Pietrasaelis Trailing NAT Opponent, Polls Show

Freshman senator headed for a tough re-election bid

GRANTHAM, NWP--Freshman Senator Nadine Pietrasaelis, a Conservative, appears headed for a tough re-election bid in 2010, according to two new polls released Thursday.

Pietrasaelis trails her NAT opponent, Congresswoman Jean Larae Dowd of Dayle-Locke, 38% to 32%, with 30% undecided, according to a poll conducted by the University of New Portsmouth in Dayle-Locke. Another poll conducted by the Grantham Institute, an unaffiliated organization that follows politics in New Portsmouth, showed Pietrasaelis trailing by less, 42% to 38%, with only 20% undecided.

The election isn't until December 2010, so there is still time for things to turn around for the senator. But the polls indicate a clear certainty: Pietrasaelis is likely in for the fight for her political life. She ran unopposed in 2007, when she first began representing the state in the senate. Since then, even moderate Conservatives have had a tough time winning elections in New Portsmouth, which is often regarded as a battle ground state. In December 2008, Governor Jacqueline Bosseau (CNS) and Lieutenant Governor Evan Kershing (CNS) narrowly defeated incumbents Dale Rochey (NAT) and Jane Hanman (NAT) by a margin of 50.62% to 49.38%, respectively. Conservative Senator Ayden Benning also barely surpassed NAT incumbent John Wesley Brown, defeating him 50.36% to 49.64%, respectively.

Pietrasaelis is decidedly more conservative than her moderate colleagues Bosseau, Kershing, and Benning. In recent months, she has led opposition in the senate to President Menuhaeo's stimulus package, and opposed several of the president's cabinet nominees, most notably Neal Neeley, whom the president nominated to head the Department of Environmental Affairs. Neeley failed confirmation by a vote of 42-48.

Still, Pietrasaelis is a hero in the national Conservative party. She's also hailed by the more traditional wing of the party, particularly for her conservative stance on social issues, her support for the military, and her opposition to increasing taxes. It's likely she will receive significant financial support from out-of-state groups who support her positions.

Sen. Kit McHenry (C-VER), who is the chairwoman of the Conservative Senate Campaign Committee (CSCC), acknowledged that "some Conservative senators may have a tough time getting re-elected in 2010."

"I think it's clear Nadine is facing a strong challenege from the left," McHenry said. "They really want to pick her off. But we're going to make sure it won't be easy for them. We're going to give Nadine everything she needs to make sure she returns to the senate in 2010."

And Pietrasaelis may need quite a bit of extra help. Her latest campaign finance report with the Elections Oversight Bureau showed the senator had $980,000 in the bank, and had only raised $140,000 since January 1st. Dowd, in contrast, reported raising $340,000 since she declared her candidacy on April 28th. She has also loaned her campaign $220,000, giving her a total of $560,000 in cash-on-hand.

Neither candidate would comment on the polls, but a spokeswoman for the Nationalist Senate Campaign Organization (NSCO), the NAT equivalent to the CSCC, said the NSCO will "do everything [we] can" to help Rep. Dowd win in 2010.