Alaska Congressman Don Young's staff was shaken by the 2006 defeat of California Rep. Richard Pombo, one of Young's closest Republican colleagues in the House, who was painted by his opponents as being short on ethics.

Young's staff drew comparisons between the Pombo campaign and what Young now faces as he runs for a 19th term in the U.S. House. Pombo was a 14-year incumbent from a Republican-friendly district. He took over from Young as chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee before the Republicans lost control of the House. Mike Anderson, Young's chief of staff, invoked Pombo when he approached a group of mostly lobbyists last year to help raise money for Young.

"Many of you observed or even worked former Congressman Richard Pombo's race," Anderson wrote in an e-mail to the group. "While each of you may have different opinions as to what may have contributed to the election results, at the strategic level, we will all agree it is a textbook case in how Outsiders can reach into a district with money, volunteers, and a well coordinated attack (to) defeat an incumbent not necessarily on his/her record, but on innuendo and perception."

The political arm of Defenders of Wildlife was largely credited with the campaign that helped oust Pombo. Conservation groups spent roughly $2 million on defeating Pombo, although they didn't focus on Pombo's environmental record. They portrayed Pombo as corrupt and beholden to corporate donors. They linked him to disgraced Republican lobbyist and felon Jack Abramoff, whose tribal clients contributed heavily to Pombo's campaign.

Young is under investigation by the federal Department of Justice in connection with the Veco corruption scandal and other matters. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing though.

The Defenders of Wildlife launched a TV and radio advertising campaign in Alaska last fall that all but accused Young of taking bribes. The conservation group has been silent in the race since then.

Anderson, in the fundraising e-mail sent last year, said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would try to replicate Pombo's defeat.

"If the DCCC executes the Pombo model in attacking Young -- and they will -- these Outsiders will come armed with $5-6 million to execute a campaign based not on the issues ('cause they can't touch Young on the issues), but on innuendo and perception," Anderson wrote.

The DCCC has recently announced that Ethan Berkowitz, a Democrat running for Young's seat, has qualified for its "Red to Blue" program. The program supports Democrats who are trying to capture traditionally Republican seats.

In 2006, the Red to Blue program raised nearly $22.6 million for 56 campaigns, spending an average of $404,000 per campaign, according to the DCCC.