From the Omaha World Herald:
Chuck Hagel will announce Monday that he is retiring from the U.S. Senate and will not run for president next year, people close to the Nebraska Republican said Friday.Hagel plans to announce that “he will not run for re-election and that he does not intend to be a candidate for any office in 2008,” said one person, who asked not to be named. […]
According to one person interviewed, Hagel told Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Friday morning that he had decided to retire. Hagel’s staff learned of his decision that afternoon.
Let the circus begin. In the Republican corner, we have state Attorney General Jon Bruning, former Gov. Mike Johanns, former Omaha Mayor Hal Daub, and businessman Tony Raimondo. For the Democrats, we could have one of the following: former Sen. Bob Kerrey, Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, and 2006 congressional candidate Scott Kleeb.
Race Tracker Wiki: NE-Sen
Quote
Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE) “stepped to the brink of a possible 2008 Senate bid,” the Lincoln Journal-Star reports.
“Kerrey placed a conference call to New School University trustees in New York City to inform them he may be returning to Nebraska. Kerrey said he has become convinced Sen. Chuck Hagel will not be a candidate for a third term next year.”
Said Kerry: “I am more and more certain Chuck is not going to seek re-election, and my intention is to make my decision before he makes an announcement.”
End Quote
That’s from late August. He knew Hagel was retiring long before us. Two things we can actually watch for to know whether Kerrey is running. If he resigns his current position or moves back to Nebraska.
Quote came from here: http://politicalwire…. html
Personally, I think Kerrey could dig in with the Nebraska Democratic party and not take away from the national scene too much to make this an effective race.
It’s worth noting that Hagel had a party unity score of 72.3% and is a staunch conservative. Bob Kerrey will be much better all around (It won’t be hard for Kerrey to break a party unity score of 27.7% to be better than Hagel). If we elect a Democratic president, the war in Iraq should only ammount to another 2-5 votes out of God knows how many would happen over a 6 year period.
It is very hard for me to get excited at the prospect of a second run in the Senate for Bob Kerrey. He was a triangulating politician who worked as much or more with the GOP as Democrats on issues of import to me and the prospect of his return to the Senate leaves me somewhat cold.
I understand the “we can’t expect better than Kerrey” argument as it relates to Nebraska, but wasting resources on someone who likely will back Bush on Iraq and who is wobbly on social issues, no thank you.
Doubt he would challenge Bob Kerrey in a primary, but I would strongly prefer Scott Kleeb as he might grow once elected. We know what we will get with Bob Kerrey, and that is not much.
There are definately issues in which I disagree with Bob Kerrey, like the war and social security. But he has always seemed to be able to move off of his positions in the name of advancement. As much or as little as I may disagree with the man, I have always felt that his opinions were always that which he felt was best for the country as a whole and he was not just taking a specific side because he felt it would be best for his personal career. And although I may not agree with him all the time, I do feel that this quality in and of itself is something that seems to be missing from Congress way to often.