Potential challengers to freshman Congressman Steven Palazzo have plenty of ammunition to launch a negative campaign, and a push poll with questions centered around a rash of his alleged missteps has already made the rounds.
Among the buzz: a pricey trip to Israel for he and his wife paid for by lobbyists, questions over the legality of ownership of his CPA firm and about congressional staff running errands for his family.
Those reports were preceded by some staff turnover, including the now-infamous frat house-style party in Annaopolis that resulted in two staffers getting fired.
The questions everyone is asking are whether these are typical freshman mistakes, whether Palazzo is seriously messing up or just a victim of bad luck, or if a challenger is laying the groundwork to discredit him.
It may be a combination of those things, political observers said.
Mississippi Press
12/18/11
Magnolia Tribune
