to rest.

While political rumors are a dime a dozen, there is some reason to wonder whether there's something to this one.

Apparently, there is a lot of chatter that U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R) is planning to step down from his seat and not run for re-election this year, and instead plans to move to Florida. This rumor is based on two sources from Lewis' area. Somewhat corroborative is the fact that Lewis' home in Cecilia, KY is for sale, as is his late father's home also in Cecilia. Furthermore, the talk is that Senator McConnell (R) wants Hardin County Judge-Executive Harry Berry (R) (Anne Northup's (R) campaign treasurer during her gubernatorial bid) to run for Lewis' seat.

A couple of things.

First, I have confirmed that Lewis' home in Cecilia is indeed for sale for $689,000. Hornback Realty Company in Elizabethtown is the listing agent. Here's the listing (by the way, click here to see that it matches-up with Lewis' address):

(click image for larger version of the listing)

Also, it seems that a sale is pending (click here) on Lewis' father's house (apparently he passed away last year). Is this a sign that Lewis is liquidating his Kentucky assets?

Also, while Lewis has never been much of a fundraiser, he's only been raising an average of just $125,000 in each of the past three quarters, even though he should have every reason to believe he's going to have a legitimate challenge again this cycle. Through the third-quarter, Lewis has just $312,000 of cash-on-hand.

While none of this proves the rumor that Lewis isn't running for re-election, it is nonetheless noteworthy and gives the rumor some credence.

P.S. -- On a related note, Daviess County Judge-Executive Reid Haire (D) is also talking about challenging for Lewis' seat (the story is in today's Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, which is subscription-only). Yesterday, we discussed how State Sen. David Boswell (D) announced that he plans to run.

P.P.S. -- Regardless of whether Lewis retires or not, keep in mind that Gov.-elect Beshear (D) won 18 of the 21 counties this congressional district spans, losing only Grayson (51-48), Taylor (53-47) and Green (57-43). No doubt it's a very conservative district, but the voters are indeed open-minded to good Democrats.

U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R) Calls On Larry Craig To Resign; Senator McConnell Calls Conduct "Unforgiveable"

The Courier-Journal is reporting that U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R) is calling on U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) to resign:

"Senator Craig's guilty plea for his alleged conduct last June illustrates moral hypocrisy inappropriate for an elected official," Lewis said in a statement. "He had the opportunity to contest the charges and chose not to."

The Idaho Republican senator's failure to reveal the incident, as well as his unwillingness to pursue legal means to show his innocence, "undermine the conservative principles of the Republican Party and should not be tolerated by voters or party leaders," Lewis said.

I think this is a strong statement by Lewis and I particularly applaud his criticism over Craig's "moral hypocrisy."

But I don't have the foggiest idea as to what he's referring to in the second paragraph about undermining "conservative principles." Is he talking about Craig's act, the fact that's he's probably gay, or the fact that Craig pled guilty to a crime? It's not very clear.

Meanwhile, Senator McConnell (R) weighed-in as well:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., repeatedly declined today to say whether he thinks embattled Idaho Senator Larry Craig should resign, but he did call Craig's conduct in a Minneapolis bathroom "unforgivable."

Again, is McConnell concerned about the criminal act or that he solicited a man for sex?

I think it's great that some Republicans are critical of Craig, but what is motivating their outrage is oddly unclear. We're seeing this difference in the presidential race as Mitt Romney (R) is upset about the homosexual act while John McCain (R) is upset about him pleading guilty to a crime.

Anyone?

Family Affair, Kentucky-Style

Today, the watchdog group CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) released its "first-ever analysis of the misuse of power by the chairmen and ranking members of all House of Representative committees and subcommittees, as well as top leadership positions, to financially benefit their family members. The new report names 96 members from 33 states: 44 Democrats and 53 Republicans."

Among those are our own U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers (R) and U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R).

From its report on Rogers:

HAROLD ROGERS (R-KY): Ranking member of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the House Committee on Appropriations.

Rep. Harold Rogers’ campaign committee, Hal Rogers for Congress, has paid a family member and has paid fees to a company that employs his wife. Additionally, Rep. Rogers appears to have used his influence to steer federal contracts to a company that employs his son.

