President
Barack Obama’s
renewed push to raise taxes on people who make more than $250,000 is
facing some strong head winds: Democrats running for Congress in 2012.
Several Democrats in critical House and Senate races say they prefer
raising taxes
on people who make more than $1 million, the latest example of how the
president and vulnerable Democrats are mounting diverging campaigns just
four months from Election Day.
Democratic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson’s “favored” position is to
permanently extend the Bush-era tax cuts for those making less than $1
million, according to his office. Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, the North
Dakota Senate candidate, also wants to extend the tax cuts for those
making less than $1 million. Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, who’s
running again in his home state, “believes the $250,000 limit is too low
but is evaluating how specific proposals would affect the budget,” his
campaign spokesman said.
Sen.
Claire McCaskill
(D-Mo.) said Monday she is “open” to extending all the tax cuts for
those who earn up to $1 million if it’s part of a comprehensive deal to
rein in the deficit. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) supports extending
tax relief for those families earning up to $1 million, though she said
she’s also “open” to all middle-class tax relief and backs the
president’s latest call.
Virginia Senate candidate Tim Kaine, the former chairman of the
Democratic National Committee, prefers a $500,000 threshold. Democratic
Rep. Kathy Hochul, a top GOP target in her upstate New York House race,
wrote to House and Senate leaders on Monday asking for a prompt vote to
permanently extend tax rates for the middle class, noting that she, like
Kaine, believed it should be set at $500,000.
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