Video: A Look at Kentucky's District 4

anyone else having trouble posting this morning?

Come to Michigan's 3rd District and examine Congressman Ehlers' record. This gerrymandered district gives a big advantage to the GOP, but is this the year that people vote for change? School board member and local attorney, Jim Rinck, challenges Ehlers on the issues that have largely been ignored and Ehlers' endless support of our President's failed policies.

you misspelled cincinnati :

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/ohioriver/

This is a great little analysis. I would like you to cover a little bit of OH-8 and Cali-8 seats. That is the Pelosi seat Cali-8 and Boehner seat Ohio-8. I think it would be interesting to see if the parties just figure these are safe and no need in spending or if they'd like to weaken the oppossition party leader, and actually try to defeat them.

This is a great project but you need to be more explicit about the candidates' strengths and weaknesses. Why would a race even be competitive if the incumbent isn't weak?

If the incumbent is flawless then let us know. If the incumbent is vulnerable then tell us why. What are the issues that might induce people to vote for change? For your reports to be meaningful, we need a little more substance and reasoning.

I think there are a good number of no-name House members who get reelected based on constituent service. I worked for a member who put a strong focus on constituent service, and there's no question that when people think of you as the one who calls them back, who tries to help them, who assists them getting food stamps or correcting a Social Security check or disability rejection, that gets you their vote before they even consider the issues. I had lots of constituents tell me they were conservative Republicans who disagreed with my boss on almost every issue, but they apprciated that we listened to and cared about them, and did what we could to try and help them. For better or worse (I would say better AND worse), the personal touch matters most to a lot of people.

My question would be: how was Lucas' constituent service during his 6 years in the House? He had 3 times as long to build a good rapport with voters in KY-4 than Davis has had. Given the issue climate, Davis is probably smart to work the constituent service angle.

In an era of red and blue states, and coastal elitists referring to the heartland as flyover country, I also appreciate some DC insiders going out to a trio of red states to report directly from the ground. OH-6 really doesn't seem like a race anymore, but are you covering OH-18? Or any chance OH-15??

I'm enjoying this series. Thanks for taking your reporting to the heartland. The incumbency issue is interesting. It makes sense that a lot of politics comes down to helping local constituents. One wonders, however, how voters balance international vs. local issues. How many constituents rely on the congressman for constituent services? How many judge the incumbent by his voting record on taxes, war, health care, education, and torture? Like others who have posted, I'd like to hear more about the wedge issues in these races.

Geoff Davis should be in hot water for opposing a bipartisan Pentagon-backed bill to cap interest rates on loan sharks ("payday loans") that cluster around military bases and prey on our young, financially naive volunteer armed-services personnel. It turns out that these predatory subprime lending corporations comprise Davis's most lucrative source of campaign cash. What a crook!