Friday’s political round-up

March 3, 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:

* With Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) giving up his seat to mount a primary challenge against Sen. Daniel Akaka (D), several Hawaii Republicans believe they have a shot at becoming the first GOP lawmaker from the state in nearly 20 years. This week, Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle (R) and state Sen. Bob Hogue (R) both said they are eyeing the open-seat race in Hawaii’s 2nd district.

* New Orleans’ mayoral race is getting a little crowded. In addition to incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin (D) and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu (D), four more candidates threw their hats into the ring yesterday, bringing the number of total candidates to 14. What’s more, the deadline for filing is today at close of business, so conceivably a few more candidates might yet get into the race.

* Dems continue to believe Arizona developer Jim Pederson (D) will mount a serious campaign against Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), but so far, the polls are pretty one-sided. The latest SurveyUSA poll shows Kyl leading Pederson, 57% to 33%.

* Rep. Ben Cardin’s (D-Md.) Senate campaign got a big boost this week when the Maryland State & D.C. AFL-CIO endorsed the 10-term congressman. Cardin is facing former Rep. Kweisi Mfume, professor Allan Lichtman, real estate investor Joshua Rales, former Baltimore County Executive Dennis Rasmussen, and forensic psychiatrist Lise Van Susteren in a Dem primary, but Cardin is considered the frontrunner. The winner will take on Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) in November.

* Dem leaders in DC and New Hampshire have apparently succeeded in recruiting state House Minority Leader Jim Craig (D) to run against Rep. Jeb Bradley (R) this year. “We need a change in leadership, and I’m going to give it a shot,” Craig told WMUR-TV. New Hampshire’s 1st district is considered a key pick-up opportunity for Dems. Craig, however, will face school board member Gary Dodds and party activist Carol Shea-Porter in a Dem primary.

* In 2008 news, National Journal’s Chuck Todd has published his first rankings for both parties’ likely presidential candidates. For Dems, Todd says Hillary Clinton leads the field, followed by Mark Warner, John Edwards, Evan Bayh, and Bill Richardson. Among Republicans, Todd picked John McCain as the frontrunner for the nomination, followed by George Allen, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Newt Gingrich. Competing for the sixth Dem slot were Joe Biden, Wesley Clark, Russ Feingold, and John Kerry. Competing for the sixth GOP slot were Sam Brownback, Bill Frist, Chuck Hagel, and George Pataki.

CB: You’re still forgetting about the west. Here is some important news for Democrats in Colorado and by extension the western states: Republican “Rep. Joe Stengel’s resignation as House minority leader might suggest changing winds for the Republican Party. ” He is resigning because of ethics issues. This is a big step for Democrats in holding the Colorado state senate and house in the next election. We now have one Democrat US Senator (Salazar) and may win the Governorship because the Republican, Owens, is term limited. Many house of US representative seats presently held by Republicans are in play.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060303/NEWS01/60303037/1002

  • CB: You’re still forgetting about the west.

    “Still”? Neil, I cover the west all the time! Just today, I had an item about Arizona and another about Hawaii!

    Actually, the only reason I didn’t include the Stengel resignation news is that I try to limit myself to campaign updates about congressional and gubernatorial races. If I tried to also include state legislators, I’d quickly run out of time.

  • I appreciate your dilemna: so little time, so much information. In general I think that the political blogs that I read do not deal with what is happening in the west. Not that I know what is happening. And certainly compared to the midwest (the big daddy of what is going to happen to party futures) and Florida (the big mama? of what is happening), the non-coastal western states is still a question. Nonetheless in determing the future party alignments in a 50-50 nation it could be important. btw I am assuming that the south goes Republican (maybe, maybe not) and the northeast goes Democrat (probably). Busy day, wish I could write more. Great blog, smart readers.

  • CB,
    And don’t forget the governor race here in Nebraska. First we got the current guy, Dave Heinemen (obviously R), versus our 3rd District Congressman for the Republican ticket. Of course, Heinemen will lose, because the Congressman is no other than former University of Nebraska head football coach Tom Osborne. All Coach has to do is have one commercial, where he puts the three national championship trophies he won in front of him, and say “I’m running for governor.” 90% of the vote, GUARANTEED. That’s my state for you.
    Go Big Red

  • New Orleans’ mayoral race is getting a little crowded. In addition to incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin (D) and Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu (D), four more candidates threw their hats into the ring yesterday, bringing the number of total candidates to 14.

    Can Gary Coleman and Mary Carrey be far behind?

  • With Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii) giving up his seat to mount a primary challenge against Sen. Daniel Akaka (D), several Hawaii Republicans believe they have a shot at becoming the first GOP lawmaker from the state in nearly 20 years.

    What are the House Dems doing about this? Are we just giving the seat to the GOP? Oh man…

    • Comments are closed.