With Gov. Tim Pawlenty not seeking another term and a competitive race to succeed him heating up, Lt. Gov. Carol Molnau is pondering her own future…..
…..Though she said she has not been approached to run, Molnau also is being mentioned as a possible opponent of Democratic First District Congressman Tim Walz….
…. Former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, said that Molnau, along with state Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, and Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, were most often mentioned as “dream candidates” who could raise the funds needed for a congressional race
Normally a Lt. Governor would be a top tier challenger in a Congressional race but Molnau comes with a ton of baggage. While Lt. Gov she was also head of the Minnesota Department of Transportation but was ousted in the wake of the I-35 bridge collapse. As for Rosen and Hamilton, they are a couple of back bench legislaters I have never heard of before.
Patrick Meehan passes on Governor’s race, is “seriously considering” running in PA-07:
Not good news. He’s the one candidate the GOP has that could pick this seat up.
Michael Burgess, TX-26 (Denton). Any advice as to what I should/should not do? Event starts at 10:00 am CST. BTW, for those who do not know, Burgess was a Doctor before he was a congressman.
I haven’t seen much Gov polling, and what to see how accurate Rasmussen’s poll for Sen. They are all good, except for Arizona
By May 2010 I will graduate from University of Wisconsin Green bay majoring in Political Science, Public Administration, and, if I can weave the thread on classes I need to take, Environmental Policy. In the next five years I would like to get my masters in Public Administration, probably online courses so I could maintain a residence in either Eau Claire or Madison while still taking classes. (Neither university has a program for Public Administration)
The two main choices I’d prefer, start in the same place. Volunteer in the 2010 elections for local races at home in Eau Claire, there should be a couple competitive state senate seats and at least one competitive state house seat.
After that I can stay home in Eau Claire, get a part time job and run for city council next time it is up (almost 70K population, solid base for a legislative race in Wisconsin) or try to get a job in Madison working for an organization or state legislator’s aide.
Any thoughts?
Ron named his kid Rand? Good Lord. Gotta be a tough kid since had to nurture the pacifier within.
As for Hughes, I side with Kevin Smith’s buttboy Jay: all the guys were pussies, except for Judd Nelson (who was harsh).
Chet Culver stupidly waded into a controversy over atheist bus ads this week, making himself look like a spineless panderer to religious people. If he thinks this will win points from the people who are mad about gay marriage, he is so wrong.
Speaking of gay marriage, we’ll get our first hint about how this issue might influence voters on September 1, when there will be a special election in Iowa House district 90. This SE Iowa district leans slightly D in voter registration but is largely rural and not “liberal.” The Iowa GOP turned over the job of running this campaign to two interest groups, Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Family Policy Center.
If they succeed in picking up the seat for the Republicans, expect them to be running many of the statehouse races in 2010. (Iowa Republicans have suffered net losses of seats in the state House and Senate in the last four general elections.)
The Iowa Democratic Party is organizing lots of canvassing down in House district 90, and I think unions are helping too. I am somewhat concerned, though–in a low-turnout special election it seems to me that people angry about gay marriage may be more likely to show up. I don’t see Iowa Democrats really fired up about what our legislative majority has accomplished.
I still believe he is not vulnerable in 2010 but is highly vulnerable if he gets thrown into a redrawn IA-03 with Tom Latham in 2012.
No Republican challenger for Boswell has emerged yet. I saw a rumor on a conservative blog that Iowa GOP chairman Matt Strawn may take a crack at this seat, but I haven’t seen any confirmation of that and don’t find the rumor particularly credible.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has set Tuesday, November 3 as the date for three current vacancies in the State House. One seat (the 58th-Atlanta) is a lock for us. Another (the 129th-Northern Columbus suburbs and exurbs) is a lock for the Republicans. The remaining, the 141st, is a Democratic seat centered on Baldwin County (Milledgeville). It’s swingy on a presidential level and we don’t yet have a candidate.
We might also be getting a trio of vacancies in the State Senate as well. Unfortunately, they’re all on our turf. Fortunately, they shouldn’t be that hard to defend. Kasim Reed will be vacating the 35th (which consists of South Fulton County, parts of Douglas County, and into Atlanta a bit. Ed Tarver (22nd-Augusta) and David Adelman (42nd-West-Central DeKalb County, including the DeKalb parts of Atlanta and Decatur) may be vacating to become U.S. Attornies. One rumored replacement of Adelman is Jimmy Carter’s grandson Jason.
I assume the Atlanta mayor’s position will be filled on this day as well. I have no thoughts on it, other than curiosity as to who will win. It’s also interesting to see if Atlanta will elect its first white mayor in like forty years.
Also up, I assume, while be the Mayor of Marietta. This is the second or third-largest city in the Atlanta area. It’s in Cobb County, a Republican county that has gradually shifted our way. In 1988, it was a 70-something percent Republican County; Obama only lost by nine. One candidate is former Republican State Rep. Steve Tumlin. Tumlin unseated Democrat Pat Dooley in 2004 in the 38th, a district that includes most of Marietta. Dooley returned the favor last year. However, the 38th is still very shaky for us right now. Tumlin running for mayor, I think, makes another run at Dooley unlikely as, if he won, he’d have to quit not long into the term to start running for State rep. And if he lost, he’d had been repudiated by the people of Marietta twice in as many years. I’d prefer the latter, however, not only to put a suburban city in Democratic hands, but to keep Tumlin from using it as a stepping stone.
If we (Republicans) don’t get Pataki or King, who do ya’ll think we can run?
