Monday’s political round-up

July 10, 2006

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:

* In an encouraging sign of party unity, [tag]Paul Hackett[/tag] (D) will extend his formal endorsement to [tag]Sherrod Brown[/tag]’s (D) Senate campaign in Ohio today at a “unity rally” in Cincinnati.

* In Washington state, [tag]Mark Wilson[/tag] (D) has agreed to give up his primary campaign against Sen. [tag]Maria Cantwell[/tag] (D). On Sunday, Wilson endorsed Cantwell and took a paid job with the Democrat’s re-election campaign. At a news conference at Cantwell’s Seattle campaign office, Wilson said that after “deep and personal one-on-one conversations with Senator Cantwell, I came away convinced we are on the same path when it comes to solving the crisis in Iraq and the potential crisis in Iran.”

* Missouri’s Senate race continues to be one of the most competitive in the nation, according to a new Rasmussen poll. While Sen. [tag]Jim Talent[/tag] (R) led state Auditor [tag]Claire McCaskill[/tag] (D) in last month’s Rasmussen poll, 43% to 40%, the firm now shows the two tied at 42% each. As the pollster noted, “The closeness that has become the hallmark of this race has been evident from the start: only once in eight polls have the candidates been more than three percentage points apart.”

* After ambiguous comments last Thursday, state Sen. [tag]Jake Knotts[/tag] (R) began circulating petitions for an independent gubernatorial campaign in South Carolina on Friday. “I’m running,” Knotts said. “I’m going.” The would-be candidate faces a serious time crunch: he needs to turn in 10,000 signatures of registered voters to the State Election Commission one week from today.

* And in Florida, Roll Call reported today that Rep. [tag]Katherine Harris[/tag] (R-Fla.) will leave the campaign trail temporarily to undergo surgery to have an ovarian mass removed. she’s scheduled to undergo pre-operative testing on the mass today at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and then have laparoscopic surgery July 17.

The Missouri race may not turn out like we all hope:

McCaskill, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate who expects to face incumbent Republican Jim Talent in November, has had to file two amendments to her personal financial disclosure report because the Ethics Committee said her initial report was inadequate.

At issue: The committee wants more precise information about the complex holdings of Joseph Shepard, McCaskill’s wealthy husband, which include hundreds of seemingly worthless real estate partnerships and a Bermuda reinsurance company.

While seeming not that big of a deal, you can bet that Talent will make this an issue. And in this state, the people just may buy it.

  • * In an encouraging sign of party unity, Paul Hackett (D) will extend his formal endorsement to Sherrod Brown’s (D) Senate campaign in Ohio today at a “unity rally” in Cincinnati.

    Outstanding! Now if we can just find a good house seat for Hackett or a high profile spot in the 2009 Dem administration…

    While seeming not that big of a deal, you can bet that Talent will make this an issue. And in this state, the people just may buy it.

    Talent will no doubt try to make a mountain out of that molehill, and he’ll do it in a nasty mean way given his new “consultant”. Hopefully, McCaskill is ready and willing to Webb him right back, hard and often.

  • The Washington State kerfluffle never did amount to much. I supported Wilson although I have every intention of supporting Cantwell now that he’s dropped out.

    I am troubled by one thing in the news story. He’s quoted as saying that among the views he and Cantwell agree upon is, “there must be no permanent American military bases in Iraq.” But Cantwell “believes the U.S. should stay in Iraq until the situation is stabilized.” Since the situation will never be stabilized until Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds agree to love one another, i.e., until the Second Coming of Yahweh, there will be permanent American military bases in Iraq. Can’t anyone convince Cantwell that the only sane policy in that part of the world is Cut and Run? The Quagmire‘s not getting us anywhere.

  • “In an encouraging sign of party unity, Paul Hackett (D) will extend his formal endorsement to Sherrod Brown’s (D) Senate campaign in Ohio today at a “unity rally” in Cincinnati.

    Brown better pull this off, or I an many others are not going to be pleased….

    Good for Hackett, btw.

  • Lexington County senator to decide today if he will submit petitions for gubernatorial bid
    By AARON GOULD SHEININ
    asheinin@thestate.com

    Sen. Jake Knotts said Sunday he has the numbers, but he is not yet sure he would have the votes.

    Knotts, R-Lexington, has until noon today to decide whether he’ll submit stacks of petitions to the S.C. Election Commission in an attempt to place his name on the November ballot for governor as an independent.

    “I really want to run and I really want to be governor,” Knotts said. “But I’ve got to look into the woods and not just at the tree line.”

    Knotts’ adviser, Rod Shealy Jr., said early Sunday afternoon that he did not have an accurate count but was sure they had more than 10,000 signatures — the number required to get on the ballot.

    Signed petitions “are still coming in from all over the state,” Shealy said. “We’re sitting down now to make sure that he’s going to pass muster with the election commission. The enthusiasm is out there, boy.”

    • Comments are closed.