A couple of biggies today. In terms of redistricting alone, holding the Pennsylvania Governor’s office is pretty crucial for Democrats. Who would you like to see run for the big office? And who do you expect to see line up for the Reds?
And while we’re on the Keystone State, who would you like to see face off against snarlin’ Arlen in 2010?
Research 2000 for the Great Orange Satan:
Dan Inouye (D): 53
Linda Lingle (R): 42
(MoE: ±4%)
Make no mistake, in many ways, this poll represents something of a high water mark for Hawaii Republicans. They have literally no one else on their bench who could possibly give Inouye a scare, and even with popular outgoing GOP Governor Linda Lingle on the ballot, Inouye still starts off with a clear lead. Perhaps a strong campaign combined with some “senior moments” by Inouye could make this one a tight race, but does Lingle really have it in her to pull the trigger and run against one of the most popular politicians in Hawaii?
It’s a done deal, apparently. This comes as something of a surprise, since I don’t believe Solis was even mentioned as a contender for this job — the most recent name with traction appeared to be Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro.
And for the special election handwringers, barring some truly bizarre events, there’s nothing to worry about here: this Los Angeles-based district has a PVI of D+17.
Democrat Ted Kulongowski is term-limited out of the Oregon governor’s office in 2010. Who would you like to see run in his place? And who will step up for the GOP?
A lot of things went under the radar the last couple days, I felt we needed a round up.
Starting with the last outstanding race of the 2008 elections, MN-Sen. After two days of going through the Franken challenges, (with the exception of a few Coleman challenges that were incidentally found in the mix) this is where the counting stands: http://senaterecount.startribu…
Of 411 ballots that have been reviewed so far, Coleman is +234 votes, Franken is +64 votes, and Other is +117. Franken had a high success rate (around 17% by most estimates) which is higher than predictions have been. It is hard to say how many of those challenges exactly Franken won, because the other category consists of votes Franken won, taking away from Coleman and votes that Franken lost, not moving toward Franken.
There are around 4,000 withdrawn challenges that need to be counted and added to the SOS website tally. Those are said to be reported when they are finished being counted. There are an estimated 1,600 wrongfully rejected absentee ballots that are hung up in the Minnesota Supreme Court to be ruled on in the near future. And an estimated 700 Coleman challenges to sort through over the coming days. (Coleman may bring “duplicate ballots” to court. They are contending not all the ballots counted during the recount had an original. This would open a whole can of worms because both campaigns challenged 600 ballots total over this while some counties didn’t let them challenge ballots over this.)
The next race with news, FL-Sen. Alex Sink is jumping through the hoops of a probable candidate. Many will remember news reports of Mark Begich and Jeff Merkley doing exactly what sink did before becoming candidates:
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the only Democrat serving in Florida’s Cabinet, met recently in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the chamber’s point man for the 2010 election. She’s clearly the national party’s top choice to run for the seat to be vacated by Republican Sen. Mel Martinez.
Article found here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com…
If I had to make a prediction, I would assume Alex Sink waits until we hear what Jeb Bush decides about a senate race in Florida before announcing whether she plans to run for senate.
Next on the line is KS-Sen. Brownback is making his retirement from the senate official tomorrow. Article found here: http://briefingroom.thehill.co…
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) won’t seek reelection in 2010 and will explore a run for governor.
He plans to announce his retirement from the Senate on Thursday, reports CNN. Brownback joined the Senate in 1996, succeeding former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R). He has long been a supporter of term limits, and he had pledged to serve only two full terms.
As for NH-Sen:
while popular Gov. John Lynch (D) is also said to be looking into the race.
Here: http://www.rollcall.com/news/3… You need a a subscription for the article.
I wouldn’t put much stock into a governor considering a senate race. He will probably just fall back on running for governor. I doubt Menendez can sweet talk him out of it.
What do you guys think? Also recent news I made a comment on but didn’t get much attention, Brad Miller pulled himself out of consideration from NC-Sen in 2010. http://www.wral.com/news/state…
Caroline Kennedy faces the press:
Don’t know a lot about him other than he just retired from Congress, is one of the more moderate republicans and is well-liked by people in both parties.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITI…
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama has picked GOP Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois to be his nominee for transportation secretary, two sources told CNN on Wednesday.
Two Democratic sources also said Obama will tap Mary Schapiro to head the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Schapiro is CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest nongovernment regulator for all securities firms doing business with the U.S. public. She is a former SEC commissioner and served as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 1994 during the Clinton Administration.
Obama will formally announce his choice of LaHood, a seven-term congressman from Peoria, at a press conference in Chicago on Thursday morning, the sources said.
LaHood is well-respected by Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Democrat Tom Perriello of Ivy has been officially declared the winner of the U.S. House of Representatives seat for the 5th District, defeating longtime incumbent Virgil H. Goode Jr.
“Having determined that Tom S. Perriello has received the highest number of votes, this court declares that he is elected as the representative of the 5th District,” Judge Timothy Sanner said this afternoon.
A three-judge panel today received the results of a statewide recount in the razor-thin race. The final, official tally: Perriello, 158,810; Goode, 158,083.
Congratulations to Congressman-elect Tom Perriello.
Update: By popular demand…
Democrat Brad Henry is term-limited out of the governor’s office in Oklahoma in 2010… which is the same year that crank GOP Sen. Tom Coburn is up for re-election. So, it’s the perfect opportunity for Henry to run for the Senate, right? Well, it would be, but the only problem is that Henry seems to have zero interest whatsoever in joining the Senate.
So, the big questions: Who should Oklahoma Democrats run to replace Henry? And who should run for Coburn’s seat? Since it’s not a given that Coburn will run for re-election, who might step up for the GOP? (A promotion for SSP’s favorite punching bag, Tom Cole, perhaps?)
NBC News has confirmed that former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will be named Agriculture secretary. The appointment will be announced at the news conference tomorrow, along with Obama’s choice for Interior, Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar.
I guess we’ll just have to hope that GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley hangs up his spurs as opposed to goading him into retirement with the specter of a ‘Sack Attack.