Some significant developments happened today in the race for John Sununu’s Senate seat, one of the best pickup opportunities the Democrats have next year.
Firstly, former astronaut and Dartmouth Medical School professor Jay Buckey has officially joined the race:
"I've gotten a lot of encouragement from people. I think there is a sense that people are looking for new leadership," said Buckey, a Hanover resident who turned 51 yesterday and has been considering a run since February.
Buckey is opening a campaign office in downtown Lebanon and has hired Lebanon City Councilor Karen Liot Hill, political director of Democracy for New Hampshire, to be his campaign manager.
[...]
"We're not political insiders ... Jay and I both come from the grassroots. We know the only way to win is by talking to people where they are, and really hitting the pavement," said Liot Hill, who is stepping down from her job as program coordinator at Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center to run the campaign.
Buckey enters a field with two other declared candidates, and the prospect of a forth on the horizon. Or, that’s what some are now working for.
Draft Shaheen over the jump....
Today comes news that that the former NH Democratic Party Chair of 10 years, Kathy Sullivan, is starting a ‘grassroots’ campaign to draft former NH Governor Jeanne Shaheen into running for Sununu’s seat:
Former state Democratic Party Chairman Kathy Sullivan has launched a movement to draft Shaheen to run next year against incumbent Republican Sen. John Sununu, Sullivan confirmed yesterday.
Sullivan said her efforts drew interest last Saturday, when she mentioned the idea to some colleagues at the state Democratic Party convention.
By the end of the convention, people were approaching Sullivan and asking how to sign on, she said.
About 25 people have said they are interested in joining a steering committee, Sullivan said.
She described the draft Shaheen effort as a "grassroots, organically grown movement."
And, from The Hill:
Sullivan said she needed a break after serving as the state party chairwoman, having rebuilt the party and captured both of the state’s congressional seats.
But after two months and a growing exasperation with the Bush administration and Sununu, Sullivan said, she decided it was time to get involved and show Shaheen just how dedicated she is to the idea.
Sullivan’s draft movement is just getting underway. It currently consists of her, her phone, an e-mail list and a call sheet, but she said a number of state lawmakers and National Democratic Committeeman Gaetan DiGangi have said they support the movement.
Color me skeptical.
We’ve been hearing rumblings for quite a while now that the DSCC was trying to look for ways to pressure Jeanne Shaheen into running for the Senate seat. Shaheen’s greater name recognition and rolodex of contributors are a tempting feature for any candidate. Of course, her endorsement of the Iraq War during her 2002 senate campaign could potentially neutralize the strongest issue the Democrats have going into the 2008 race.
But, I’m supposed to believe that the former chair of the NHDP, miraculously and independently decided to start a Draft Sheheen movement? The DSCC had nothing to do with this? Riiiight.
If Shaheen gets in the race, both Katrina Swett and Steve Marchand have indicated they would step aside.