Cynthia Doyle Rogers (wife):
• In his 2005 personal financial disclosure statement, Rep. Rogers reported that his wife, Cynthia Doyle Rogers, is employed by The Levatino Group. In the 2006 election cycle, Rep. Rogers’ campaign committee paid The Levatino Group $16,892 for fundraising.

Tracy Rogers (daughter-in-law):
• In the 2006 election cycle, Rep. Rogers’ campaign committee paid his daughter-in-law, Tracy Rogers, $24,000 for database management.
• In the 2004 election cycle, the campaign committee paid Ms. Rogers $24,000 for contract labor.
• In the 2002 election cycle, the campaign committee paid Ms. Rogers $24,000 for contract labor.

John Rogers (son):
• In 2002, Rep. Rogers intervened in a proposed plan to create new transportation worker identification cards by inserting language into appropriations bills that pushed the government to use the existing card type and to produce the cards in Corbin, Kentucky. In 2003, Rep. Rogers again intervened adding language that required a $4 million test of both card types; the test later showed the new cards were superior. The test was conducted by a Virginia based company, which shared its business with three companies in Corbin including Senture, a call center services company. In 2004, Senture won a contract to set up a call center for testing the identification cards. John Rogers was hired by Senture about the same time the contract was advertised, but before it was awarded.
• In 2004, Rep. Rogers arranged a $4 million Homeland Security contract for Senture to field calls from truckers.
• In 2004, Rep. Rogers steered a $2.9 million no-bid contract to a tourism group that then awarded a $1.2 million sub-contract to Senture.

From its report on Whitfield:

EDWARD WHITFIELD (R-KY): Ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Rep. Whitfield’s campaign committee, Whitfield for Congress, has paid his daughter.

Kate Wilson (daughter):
• In the 2002 election cycle, the campaign committee paid his daughter, Kate Wilson, $500 in consulting fees.

Noteworthy is that this report doesn't look into the millions of dollars that flowed out of Rogers' leadership PAC (HALPAC) which contained considerable more money to his family members than did his congressional campaign account -- particularly to the fundraising firm (The Levantino Group) which employs his wife.

Also, since the report only looks at leadership-level members, so it omitted the $50,000 per year that U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R) has been paying his wife from his campaign account.

And there's the never fully-explored situation of the $69,000 in mostly generic "travel reimbursements" that U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R) had paid himself over the past five years, which happens be 11 times greater than the average of all other Kentucky congressmen during the same time frame. Of course, unlike the Rogers, Whitfield, Lewis payments, those by Davis might be illegal...

Follow The Money

If you're interested in knowing how Kentucky's federal delegation gets its bread buttered, MAPLight.org has an update on the campaign finance breakdown for each of our state's members for the most recently completed cycle.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R)

[organizations]
RETIRED $250,047
ATTORNEY $122,100
PHYSICIAN $91,801
FARMER $74,860
KINDRED HEALTHCARE $62,700
SELF-EMPLOYED $42,850
BROWN-FORMAN CORP $41,250
HUMANA INC $38,877
GRIFFIN INDUSTRIES $38,800
PEABODY ENERGY $35,000

[interests]
Attorneys & law firms $390,848
Retired $242,047
Security brokers & investment companies $234,949
Pro-Israel $173,735
Commercial banks & bank holding companies $168,550
Lobbyists & public relations $147,295
Farmers, in general $121,160
Hospitals $121,100
Physicians $115,177
Coal mining $108,600

U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning (R)

[organizations]
RETIRED $184,175
ATTORNEY $62,770
PHYSICIAN $58,750
KINDRED HEALTHCARE $21,100
FIDELITY INVESTMENTS $20,000
BROWN-FORMAN CORP $17,050
ASHLAND INC $16,250
PAIN MANAGEMENT CENTER OF PADUCAH $15,000
FARMER $13,750
RJ REYNOLDS TOBACCO $13,500

[interests]
Attorneys & law firms $191,984
Retired $188,875
Insurance agencies, brokers & agents $164,199
Security brokers & investment companies $130,243
Other physician specialists $125,800
Commercial banks & bank holding companies $117,949
Lobbyists & public relations $94,516
Physicians $81,750
Pro-Israel $64,900
Life insurance $61,083

