It's an unusually active day in the sleepy 5th Congressional District race.
Democratic incumbent Doris Matsui, the odds-on favorite, is out with a TV ad that brags about her efforts on student loans, green jobs and flood control.
"Representing Sacramento in Congress is such an honor for me and this ad reflects some of my key priorities for our region," Matsui said in a statement Monday. "There are many challenges before us, the most pressing of which is to create jobs, restore our economy and empower small businesses to thrive. We need to keep families in their homes, invest in our schools and rebuild our infrastructure."
Meanwhile, her Republican opponent, Paul Smith, is claiming that she's dodging a debate, using as an excuse that he suspended his campaign briefly in August when he ran out of money.
"Within two days money started coming from all over the country and we were back in business in under 48 hours. I never withdrew from the campaign, just suspended the daily operations that cost money," he told supporters in an email Monday. "If she had paid attention to the district she would have seen me running radio ads, putting up signs, hosting town hall meetings, attending rallies and doing precinct walks in the past five months. This goes to show you just how disconnected she is from the district."
Smith goes on to say that Matsui is afraid to defend her record, and to challenge her to show up next Tuesday night at a forum.
Somehow, we doubt that she'll attend since she has much more to lose than gain from treating him as a political equal.
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