I don’t expect it to be much of a race but since I live in the District it holds interest to me. Some potential opponents for Tim Walz have surfaced.
http://www.startribune.com/pol…
Normally a Lt. Governor would be a top tier challenger in a Congressional race but Molnau comes with a ton of baggage. While Lt. Gov she was also head of the Minnesota Department of Transportation but was ousted in the wake of the I-35 bridge collapse. As for Rosen and Hamilton, they are a couple of back bench legislaters I have never heard of before.
Patrick Meehan passes on Governor’s race, is “seriously considering” running in PA-07:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg…
Not good news. He’s the one candidate the GOP has that could pick this seat up.
Michael Burgess, TX-26 (Denton). Any advice as to what I should/should not do? Event starts at 10:00 am CST. BTW, for those who do not know, Burgess was a Doctor before he was a congressman.
Let’s hear the suggestions!
http://publicpolicypolling.blo… Vote on where PPP polls next week.
I haven’t seen much Gov polling, and what to see how accurate Rasmussen’s poll for Sen. They are all good, except for Arizona
By May 2010 I will graduate from University of Wisconsin Green bay majoring in Political Science, Public Administration, and, if I can weave the thread on classes I need to take, Environmental Policy. In the next five years I would like to get my masters in Public Administration, probably online courses so I could maintain a residence in either Eau Claire or Madison while still taking classes. (Neither university has a program for Public Administration)
The two main choices I’d prefer, start in the same place. Volunteer in the 2010 elections for local races at home in Eau Claire, there should be a couple competitive state senate seats and at least one competitive state house seat.
After that I can stay home in Eau Claire, get a part time job and run for city council next time it is up (almost 70K population, solid base for a legislative race in Wisconsin) or try to get a job in Madison working for an organization or state legislator’s aide.
Any thoughts?
Ron named his kid Rand? Good Lord. Gotta be a tough kid since had to nurture the pacifier within.
As for Hughes, I side with Kevin Smith’s buttboy Jay: all the guys were pussies, except for Judd Nelson (who was harsh).
Chet Culver stupidly waded into a controversy over atheist bus ads this week, making himself look like a spineless panderer to religious people. If he thinks this will win points from the people who are mad about gay marriage, he is so wrong.
Speaking of gay marriage, we’ll get our first hint about how this issue might influence voters on September 1, when there will be a special election in Iowa House district 90. This SE Iowa district leans slightly D in voter registration but is largely rural and not “liberal.” The Iowa GOP turned over the job of running this campaign to two interest groups, Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Family Policy Center.
If they succeed in picking up the seat for the Republicans, expect them to be running many of the statehouse races in 2010. (Iowa Republicans have suffered net losses of seats in the state House and Senate in the last four general elections.)
The Iowa Democratic Party is organizing lots of canvassing down in House district 90, and I think unions are helping too. I am somewhat concerned, though–in a low-turnout special election it seems to me that people angry about gay marriage may be more likely to show up. I don’t see Iowa Democrats really fired up about what our legislative majority has accomplished.
After Congressman Leonard Boswell made the GOP’s list of 70 House targets in 2010, Bleeding Heartland readers had a mini-debate over how vulnerable Boswell really is.
I still believe he is not vulnerable in 2010 but is highly vulnerable if he gets thrown into a redrawn IA-03 with Tom Latham in 2012.
No Republican challenger for Boswell has emerged yet. I saw a rumor on a conservative blog that Iowa GOP chairman Matt Strawn may take a crack at this seat, but I haven’t seen any confirmation of that and don’t find the rumor particularly credible.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has set Tuesday, November 3 as the date for three current vacancies in the State House. One seat (the 58th-Atlanta) is a lock for us. Another (the 129th-Northern Columbus suburbs and exurbs) is a lock for the Republicans. The remaining, the 141st, is a Democratic seat centered on Baldwin County (Milledgeville). It’s swingy on a presidential level and we don’t yet have a candidate.
We might also be getting a trio of vacancies in the State Senate as well. Unfortunately, they’re all on our turf. Fortunately, they shouldn’t be that hard to defend. Kasim Reed will be vacating the 35th (which consists of South Fulton County, parts of Douglas County, and into Atlanta a bit. Ed Tarver (22nd-Augusta) and David Adelman (42nd-West-Central DeKalb County, including the DeKalb parts of Atlanta and Decatur) may be vacating to become U.S. Attornies. One rumored replacement of Adelman is Jimmy Carter’s grandson Jason.
I assume the Atlanta mayor’s position will be filled on this day as well. I have no thoughts on it, other than curiosity as to who will win. It’s also interesting to see if Atlanta will elect its first white mayor in like forty years.
Also up, I assume, while be the Mayor of Marietta. This is the second or third-largest city in the Atlanta area. It’s in Cobb County, a Republican county that has gradually shifted our way. In 1988, it was a 70-something percent Republican County; Obama only lost by nine. One candidate is former Republican State Rep. Steve Tumlin. Tumlin unseated Democrat Pat Dooley in 2004 in the 38th, a district that includes most of Marietta. Dooley returned the favor last year. However, the 38th is still very shaky for us right now. Tumlin running for mayor, I think, makes another run at Dooley unlikely as, if he won, he’d have to quit not long into the term to start running for State rep. And if he lost, he’d had been repudiated by the people of Marietta twice in as many years. I’d prefer the latter, however, not only to put a suburban city in Democratic hands, but to keep Tumlin from using it as a stepping stone.