Just another week at the SSP office: special elections, independent expenditures, aborted candidacies, and even a retirement.
What’s on your plate?
As a side note, I’d like to direct your attention to what I believe is the oddest campaign announcement video of a serious pol in recent memory. North Olmsted Mayor Thomas O’Grady announced his primary challenge of Dennis Kucinich this week in front of a large but mostly bored-looking audience of twelve year-olds. The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s politics blog has the nicely edited footage.
Notable User Diaries
Another good crop this week:
- Robert.Harding gives us an authoritative overview of the NY-26 race, where Iraq vet Jon Powers is facing a primary before he can go head-to-head with crumb-bum and former NRCC Chair Tom Reynolds.
- With Marty Chavez returning to his concrete bed after ending his Senate campaign, fbihop takes a look at the lay of the land in New Mexico.
- Progressive America is back with another pair of Florida diaries. The first takes aim at crumb-bum Bill Young (FL-10) for his pork-loving ways, and the second highlights a great new ad featuring potential FL-25 candidate Joe Garcia taking aim at the GOP’s incessant demagoguery about Cuba.
- KTinTX gives us some lackluster numbers for Sen. John Cornyn.
- Stats whiz plf515 busts out the calculators and tallies up a long list of vulnerable House Republican incumbents, while also finding that Democrats are poised to make more gains in 2008.
- Benawu tallies the score and finds that 359 House races have Democratic candidates lined up so far. A good pace!
Now that a little bit of time has passed since Julia Carson’s twin announcements of terminal lung cancer, and that she is not running again, it’s time to get serious about selecting our candidate to be her replacement. It seems like nothing is really happening publicly on this, and probably a lot behind-the-scenes. A ton of different candidates have been mentioned as possibilities (I sort-of feel like I might be the only Indianapolis Democrat not ready to throw my hat in the ring!). Some of the more notible ones include:
Michael Rodman
He’s the only declared candidate so far. Currently the Marion County Treasurer, he’s been around local politics for a long time, and is a well liked and respected guy. BUT, he’s in his mid-60s, and even though the treasurer doesn’t have anything to do with property taxes, that might be difficult to explain to people in our current environment here. Bottom line — good guy, but probably not going to be the candidate.
Carolene Mays
Might be the strongest overall choice, if she runs. Experienced but still young State Representative, an African American woman, from a prominent Indianapolis family, could raise a lot of money, etc., etc.
Greg Porter
Another African American State Rep, in some respects he might be the closest thing to a younger Julia Carson in the race in terms of being a passionate advocate for lower income, central city people.
David Orentlicher
If he runs, I’d definately strongly consider supporting him. Another State Rep (in his third term, I believe), the guy is absolutely brilliant — he has an MD and JD, is a univerity professor, expert on health issues, etc., etc. He represents a diverse, urban and suburban district that he won over an incumbent by like 20 votes or so a few elections ago, so he has crossover political appeal.
There are many other potential candidates — former State Health Commissioner Woodrow Myers, State Senator Glenn Howard, Democratic Party mucky-muck Robin Winston, City-County Councellor Joanne Sanders, etc., etc. Oh yeah, and one more that could really throw everything up in the air if he runs — soon-to-be former Mayor Bart Peterson. My gut feeling says Bart doesn’t run, but I’m often wrong about these things, and he does need a job!
I think any of these people would be favored to carry the district, but after our municipal elections last month, no one here is taking anything for granted. I’m not committed to anyone at this time, and am just waiting to see who actually decides to run — Orentlicher and Mays would probably be my top two choices at this time.
I e-mailed Ashwin Madia who is a canidate and guess what? He e-mailed me and so did his field director and campaign manger he even left his cell phone and asked me to call. I’ll try to write a diary about that soon.
Glad to be helpful
Sam (Siobhan) Bennett looks really good as a candidate (and no, I don’t mean that in some male chauvinist way). I haven’t seen much written about her. Maybe I’ll do a diary.
Colorado Confidential.com confirmed late Friday night that democrat Rep. Mark Udall (CO-02) has drawn a primary challenge for the open Senate seat held by Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO) who is not running for re-election.
In an exclusive interview, Mark Benner claims he is running on a pro-impeachment, single payer health care and anti-war platform. Benner, who serves as the Democratic Party chair of rural Washington County in northeastern Colorado, is a local representative of Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s presidential campaign.
Udall has been strongly criticized by the left wing of the party for not more vigorously opposing the war and supporting the calls to impeach Bush and Cheney.
Former Congressman Bob Schaffer is the announced Republican candidate and a close associate of Allard’s. Schaffer served in the House from 1997-2003 and ran for U.S. Senate in 2004 but was bested in the GOP primary by beer baron Pete Coors, who went on to lose to then-AG Ken Salazar.
On Monday, we’ll examine how a primary challenge may affect DSCC/coordinated campaign money to Udall’s camp and the effect of the left wing piling on Udall’s already lackluster defense against attacks from the right.
Let’s check all the GOP gloom and doom
While Larry Craig gets busy in a Burger King bathroom
The man gets around, for an elderly senator
I hear he’s breakin’ hearts like Pat Benatar
When we need a statesman, we get a pleasure seeker
But I love it when you call me House Speaker
You can’t hand out pork without a little gravy
So impeachment was the case that they gave me
While the GOP blamin’ everything on 9/11
Don’t front or I’ll pass H.R. 187
Yes, my past is checkered, I did drugs like Eckerd
But I will not run on my record
I get intimate on the Internet
Show me a splinter group and I’ll splinter it
So while MCs I lead concede, let’s rejoice
Sucka MP, once again the people’s choice
And I’m out
I live in MN-4 and really like all those candiates. I want someone to root for and I am kind of leaning Madia. Hovland is great, I like former Republicans but alas, someone brought up the great point on MNPublius, if he has been so supportive of our positions this entire time (and he sounds like he has), why the hell has been a Republican enabler for just as long!
Bonoff, excellent candidate on paper, doesnt seem to inspire me.
Minnesota Monitor hosted a live Q&A with Madia last week. Very impressive candidate they have MN-03.
I live in the 7th, and it’d be nice if we could wrap up the Philly suburbs this year. Haven’t heard much about it which is surprising since it’s a top-tier pickup opportunity. Any rumors?