Whitfield readies for Ryan’s efforts in KY-1

Kentucky's 1st Congressional District seat has been in the hands of U.S. Rep Ed Whitfield (R-Hopkinsville) since the Republican party's 1994 nationwide harvesting of Congressional seats. Then, Whitfield topped incumbent Democrat Tom Barlow by just over 2,000 votes. After winning his first re-election bid in 1996 by seven points, Whitfield has kept a firm grasp on the 1st District, never winning by less than 11 points.

This year, Whitfield faces Heather Ryan (D-Paducah) in November's general election in what may be an atypical challenge for the incumbent.

Ryan is running a lightly-funded campaign she says "could not be more grassroots," and has thus far focused on the candidate travelling the district and a growing internet presence. The impetus for her unlikely Congressional run is her assertion that she lost her job in Paducah after she confronted Kentucky's senior U.S. Senator, Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville), about the war in Iraq. She claims McConnell wielded influence to have her fired - a claim McConnell's office denies.

Her campaign is now also using low-budget web videos poking fun at Whitfield - depicting him with a paper bag puppet - after previously highlighting speeches Ryan made at major state Democratic events.

Whitfield, on the other hand, has an extensive campaign warchest and the name recognition implicit with seven -terms in Congress. A spokesperson from Whitfield's campaign says his record will carry him through this election to an eighth term.

"The Congressman is certainly mindful that he does face an opponent this year, but is confident that his record of service will continue to resonate with the people of the 1st Congressional District," campaign spokesperson Kristin Walker said in a statement sent to PolitickerKY.com. "Congressman Whitfield has spent the past 14 years building relationships with folks across the District, securing millions of federal dollars to fund projects throughout the area and has consistently voted for the people he represents, even when his own party takes a different position."

As of the end of April, Whitfield's campaign reported over $1 million on hand. Ryan, on the other hand, says she has just passed the $5,000 fundraising mark - the amount requiring an FEC report be filed. Almost all of Ryan's contributions have come from an online political action committee.

ActBlue is a website listing the names of Democratic candidates of various office levels and offers a relatively streamlined method of click-and-pay contributions. Ryan's candidacy has collected $5,310 in donations on the site thus far.

Even with the massive fundraising advantage, Whitfield's campaign expects to increase its ground operations in the coming months.

"The Congressman's campaign office is currently open, staffed by volunteers, and will begin to pick up in activity this summer," said Walker. "The Congressman will have a number of volunteers working on his campaign and, most likely, full time staff as we move closer to the election. Congressman Whitfield is committed to campaigning throughout the District and earning every vote."

Walker also noted Whitfield could use the disparity in fundraising to spread the wealth to other candidates, if his re-election campaign does not require them - a sign Ryan's campaign may have some convincing to do.

"To the extent he has funding available, he may offer support to other candidates who share his
views on national issues and who may need financial support, but the primary purpose of his reelection campaign funds is to assist with his own reelection campaign," said Walker.

In the past few months, Ryan has relentlessly targeted Whitfield in any medium available, criticizing his personal holdings in oil companies as well as campaign contributions from oil interests during speeches before large Democratic audiences. Ryan has also charged that Whitfield resides outside of the 1st District and earlier claimed Whitfield had "introduced" only one piece of legislation during his Congressional career - a charge later reported as incorrect on PolitickerKY.com.

Ryan says she perceives of differences on the ground in the 1st District in how Whitfield is campaigning this year compared with past races. She points to his personal appearances at several recent events she argues he "never comes to" in the district as evidence that her candidacy is having an impact.

"Their efforts are ramped up," Ryan told PolitickerKY.com yesterday. "I don't know why he'd be afraid of me, but I'm glad he is."

Yesterday, Ryan's campaign began touting two new web videos - part of a planned series called "Bag Eddie" using a literal bag to portray and criticize the incumbent. In the first installment of the series, the faux-Whitfield declares his love of "big oil," pharmaceutical companies, and the horse breeding industry, among other things.

For Ryan, it is another effort to use all the media available to her.

"We don't get any traditional press, so we have to make do with the internet and YouTube," said Ryan.

Whitfield's campaign rejected the assertions in the video, however, though they did find some humor in its content.

"To say that Congressman Whitfield represents anyone other than the people of the First Congressional District is simply laughable," said Kristin Walker.

Walker also defended Whitfield's energy record, pointing to some recent legislative activity.

"[Ed Whitfield] has introduced legislation to provide both short term relief to Kentucky drivers forced to pay skyrocketing prices at the pump as well as a long term solution to the nation's energy crunch by producing American-made energy. Just yesterday he helped to lead a Congressional hearing examining speculators in the energy market, who many analysts believe are driving up the cost of oil by as much as 50 percent," said Walker.

On behalf of the Whitfield campaign, Walker also took issue with Ryan's attacks, arguing they were propogating inaccuracies, and challenged the Ryan camp's assertion that Whitfield - who sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House - was intimately connected with energy.

"She seems to be using the same lines, and unsuccessfully, I might add. She still is claiming [Whitfield] lives in Florida, after that supposedly was laid to rest two decades ago. She claims he has only sponsored one piece of
legislation during his years in Congress, another thing that is quickly discounted by simply viewing the record," said Walker. "And she talks about his contributions from oil companies - to my knowledge, he has only
received one contribution from an oil company in this election, and that was from a Kentucky company."

Thus far this election cycle, Whitfield has taken in less from oil companies than during his 2006 bid. The incumbent has collected a $1,000 contribution from a political action committee representing Chevron Oil employees, as well as some other contributions from PACs representing interests related to oil and natural gas commodities.

By all accounts, Ryan will likely step up her efforts in conjunction with Whitfield's own ground escalation as November's general election moves closer.

In her second web video, the challenger appears to be foreshadowing her speech at the infamous "Fancy Farm" political forum - a western Kentucky event celebrated for its raucousnes. The video hints that Ryan will be targeting Whitfield during her remarks, and the candidate herself called the speech her campaign's "premier event."

Whitfield, meanwhile, will continue to point at his history in office in contrast to Ryan's inexperience.

"The Congressman is gearing up for his eighth campaign in the Commonwealth and intends to run on his outstanding record in Washington," said Walker.