Whoa. Kagro at DailyKos passes along this brief local blog post which says that Chuck Hagel is out – not running for president, not running for the Senate. This is big news.
We discussed candidate recruitment for Nebraska in this thread a little while back. Now that the seat may potentially be open, who do you like for the nomination – both Dem and Republican?
Mike Fahey for the Democrats if he wants it. Scott Kleeb is also a good choice.
For the Republicans, it gets really interesting.
Former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub (who Fahey beat in 2001) is likely seeking the nomination. Pete Ricketts is also considering another run (if we could be so lucky!).
Jon Bruning, the Attorney General, has to be the favorite, but he and Hagel have some bad blood and Hagel has considerable influence in the Nebraska GOP.
Also, Rep. Lee Terry (NE-02) might run. That gives us a tremendous opportunity to pick up a House seat in Nebraska. Jim Esch got 45% of the vote against Terry in 2006, and is running again in 2008.
As it did here in the ID-01, the GOP had to spend a TON of money to keep the NE-03 red.
Kleeb may actually do better as a statewide candidate, since he’d presumably have strong appeal in the Omaha and Lincoln areas.
1. Mike Fahey
2. Scott Kleeb
3. Kate Witek
4. Peter Hoagland
5. Bill Hoppner
6. long shot: Warren Buffett’s daughter (If her enthusiasm for Obama is as strong as her dad’s)
While the Democratic bench is not exactly filled to the brim in Nebraska at the moment, Hagel is the ONLY Nebraska Republican to win a race for the United States Senate in the past 30 years.
http://www.dailykos….
Kleeb or Omaha Mayor Fahey could both be good candidates for the job.
What about Bob Gibson? Scott Kleeb is my second choice.
He’s popular among NE dems that’s for sure, but I just can’t see him winning statewide in a presidential year against a better-funded and better-known GOP candidate.
Fahey might be able to win, since he already has a very solid base of support in Omaha.
Republicans better hope that Chuck Hagel runs for president. After GWB’s impending sacrificial “surge”, the election will be about the war and little else. There is exactly one Republican candidate who has been on the right side of this war since the beginning, and that is Hagel, and that makes him the only electable Republican in 2008.
Chuck is prominently featured in my most recent YouTube effort “It’s the war, stupid.” and my most recent blog post of the same name.