From the Boston Globe:
Former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen will decide in September whether to enter one of the country’s most closely watched US Senate races, her husband says.Shaheen’s husband, Billy, told the Globe she will make up her mind in September because, “it is only fair to those currently running that she have her mind made up either way”.
This is the first time either Shaheen had given such a firm deadline for a decision.
I would have preferred a slightly earlier decision by Shaheen, because her noncommittal status will undoubtedly depress fundraising for the current field–funds that will be crucially necessary in order to beat Sununu next year should Shaheen take her name out of consideration. But the more buzz I hear from the Beltway and elsewhere, the more I’m convinced that Shaheen is really interested in making a race of this. And with polls like these showing her with a 10-point lead on Sununu, the opportunity to whallop another Bushleaguer has got to appear tempting for the Governor.
Mark your calenders.
(Hat-tip: Dean Barker at Blue Hampshire)
September will be a busy month. We get to hear Jeanne Shaheen tell us if she’ll run, and we get to hear more lies that the splurge is working.
This is bad news. Yeah yeah yeah I know we won’t have to do anything to win but frankly I don’t care. Jay Buckey and Steve Marchand are part of the new grassroots NH Dem party. Shaheen is the embodiment of the old DLC establishment.
She should wait until 2010 when we have a harder race against Gregg. Anyone can beat Sununu but Gregg will be harder.
On the bright side, if does run she can’t run Clinton’s campaign and win it for her like she won it for Kerry.
on a race I have focused on daily since last November (and foremost, thanks for the hat tip).
Not in any order of relevance, and in full disclosure, I don’t work for any of the candidates, but at the moment I favor Marchand as someone who can both beat Sununu and put forth a (mostly) progressive agenda:
* Marchand and Swett have said they would step aside if Shaheen runs. Swett later hedged on that statement, and Buckey has made no statement at all. A Shaheen run could in fact result in Marchand dropping out and no one else. That would be most unfortunate. Or there could be tremendous pressure on everyone to clear the field.
* We have a ridiculously late primary in September 2008, a factor which is probably driving a lot of these chess moves. I happen to think that a healthy primary would make result in multiple candidates bashing Sununu instead of one, and keeping Democrats prominently in the press, but there are of course all kinds of other advantages to having one nominee.
* Gary Hirshberg, “CE-Yo” of Stonyfield Farms, a progressive and prehaps the “Al Gore” of organic food, endorsed Marchand, yet issued no Shermanesque statement about his own not running. If Shaheen jumps in and Marchand out, I wonder what Gary will do.
* Swett raised more than Marchand in 1Q, but it was almost entirely out of state and maxed contris. Much of it was for her for the general election, too. I suspect 2Q will be more even between them.
* Swett and Marchand have an almost equal number of ednorsem ents at this point. Swett’s are more heavily tilted toward establishment figures and “former” figures. I would expect many of them would flock to Shaheen the minute she runs.
* Anecdotally: on Blue Hampshire, Marchand is winning by a mile in terms of excitement among netroot progressives. The commenters more connected with the state party are starting to get excited by “Draft Shaheen.” Buckey has only just really begun, though he has a few supporters on our site as well. All three candidates (including Shaheen, if you count former NHDP chair, Kathy Sullivan, founder of “Draft Shaheen”, as proxy) have engaged with Blue Hampshire. Swett has not so far, though invited a number of times, including once by me personally.
* Shaheen would be a formidable candidate indeed. Those who remember her as governor will be very excited. Those from a younger generation will not even know who she is. But in order to excite state progressives to give money and active support instead of simply their vote, she will seriously need to revamp her platform. In 2002 she ran a pro-Iraq war, pro-Bush tax cut campaign. Her loss cannot be blamed on the phonejamming, despicable as that was. And she is more recently known for leading Kerry’s campaign in NH in 2004 and for going after the Clarkies and Deaniacs in that position. Shaheen is very smart and savvy, however, so I fully expect that if she does run you will see a re-invented platform of issues.