With ’06 Lt. Governor nominee and former State House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz now in the race to take out Rep. Don Young, there’s pretty much one guy on the Democratic bench in Alaska that could make a race against the scandal-haunted internet guru and Senator Ted Stevens: Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.
Begich swung by Washington, DC recently and received the full court press from DSCC Chuck Schumer and six other Senators:
Begich recently spent a day in Washington, D.C., meeting with seven U.S. senators, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Finance Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, and Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chuck Schumer of New York.Begich told The Associated Press that meetings lasted at least 30 minutes with each senator. He said each lawmaker urged him to take on Stevens, who has held office since 1968.
Begich, 45, said he hasn’t yet accepted the challenge.
“It’s humbling in a lot of ways because these meetings were not an in-and-out shuffle,” he said. “Their message was clear: They would love for me to serve in the U.S. Senate.
“As the day progressed, it closed out with Reid and Schumer, and it was a hard sell at that point.”
Begich has been procrastinating on committing to the race, but it appears that Senate Democrats are pulling out all the stops to get him to enter the fray. What could be next? A weekend ski trip with Bill Clinton?
(H/T: S2G)