Friday’s political round-up

May 20, 2005

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* Comedian Al Franken is following through on earlier promises and moving back to Minnesota, probably to take on Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) in 2008. As part of the shift, Franken will move his radio show on Air America to Minnesota as well.

* Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey (R) was considering a congressional campaign next year, but will instead focus on either keeping her job or running for governor if Mitt Romney decides not to seek re-election. Healey’s decision may have been influenced by rumors that Romney will bypass the race, or maybe it was the polling data showing her losing if she ran for Congress.

* In an exceedingly rare example of someone creating an exploratory committee but then deciding not to run for the office, State Rep. Steve Wieckert (R-Wis.) has dropped out of the race for Congress in Wisconsin’s 8th district. The seat is being left vacant by Rep. Mark Green, who’s running for governor. With Wieckert out, attention turns to Assembly Speaker John Gard of Peshtigo and state Rep. Terri McCormick of Appleton.

* The ongoing shuffling among Republicans gearing up to take on freshman Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.) has a new contestant: businesswoman Teresa Bartels (R), who was in DC this week to generate support for her campaign among party officials. Bartels has never sought public office and will likely face a tough primary against investment banker David McSweeney (R), State Rep. Bob Churchill (R), and trial lawyer Al Salvi (R).

* This week, State Del. Neil Quinter (D) became the first candidate to officially enter the race to succeed Rep. Benjamin Cardin (D), who is running for Senate.

* Aides to Rep. Jim Nussle (R-Iowa) said this week that the congressman will announce his candidacy for the 2006 Republican gubernatorial nomination on June 1.

* Rep. Anthony Weiner’s (D-N.Y.) campaign for mayor of New York hasn’t gained much traction in recent months, and Weiner is running third in most polls, but the congressman has a new plan: Michael Whouley. Best known for helping John Kerry win the Iowa caucuses last year, Whouley has signed up with Weiner to try and turn the campaign around.

Does Al Franken have a realisitc shot at unseating Coleman? How does that affect the overall calculus for the mid-term elections in the senate? Last I heard the prognisticators were stating that 8 Dem seats and 3 GOP seats were in trouble.

  • Last I heard the prognisticators were stating that 8 Dem seats and 3 GOP seats were in trouble.

    Just to clarify, Franken would take on Coleman in 2008, not 2006, so the forecasts you saw about upcoming Senate races didn’t include the Minnesota campaign.

  • Though GOP Representative Mark Kennedy has announced for Mark Dayton’s seat. That’s coming up in 2006. The local Dem’s look to be favoring Amy Klobuchar, but Patty Wetterling’s thrown in. Wetterling has a the results of a poll posted on her site showing she’s the strongest Dem candidate to run against Kennedy.

    Still early.

    Way too early for Franken v Norm.

  • It’s never too early to discuss hypotheticals!!! 🙂

    Coleman will be tough. He was losing to an incumbent (Wellstone) by only a few points before Wellstone died, which indicates pretty strong popularity. Also, Minnesota is trending more and more Republican over the last few years. Coleman used to be a Democrat, and a lot of alienated voters can relate to that.

    Franken is a smart-ass and pretty unlikeable, but he’s also more moderate than someone with a show on Air America has any right to be (issue=wise, he’s about where Kerry is, as opposed to, say, Kucinich). Considering that he’s lived in New York for his entire adult life, though, he might seem like a bit of a carpetbagger. Plus, Minnesotans(?) didn’t particularly care for the last quasi-celebrity to run statewide.

    Anyways, my guess is that Coleman will squeak by, but Franken will humiliate him on an almost daily basis, which is almost as good as winning.

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