U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY5)

[organizations]
ATTORNEY $18,000
ADDINGTON ENTERPRISES $17,800
RETIRED $17,450
BEECHFORK PROCESSING $16,000
CONSULTANT $13,850
FIRST NATIONAL BANK $12,000
NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSN $10,000
GEO GROUP $10,000
GENERAL ELECTRIC $10,000
LOCKHEED MARTIN $10,000

[interests]
Attorneys & law firms $40,700
Engineers - type unknown $28,900
Lobbyists & public relations $25,400
Business services $25,050
Commercial banks & bank holding companies $21,000
Defense areospace contractors $21,000
Civil servant/public employee $20,750
Mining $20,000
Vegetables, fruits & tree nuts $18,900
Retired $17,450

U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY4)

[organizations]
RETIRED $191,705
SELF-EMPLOYED $22,882
ATTORNEY $18,900
EMERALD COAL $16,500
INVESTOR $15,050
AMERICAN BANKERS ASSN $15,000
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE $14,100
CNG FINANCIAL $12,700
CINTAS CORP $11,600
DRS TECHNOLOGIES $11,200

[interests]
Retired $191,705
Commercial banks & bank holding companies $91,727
Attorneys & law firms $85,900
Insurance agencies, brokers & agents $70,550
Credit agencies & finance companies $53,550
Lobbyists & public relations $52,603
Security brokers & investment companies $49,432
Residential construction $41,800
Coal mining $39,050
Mortgage bankers & brokers $37,550

U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R-KY2)

[organizations]
SELF-EMPLOYED $52,607
RETIRED $38,010
PHYSICIAN $24,060
KINDRED HEALTHCARE $21,350
ATTORNEY $14,800
BROWN-FORMAN CORP $14,499
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE $10,250
AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSN $10,000
AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSN $10,000
PINKERTON TOBACCO $10,000

[interests]
General commerce $57,707
Tobacco & tobacco products $46,850
Physicians $41,060
Retired $38,010
Hospitals $36,600
Other physician specialists $33,450
Attorneys & law firms $31,150
Wine & distilled spirits manufacturing $28,077
Lobbyists & public relations $27,494
Accident & health insurance $21,500

U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY1)

[organizations]
RETIRED $33,350
PAIN MANAGEMENT CENTER OF PADUCAH $21,250
PHYSICIAN $21,200
AMERISOURCEBERGEN CORP $12,250
NATIONAL CABLE & TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSN $11,000
AT&T INC $10,000
UNION PACIFIC CORP $10,000
PFIZER INC $10,000
WINE & SPIRITS WHOLESALERS OF AMERICA $10,000
BELLSOUTH CORP $10,000

[interests]
Other physician specialists $76,785
Pharmaceutical manufacturing $38,752
Telephone utilities $35,000
Retired $33,350
Physicians $33,200
Attorneys & law firms $32,100
Railroads $25,600
Tobacco & tobacco products $23,500
Pharmaceutical wholesale $21,250
Liquor wholesalers $20,500

U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler (R-KY6)

[organizations]
RETIRED $37,600
ATTORNEY $19,300
BELLSOUTH CORP $10,500
INTL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS $10,000
NATIONAL ASSN OF REALTORS $10,000
NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSN $10,000
NATIONAL AUTO DEALERS ASSN $10,000
IRONWORKERS UNION $10,000
TEAMSTERS UNION $10,000
FARM CREDIT COUNCIL $10,000

[interests]
Attorneys & law firms $69,924
Construction unions $49,000
Retired $37,600
Manufacturing unions $30,000
Air transport unions $18,700
Farmers, in general $18,550
Express delivery services $15,499
Restaurants & drinking establishments $15,450
Liquor wholesalers $15,000
Banks & lending institutions $14,900

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY3)
No data yet

Fundraising

Last week, we learned that Senator McConnell (R) has raised nearly $6 million for his 2008 re-election.

So, I thought I'd take a look at our other federal officials.

Senator Bunning (R) raised $45,445 during the 1st quarter of 2007, leaving him with a cash balance of $113,607. So far, he's raised $256,527 toward his 2010 re-election.

