Braley Bytes: Pyrrhic Victory Edition

In the November elections incumbent U.S. Representative Bruce Braley won reelection despite the fact that the majority of voters in his district voted for one of his three opponents rather than him.  However Craig Robinson at The Iowa Republican says that Braley's victory may have come at a heavy cost.  Robinson analyses how all three of Iowa's Democrat members of Congress are now strapped for campaign cash while the two Republican reps, Steve King and Tom Latham, are doing well.  This will be important during the uncertainty of redistricting this year.

Bruce Braley has seen his cash-on-hand number plummet by 90 percent. Braley squeaked out a narrow victory in November over Republican Ben Lange. He won re-election by just two points, but only has $28,896 in the bank. The once rising Democrat star is now relegated to insignificant committees. With Democrats in the minority in the House for the first time since being elected, Braley is going to struggle at raising money.

The only fundraising advantage Braley still has is that he’s a trial lawyer. Braley is scheduled to travel to Miami later this week for a campaign fundraiser at the American Association for Justice’s Winter Convention.

I disagree with Robinson on one thing though.  He writes:

Braley and Loebsack [...] are not going to scare anybody. They [barely] won their 2010 campaigns, have little or no money in the bank, and their districts are going to get more rural, which is good news for their Republican challengers. [Emphasis added.] 

People who love and respect the U.S. Constitution should be scared to death of Clunkers Braley.