Early start for Democrats

By Jon Ralston

Saturday, April 4, 2009 | 2:01 a.m.

So I have been getting these robocalls and mailers from state Sen. Joyce Woodhouse about some event she is holding to meet with constituents. So why would Woodhouse do what amounts to a campaign event in the middle of a legislative session a year and a half before her election? I’ll tell you: If the 2008 elections proved a truism better than any cycle in recent memory, it was that legislators are not very well known and can be defined by well-funded opponents. That’s how Joe Heck beat Ann O’Connell in 2004 and how Heck lost to Shirley Breeden in 2008. Democrats have learned those lessons and are trying to make their targeted members more accessible earlier. We’ll see how it works in 18 months.