Two House Races to Watch

KANSAS-02

A report on the new Our Congress site says that GOP gerrymandering aimed removing Demoratic voters from the 3rd District seat held by Congressman Dennis Moore, has made the Second District less-friendly to right-wing Republican Jim Ryun.

This is what they say about Ryun's challenger

The second trend is Ryun's opponent, Nancy Boyda. Ryun's never really had to run a tough race based on his record, but that's what Nancy plans on giving him. She's a former Republican who's never held elected office, and a former drug company researcher. She can speak intelligently and personally about how prescription drugs are priced and why the system must be overhauled. She's also an amazing fund-raiser, and has hired the right team of outside consultants. In 2002, Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius won this district over a candidate who wasn't nearly as conservative as Ryun. There's no reason to think that Boyda can't do the same.

For the full report, go here

NEW YORK-13

Frank Barbaro, a lifelong fighter for liberal values and a man who never forgot his working- class roots, in running a progressive campaign in this district that includes Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Katrina Van Huevel has nice article about Barbaro on The Nation website .

Barbaro is running not just on the Democratic ticket but also on the Working Families Party line, which sees in Barbaro an exemplary vessel for its core mission "to inject the concerns of working-class, middle-class, and poor people into the public debate." Dan Cantor at WFP explained Barbaro's appeal: "If Paul Wellstone was a 78 year old Italian from Brooklyn, his name would be Frank Barbaro."