Shortly after the '06 elections, I encouraged Kossacks to contact Larry Grant, and to try to convince him to take on Larry Craig in 2008. With the rumors about Craig's sexuality and at least one challenger from the right-wing, I suggested that Craig might retire, and that even if he didn't, as part of the 50 state strategy, it would be a good idea to get a strong candidate in the race early.
Last week, mcjoan caught a post by 43rdstateblues about some servers at the Arid Club (one of Boise's premiere R hangouts) who "overheard" some discussion about replacing Craig. Today, 43rdstateblues has another catch, regarding an op-ed by an east Idaho GOPer who is openly discussing Craig's retirement and possible replacement.
Mike Adams, local Idaho Falls GOP gadfly & sometime mouthpiece for Frank Vandersloot, GOP homophobe & multi-level millionaire, has an interesting op-ed in this Sunday's Post Register.
Adams, a former radio-station owner who advised Mr.V in his purchase last year of 6 stations, bluntly asserts that Larry Craig will not be running in '08 . . .
(snip)
I find it a very, very strange coincidence this op-ed is now appearing. Especially since Vandersloot, who's always been a big Larry Craig supporter in years gone by, and is a big insider in the Idaho GOP, is so close to the action.
I don't subscribe to the Post Register, but if anyone out there has access to the piece, I'd love to see a copy of it, or at least the salient points.
But for purposes of planning out strategy for 2008, there are a lot of progressives who have, entirely understandably -- but very possibly wrongly -- written off this senate seat.
I've taken the position since shortly after the '06 election that progressives and the netroots should try to convince Larry Grant, our 1st District Congressional Candidate in '06, to take on Larry Craig in '08. Larry Grant is a solid candidate, and his run against Bill Sali was one of the closest races in Idaho in years.
Mr. Grant is rumored to be considering a rematch against Sali, but I for one would prefer to see him try for the Senate. Mr. Grant's campaign still has an web page which asks "Is it 2008 yet?", and an active e-mail
link at grantforcongress. Send him an e-mail if you think he should consider running for what looks to be an open senate seat in '08. Even if some other IdaDems are considering a run, a contested primary would help raise name recognition of the Dem candidates. And if we are serious about a 50 state strategy, we need to run a solid contender for this seat.
Also, I would suggest sending an e-mail or otherwise contacting Sen. Schumer, who is chair of the DSCC, at
Schumer
or contacting the DSCC at DSCC, and let them know that this is a seat we need to contest. Thanks, Kossacks!
P.S. to TU's -- feel free to update with better/more tags. Thanks!
Update: Randy Stapilus (a genuine Idaho political reporter) has also weighed in on Adams' column.
This may fall into the category of the premature, but the politically wise oftimes are those who look a few steps ahead to the possible, not only the certain. Thus, Mike Adams’ commentary today on prospective candidates for the Idaho U.S. House seat (2nd district) held by Republican Mike Simpson.
The immediate objection is that Simpson isn’t going anywhere; and the probability is that he isn’t, at least not soon. But Adams, a long-time eastern Idaho Republican worker, conservative commentator and sometime candidate, points out that no one yet knows either, for sure, whether Idaho Senator Larry Craig will run next year for a fourth term. We figure the likelihood is that he will (and as Adams notes, "If Craig chooses to stay, things are not apt to change"). But as there’s been no announcement yet, counter-speculation isn’t out of line. And Adam’s thinking, reasonably, is that if Craig opts out, there’s a good chance Simpson will file to replace him. Both current Idaho Senators, as it happens, are former members of the U.S. House - there’s some tradition involved. And Simpson would seem likely to win a Senate race without strain.
Be sure to check out the rest at Randy Stapilus.
Randy's comments raise a good point. If Craig retires, and Simpson runs for his seat, we'd have an open contest in Congressional District 2. Personally, I'd love to see Kate Kelley or Clint Stennett run for 2nd CD if the seat were to come open, but there are probably some other good contenders as well. Thoughts?
2nd Update. Meant to include this earlier, but forgot. The post by mcjoan regarding 43SB's story about the Arid club included noting that Dan Popkey, one of (if not the) best known political reporters in the state, has not been writing his regular column for the Idaho Statesman for the last several weeks. The story reports that Popkey is rumored to be working on a story about Larry Craig, thus contributing to the speculation that Senator Craig's days are numbered. Stay tuned. When Popkey's story breaks, it may well blow this race wide open.
Racetracker Wiki: ID Sen
Crossposted at MyDD.com