Delaware’s Former Lt. Governor John Carney (D-DE) is running  uncontested for the state’s lone House seat–and he is doing it with the political weight of the DCCC, a handful of lawmakers, and at least half a dozen well connected lobbyists behind him (see this invitation to a November 4 luncheon).

According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, Carney had raised $427,000 by the end of the third quarter of this year. His only registered opponent in the primary so far, Scott Spencer, has reported nothing whatsoever, and no Republican opponent has announced yet.

The incumbent, Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) announced last month that he would be running to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden, effectively clearing the way for Carney.

Carney announced his candidacy on tax day earlier this year and shortly thereafter received the endorsement of Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), the state’s senior Senator:

“He is the strongest Democratic congressional candidate that our state has seen in many years,” Carper said. “The breadth of his experience and knowledge of this state and many of the issues we face now make him more than qualified to be a United States congressman.”

Carper speaks from experience–Carney worked as his secretary of finance and as deputy chief of staff when Carper was Governor. In addition to his public endorsement, Carper may or may not be calling in a favor or two. Jonathon Jones,  his former chief of staff from 2001-2007, and now a lobbyist, is billed as one of the hosts on the November 4 luncheon invitation.

Jones isn’t the only former chief of staff turned lobbyist on the invitation though–John Michael Gonzalez, chief of staff to Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) from 2005-2009, is also listed as an event host (note that Bean is also mentioned on the invitation).

Other event hosts include lobbyist Sean Richardson, chief of staff to Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) from 2002-2006 and to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in 2007; lobbyist Jeffrey Peck, former staff director of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987-1992, lobbyist Tanya Lombard who worked as a Special Assistant to President Clinton, and finally Gwen Mellor who lobbies for Hogan & Hartson.

Carney’s inside support is already showing in his campaign receipts. His third top source of cash is leadership PACs.

To see clients for lobbyists hosting the event click on individuals’ names: Jeffrey Peck, Jonathon Jones, John Michael Gonzalez, Tanya Lombard, Sean Richardson, Gwen Mellor

This weekend looks to be chock-full of a variety of congressional fundraisers–the events include golf, baseball, a birthday cruise, a weekend escape to a casino resort, and last but certainly not least, the Elton and Billy concert at Nationals Park.

Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) is hosting her 3rd All-American Chicago Weekend which includes a Cubs v. Cardinals game from the Wrigley Field Rooftops. The invitation doesn’t give an indication as to which rooftop, but I’d wager the Congresswoman’s events planner has at least considered the Wrigley Field Rooftop Club’s MVP Suite.

According to Wikipedia, the Honorable Tom Latham (R-IA) is turning 61 on the 14th. In honor of his birthday donors can chip in $250-$2,500 to putz around on a boat named “Celebrity.”

Next up, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) is offering to whisk his donors away to the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Maybe they’ll have time to get in on a poker tournament while they are there. What’s a few hundred bucks after contributing the requested $2,000-$5,000 anyway?

Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) will be spending his weekend golfing and raising money near the beach for his First State Leadership PAC. $5,000 gets you in on the fun.

Finally, Reps. John Shadegg (R-AZ), Jean Schmidt (R-OH) and John Shimkus (R-IL) will be fundraising at the Face2Face concert on Saturday. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, so I’ll just ask that anyone who finds tickets on Craigslist email me, because $2,000 a ticket is a bit too rich for my blood and I would really love to go.

If an email could shout, the one I received this morning from a vacation lodging company would do it. “The snow is falling! Aspen/Snowmass has already received 2 feet of snow and more is on the way.” Yes, this is the time of year when we Denverites start to fantasize about how much snow is falling where and how we can manage to dodge traffic on I-70 to get to the mountains and start skiing on it.

And according to our Party Time database, at least five lawmakers have dreams of white fluffy stuff too–although to attend you or your PAC would have to chip in anywhere from $2,300 to $5,000 attend.

Here in Colorado, my own representative Colorado Democrat Rep. Diana Degette is planning a Vail ski weekend from Jan. 2 through Jan. 5.  The following week, Jan. 8 -11, Rep. Carolyn B Maloney (D-NY) is also planning a Vail get away. The same weekend, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) is planning to ski in nearby Beaver Creek in an event to benefit his leadership PAC, First State PAC.

Not that everybody skis in Colorado. Over in Idaho there are some big hills too. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) is planning his annual ski fest in Sun Valley for February 6 – 8. And then there’s of course Alaska. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) plans to celebrate the 37th Iditarod with some skiing at the Aleyeska ski resort.

Perhaps there are other skiing fundraising events planned that we don’t know about. If you have heard about them, please send the information our way.