Any thoughts on who will emerge to take on Sen. Junkie Einstein (R-SD)?
64 thoughts on “Weekly Open Thread: What Races Are You Interested In?”
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Any thoughts on who will emerge to take on Sen. Junkie Einstein (R-SD)?
Comments are closed.
That had to be the most ridiculous, idiotic thing I have every laid eyes on! Waste of good space!
I’m putting most of my energy on re-electing Jon Corzine here in Jersey and helping some of locals candidates running for assembly, freeholder, etc. I think Corzine can pull it off if he gets his act together and the Democratic base puts their faith behind him.
Also, as for the AMA’s recent endorsement of the House bill, does anyone else think of an analogy to rats clinging onto floating bits of a shipwreck, as the ship goes down?
Rumors are mounting that accidental governor Jan Brewer is either planning to forgo plans to run for a full term or will receive a serious challenge from the right. Yes, you may be surprised to learn that a sizable chunk of AZ’s conservative movement doesn’t find her conservative enough, though some of their criticism does boil down to other qualities like her lack of leadership in the ongoing budget clusterfuck. Accidental Secretary of State Ken Bennett (who, as a former Senate President was said to be looking at the 2010 open-seat race before Napolitano’s appointment put Brewer in the way) recently sent out a not-quite denial to a rumor that he was considering still running in 2010–whether Brewer was still in the running or not. Other potential candidates whose names are being thrown around if Brewer bails include Reps Jeff Flake and John Shadegg (who is supposedly sick of being in the House and miffed that he probably has no Senate seat to run for until at least 2016) and Maricopa County Attorney (and wet dream of movement conservatives) Andrew Thomas. I like Terry Goddard’s odds against any of them (especially because he has the potential hurdle in that Brewer is doing a pretty good job of appearing moderate in the media as she is technically to the left of the far-right legislature), and it will make things more interesting in any event.
I predict if Toomey is the Republican Senate candidate then he will be a drag on all Republican House candidates in moderate districts in PA.
PA-06: It will be open in 2010. It’s D+4. We have a strong candidate, an editorial writer for a major newspaper, which I think that’s a great qualification for congress. It will be embarrassing if we lose this.
PA-15: The Allentown-Bethlehem district. It’s D+2. Charlie Dent kept getting reelected in 2006 and 2008, but this time we have a top tier candidate, John Callahan, the mayor of Bethlehem. Dent is voting against all of Obama’s reforms, and these reforms should be popular in this district.
PA-16: The Chester-Lancaster district. Traditionally very Republican but McCain only won it 51-48. Let’s party like it’s 2006 and throw our resources into districts like this one. There has got to be a strong Democratic candidate in either Chester or Lancaster County who can run up the margin in Chester while holding their own in Lancaster.
DE-AL: If Mike Castle vacates and John Carney runs then we have no excuse not to win it.
NJ-02: It’s D+1. Frank LoBiondo hasn’t faced a top tier challenger in a long time. To his credit, he did vote for SCHIP and Cap and Trade. Even if our strong challenger loses in 2010, it will at least force Lobiondo to continue to vote in favor of Obama’s liberal policies. The reason I’m stressing NJ-02 is it will almost certainly get more Republican after redistricting, so a top tier Democrat should go for it in 2010 instead of waiting.
Today, a Republican candidate dropped out of the race. But everyone is basically waiting to see what Heather Wilson does.
I’m more concerning about recruiting a pronking good candidate to take out Rep. Robert Ingersol (R-SC) and then primarying that out-of-touch pronker Rep. Carol Reynolds (D-ME). We need principled, pronk, and responsive representation in Congress:
Congress Debates Merits Of New Catchphrase
Who’s coming? Who’s going to get destroyed by my pub quiz team?
Someone started a group on Facebook encouraging Secretary of State Elaine Marshall to run for Senate against Burr. It’s up to 89 members in two days. And one of those members is… Elaine Marshall. It is really her profile, not a staff member’s.
I think she would be a great candidate though and would beat Burr easily.
So is joining the Facebook group a sign that she wants to get into the race?
Two Democratic-held Iowa House districts need new candidates. In HD 90, incumbent John Whitaker is moving to a USDA post. In HD 21, incumbent freshman Kerry Burt was caught lying about his kids’ residence to get out of paying school tuition fees. Not good. I would like to see him resign. He was already on shaky ground after a DWI arrest in February.
More on these developments at Bleeding Heartland.
Democrats currently have a 56-44 majority in the Iowa House. I would consider these two districts very important holds, because we have several incumbents representing more marginal districts who may be at risk in 2010.
until November 2010.
The Iowa Republican blog continued to release results this week from a poll it commissioned in early July. Last week they reported that the poll found Democratic Governor Chet Culver to have a 53 percent approval rating, a 48 percent favorability rating, but just a 36 percent re-elect number. Their wording of the re-election question was not standard, however.
