Last week, we covered the Senate candidacy of Inez Tenenbaum in South Carolina and the House candidacies of Jane Mitakides and Steve Brozak. Today, we're going to cover the promising Senate campaign of
Ken Salazar in Colorado and the House campaigns of
Melissa Bean in IL-8(squaring off against the ancient Republican Phil Crane) and
Alex Alben in WA-8 (an open Republican seat). So, without further ado, let's take a look at some of the races that matter in 2004!
Ken Salazar:
As the popular Attorney General of Colorado, Ken Salazar has a strong advantage in the US Senate race in 2004. With the sudden retirement of Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell on March 3, Salazar, who had declined to run before, entered the race. Salazar hails from the SanLuis Valley, a key swing area in Colorado where he is very popular, to say the least. As a Hispanic, he will likely be able to win over the rapidly growing minority population in Colorado, which previously backed Campbell, a Native American.
As Attorney General, Salazar has instituted a "do not call" registry in his state, and sucessfully blocked the GOP gerrrymander attempt in the state. He was elected to the post in 1998 in a hard-fought race, and then won reelection in a landslide despite the GOP tide in the Centennial State in 2002. With his likely GOP opponent being B-team ex-Congressman Bob Schaffer, Salazar has a great shot to win a Senate seat for the Democrats in this GOP-leaning state.
Melissa Bean:
Congressman Phil Crane, a veteran of Congress since the Jurassic Age, ran for President well before I was even born! After 35 years in Congress, Crane has lost his effectiveness, shown when he was rejected by his own party to chair a top House committee. Crane's district has evolved since 1969 from a heavily Republican district to a competitive, suburban distric. Suprisingly, Crane may still think it's 1977 in his district, since the picture of him on his 2002 campaign brochures was from 1977! As a result, Democrats have a good opportunity to score an upset in this district.
After running a strong race against Crane in 2002 (she finished with 43%), Democrat Melissa Bean is running again. Starting much earlier this time, she is one of the top Democratic candidates in terms of fundraising this cycle. Bean, a business consultant and mother of two young girls, is an energetic moderate with the ability to be a great Congresswoman for Illinois. She is expected to easily win her primary tommorow against Bill Scheurer, a little-known attorney. In preperation for a Crane-Bean rematch, the Congressional Quarterly has recently upgraded this race into a competitive bracket. I have spoken to Mrs. Bean before, and she is a great lady with a great shot at victory. Her website can be found at http://www.melissabean.com/ .
Alex Alben:
Washington's 8th Congressional District has been trending Democratic over the last decade-in fact, Al Gore carried it in 2000. With a slight Democratic advantage in voter registration as of this year, it is prime territory for a Democratic pickup. And with the suprise retirement of Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn in January, Democrat Alex Alben has a golden opportunity to win this race.
Alex Alben is a retired high-tech executive who is an avid outdoorsman. Alben entered the race in September of 2003, expecting to challenge Dunn. With her retirement, he is now a top-tier challenger for the DCCC and stands a great chance to win the district (which is in Western Washington and includes Mercer Island and Bellevue.) The Republicans have a contested primary going on between Sheriff David Reichert, ex-US Attorney Diane Tibelius and State Senator Luke Eller. The winner of that primary will likely be damaged and will have to face Alben in November. Alben's website is http://www.alben2004.com .