Monday’s political round-up

November 13, 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:

* Despite multiple scandals, including allegedly accosting a woman in a Las Vegas parking lot, Gov.-elect Jim Gibbons (R) managed to win Nevada’s gubernatorial race last week with 48% support. The Las Vegas Sun reported, however, that the criminal investigation into the incident continues — the police have subpoenaed telephone records of a Gibbons aide and other witnesses.

* After having lost to Sen.-elect Bob Corker (R) last week in Tennessee, Harold Ford (D) has a variety of career options. James Carville wants Ford to consider replacing Howard Dean at the DNC, but over the weekend, a Ford spokesperson ruled out the possibility. Greg Sargent, meanwhile, has learned that CNN has approached Ford about possibly hosting a program on the news network. Ford sources have confirmed that it’s unlikely that he will challenge Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) in 2008.

* We may not know the outcome of the closely-watched 8th district House race in Washington state anytime soon. Rep. Dave Reichert (R) still leads challenger Darcy Burner (D) by a narrow margin, but 20,000 absentee ballots remain uncounted.

* Speaking of close, unresolved House races, votes are still being counted in New Mexico’s 1st congressional district. As of the weekend, Rep. Heather Wilson (R) leads state Attorney General Patricia Madrid (D) by 1,481 votes.

* Continuing with this trend of yet-to-be-decided House races, Democrat Joe Courtney still enjoys a 166-vote lead over incumbent Republican Rob Simmons in Connecticut’s 2nd district, though Simmons has not conceded the contest. Courtney, meanwhile, has declared victory and plans to attend orientation sessions starting today in Washington, D.C., for new members of Congress.

* And, finally, in Wyoming, Democrat Gary Trauner will announce today whether he will ask for a recount of the vote in his race against Rep. Barbara Cubin (R). The unofficial returns show Cubin ahead by just 970 votes. A difference of 932 votes would have triggered an automatic recount. Trauner has scheduled a press conference for this afternoon.

James Carville wants Ford to consider replacing Howard Dean at the DNC, but over the weekend, a Ford spokesperson ruled out the possibility.

Chalk up yet another loss for Carville.

  • “Ford sources have confirmed that it’s unlikely that he will challenge Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) in 2008.”

    That is sad. He should reconsider. Of course I suppose Alexander might not run in 2008 (especially if life is as bad for the Republican’ts as it should be for the next two years).

  • I can’t believe the idiots in Nevada re-elected Gibbons. By his own account, he was helping a drunken woman find her truck so she could drive home. I have no idea why that act never caught the media’s attention, maybe they’re so liberal that they were trying to protect the right of drunk people to drive.

  • I used to be proud of growing up in Wyoming (a small town in the SW corner of the state called Rock Springs). It was “The Equality State”, after all, because of its giving women the right to vote so early. After learning more about its history, and its current politics, I’m almost ashamed to say that I once called it home.

  • Two Ohio congressional races also remain unresolved. Jean Schmidt (R) leads Victoria Wulson (D) by 2,300 votes in District 2, which stretches across southwestern Ohio from Portsmouth to the east side of Cincinnati. And Deborah Pryce (R) leads Mary Jo Kilroy (D) by 3,500 votes in District 15, which includes the western half of Columbus and adjacent suburban and rural areas. Uncounted provisional ballots may make the difference in either or both races. (For my money, Kilroy has a better chance of winning than Wulsin, because a large proportion of the provisional ballots were cast by Ohio State University students.)

  • I sent checks to Wulsin, Burner, Madrid and Duckworth (who’s already lost). Perhaps, in the future, I should keep the money and spend it on shoes, or some other frilly and feminine things; it doesn’t seem to bring my candidates any luck…

    • Comments are closed.