The poll results they released this week indicated that Bob Vander Plaats is the clear Republican front-runner. This is good, because Culver would crush him. I wrote more about the Republican primary contest at Bleeding Heartland.
The Republican poll showed Culver leading Vander Plaats 48-39, and leading other likely Republican candidate Chris Rants 46-36. They also polled Culver against his 2006 opponent Jim Nussle (who isn’t running now) and found Culver at 46-45. Finally, they polled Culver against former four-term Governor Terry Branstad and found Branstad would lead 53-37.
Some Des Moines power-brokers have been trying to talk Branstad into running for office again, but I’m skeptical for reasons I outlined here.
In other Iowa news, more than $600 million in state bonds were sold this week as part of Culver’s signature “I-JOBS” infrastructure program. The sale went well, and strong investor demand drove down the interest rate. Republicans have been attacking Culver’s fiscal policy and in particular the borrowing to fund infrastructure projects. (I described and answered some of their misleading talking points here.)
I like their latest
And this debate one.
Hollis Brown
He lived on the outside of town
Hollis Brown
He lived on the outside of town
With his wife and five children
And his cabin brokin’ down.
You looked for work and money
And you walked a rugged mile
You looked for work and money
And you walked a rugged mile
Your children are so hungry
That they don’t know how to smile.
Your baby’s eyes look crazy
They’re a-tuggin’ at your sleeve
Your baby’s eyes look crazy
They’re a-tuggin’ at your sleeve
You walk the floor and wonder why
With every breath you breathe.
The rats have got your flour
Bad blood it got your mare
The rats have got your flour
Bad blood it got your mare
If there’s anyone that knows
Is there anyone that cares ?
You prayed to the Lord above
Oh please send you a friend
You prayed to the Lord above
Oh please send you a friend
Your empty pocket tell you
That you ain’t a-got no friend.
Your babies are crying louder now
It’s pounding on your brain
Your babies are crying louder now
It’s pounding on your brain
Your wife’s screams are stabbin’ you
Like the dirty drivin’ rain.
Your grass is turning black
There’s no water in your well
Your grass is turning black
There’s no water in your well
Your spent your last lone dollar
On seven shotgun shels.
Way out in the wilderness
A cold coyote calls
Way out in the wilderness
A cold coyote calls
Your eyes fix on the shortgun
That’s hangin’ on the wall.
Your brain is a-bleedin’
And your legs can’t seem to stand
Your brain is a-bleedin’
And your legs can’t seem to stand
Your eyes fix on the shortgun
That you’re holdin’ in your hand.
There’s seven breezes a-blowin’
All around the cabin door
There’s seven breezes a-blowin’
All around the cabin door
Seven shots ring out
Like the ocean’s pounding roar.
There’s seven people dead
On a south Dakota farm
There’s seven people dead
On a south Dakota farm
Somewhere in the distance
There’s seven new people born.
When I first saw this headline I though “wow, looks like he will turn out to be a flop”.
But then I saw that Ethan Hastert’s 2ed Q fundraising was for one day, the last day of the quarter, when he started running for Congress.
“Ex-Speaker’s Son Collects $87,000 For Illinois Campaign”
Pretty impressive start. ‘
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/ey… 87000.html
IL-14 had never really been a race Ive concisdered much watching, but it looks like Hastert could end up being a prolific fundraisier at this pace.
I’m finding it far easier for me to engage in political posturing than to actually discuss something substantially. Is this bad?
Cuomo is waiting for the New York establishment to walk up to his front door, get on their knees, and beg him to run for governor.
I like Hedrick, but so far, he doesn’t seem to be raising much $$$.
I am intrigued as the dickens about Democrat Tom White who is challenging Republican Lee Terry to represent Nebraska’s Second Congressional District. Omaha is the core of the Second-an Obama/Republican U.S. House District, one of only two Obama/Republican districts that directly elects to the Electoral College. (The other is Delaware.)
Nebraska’s Second is one of only 12 Congressional Districts (including seven in states that have only a single Member of Congress) that directly elects to the Electoral College.
And Nebraska’s Second is the only such district where change is happening. For while three other districts (North Dakota, South Dakota, and Delaware-each of which elects a single member of Congress) also elected Members of Congress who belong to the party that did not win their state’s Presidential matchup in 2008, the Members of Congress who represent those states have each been members of the party that did not win their respective state’s Presidential matchup in any matchup since they first went to Congress.
But the chemistry in Terry’s district has changed. Since before Terry first went to Congress-and without interruption through the W years-the Republican Presidential nominee always won the matchup in Nebraska’s Second (until Obama). We’ve got to take advantage.