"Extreme Republican self-suppression" in 20th House race

Jim Tedisco has had some bad days on the campaign trail recently, a fact he acknowledged by finally crying uncle on the stimulus issue.

Polls have been tilting away from the Republican candidate (he leads by a skimpy 4% in a district that was once a GOP lockbox), he’s taking fire from GOP leaders in the North Country, and he’s announced that he’ll skip the one TV debate that would have been shown in Essex County.

Now there’s this doozy from the conservative National Review’s Jim Geraghty:

I wish I could share some good news from the special election in New York’s 20th congressional district, but I can’t.

“The data is bad and the trends are unmistakable,” says a GOP source familiar with the dynamics of the race. “It’s not an open and shut case, but we’re seeing extreme Republican self-suppression.”

What does that mean? According to Geraghty’s reporting, “the Republican base is not enthused” about Tedisco as a candidate or his campaign messages.

His sources also suggest that Democrat Scott Murphy is getting a comfy ride on President Barack Obama’s coattails.

Election day is March 31st. Tedisco needs a momentum turner here, which is why it’s odd that he’s not accepting every possible televised debate.

Thoughts? Comment below.