Rep. Vito Fossella (R), who remains a target of national Democrats, is hosting a fundraising luncheon this afternoon at Johnny’s Half Shell, the Capitol Hill eatery. Tickets cost $1,000.

Despite the national Democratic wave that was especially heavy in the Empire State in November, Fossella took 57 percent of the vote against an unknown and woefully underfunded attorney. Fossella spent more than $1.6 million on his re-election and ended 2006 with just $12,000 in the bank.

Democrats hope to run a higher-profile challenger in 2008, but no one has emerged yet, and the Democrats’ recruiting process could be delayed some with the sudden death late last month of the Staten Island Democratic party chairman.
— Josh Kurtz