Here's how the state's U.S. House members are doing:

Member	Q1 2007 Raised	Q1 2007 Spent	Cash-On-Hand
Davis (R-KY4)	$317,479	$144,531	$239,720
Yarmuth (D-KY3)	$303,892	$37,249	$292,695
Chandler (D-KY6)	$140,221	$21,686	$708,648
Lewis (R-KY2)	$110,040	$14,530	$153,072
Whitfield (R-KY1)	$56,950	$52,840	$692,987
Rogers (R-KY5)	$16,000	$46,923	$988,196

Both Davis and Yarmuth are aggressively raising funds for their 2008 re-election, though Davis' campaign finance reports shows he spent about $90,000 in various "Direct Mail Expenses."  I'm a little surprised by Lewis' paltry showing given that he should expect another serious challenge next year.

By the way for comparison, here's where things stood two years ago after the 1st quarter of 2005 filing:

Member	Q1 2005 Raised	Q1 2005 Spent	Cash-On-Hand
Northup (R-KY3)	$385,506	$37,375	$390,321
Davis (R-KY4)	$274,067	$102,895	$283,809
Chandler(D-KY6)	$123,888	$55,160	$240,021
Whitfield (R-KY1)	$96,396	$40,696	$751,123
Lewis (R-KY2)	$16,468	$29,109	$314,770
Rogers (R-KY5)	$11,000	$55,490	$896,489

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth (D) Not On Karl Rove's Top 20 Target List For 2008

TPMmuckraker has the skinny on a presentation that Karl Rove's deputy (Kentucky's own Scott Jennings) gave to personnel of the General Services Administration (GSA) staff earlier this year and was produced in conjunction with congressional testimony today by its top official. The presentation reveals a number of particularly relevant Kentucky-specific items.

First, one page of Rove's power point was entitled "2008 House Targets: Top 20" and not included on that list was U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth (D). That's right, John is not considered by Rove as one of their Top 20 targets in 2008. All three of the Indiana seats that Democrats flipped last year are listed, but not Yarmuth.

Here's that page (click image for larger version):

However, U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis (R) is named on another Rove chart entitled "2008 House GOP Defense" under the column "Secondary Defense". No other Kentucky House seats are mentioned in the presentation.

Additionally, in discussing where the ground game worked and didn't work in 2006 House races, it reveals interesting information concerning KY3 (Northup) and KY4 (Davis).

Apparently, the final polls taken in the 2006 races showed that Anne Northup (R) had a 13-point lead over John Yarmuth (D) (50% to 37%), but lost that race by two points. Meanwhile, Geoff Davis (R) was leading Ken Lucas (D) by just 1-point (44% to 43%) but won his race by seven points.

By the way, the underlying testimony regarding Jennings' efforts with GSA officials is pretty sketchy as well as I suspect we haven't heard the last of it. Seems that Mr. Jennings is finding himself in the national news a little more than he'd like. Recall this recent development.

Here's what TPMmuckraker wrote:

After the presentation, Doan reportedly asked other employees how the agency could help "our candidates." The GSA, remember, is the government's procurement agency, in charge of almost $60 billion each year. All of this seems like a clear violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits using federal resources to aid political parties.

Click here for Rove's entire 13-page presentation.

Think Progress has great coverage as well.

Not Trend-Setters, That's For Sure

Need an example of how out-of-touch some of our Kentucky Republican congressmen really are?

Well, recall that nearly two months ago, Reps. Ron Lewis (R), Hal Rogers (R) and Ed Whitfield (R) publicly endorsed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) for president. At the time, most of the polls showed Romney with about 10% in the polls, narrowly behind former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) for third place.

Yesterday, the latest USA Today/Gallup poll came out and Romney has fallen to 3%, tied with Sen. Sam Brownback (R) for fifth place. The poll was taken March 23-25 of 429 Republicans and Republican leaners nationwide (Mar 2-4 results):

Giuliani 31 (44)
McCain 22 (20)
F. Thompson 12 (--)
Gingrich 8 (9)
Brownback 3 (1)
Romney 3 (8)

Not exactly trend-setters, are they?