Steve Israel, DCCC Chair, Tells Candidates To Stay Away From The Democratic National Convention
Posted: 06/26/2012 10:40 pm Updated: 06/27/2012 10:50 amDemocratic Campaign Committee Chairman Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday in no uncertain terms that candidates should stay in their districts and not go to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention if they want to win.
"A trip to Charlotte may be interesting," he said at a Reuters summit of the early September event, "but why leave your districts?"
"I don't care if the president was at 122 percent favorability right now," he added. "I think (candidates) should be in their districts.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who previously held the chairmanship, gave the same advice to candidates in 2008.
"Our overall advice to candidates has been to stay home," he said in August 2008, but warned candidates not to separate themselves from the Democratic party.
Candidates who attend the convention will miss four days of campaigning, which could make the difference in a close race.
On Tuesday Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), one of Barack Obama's top 2008 surrogates, joined a number of Democratic lawmakers in tough races who said they plan to skip the event, among them Reps. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.), Mark Critz (D-Pa.), three West Virginia Democrats and Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.), whose Republican challenger, Rep. Danny Rehberg, is not planning to attend the GOP convention.
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