Some good news today, Democrats landed their ideal candidate to run for retiring Senator Max Baucus' (D. MT) seat:
http://missoulian.com/...
Montana Lt. Gov. John Walsh will run for the U.S. Senate in 2014, his campaign said Thursday, giving Democrats the high-profile candidate they've been scrambling for in a bid to keep the seat they've held for decades.
Walsh plans to tell supporters Thursday morning that he will run for the office that has been the focus of a great deal of speculation since Sen. Max Baucus announced earlier this year that he will retire at the end of 2014.
An advance copy of the announcement provided to The Associated Press said the 52-year-old former Montana National Guard commander is running because Washington needs more leaders with a "sense of duty" to do what's right.
"Too many lawmakers back in Washington put their own agendas ahead of their responsibility to their constituents and to all Americans," Walsh's statement said. "They put their political party, and their personal careers ahead of the people they are supposed to be representing. They've forgotten their obligations and responsibilities."
The up-in-the-air Montana race could help determine control of the Senate. - The Missoulan, 10/3/13
Walsh has long been mentioned as a strong candidate to hold onto Baucus' seat for Team blue:
http://www.rollcall.com/...
Walsh, 52, hasn’t announced anything yet, but several knowledgeable Democrats in Big Sky Country and on Capitol Hill said he is taking a serious look at the seat. Since taking office in January, Gov. Steve Bullock has often dispatched Walsh to events around the state, party sources said, using his knack for retail, which would also come in handy on the campaign trail.
“He’s got a strong profile, clearly enjoys being out in Montana and campaigning,” said Adam Pimley, a Montana-based Democratic consultant. “He’s a natural at it. He shakes hands like nobody but Brian Schweitzer,” the state’s previous governor.
A year after Democratic Sen. Jon Tester held off a stiff challenge from Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg, both parties hope to roll out intriguing prospects for the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Max Baucus. As a top GOP pickup opportunity, the race has significant implications in deciding control of the Senate in the 2014 midterms, when Republicans must net six seats to win the majority.
Democrats believe Walsh, though still new to politics, would instantly plant the race firmly onto the competitive map. A spokesman for the lieutenant governor did not respond to a request for comment. - 9/9/13
And here's some more reasons why Democrats are excited about Walsh's candidacy:
http://www.usnews.com/...
Walsh, a member of the Montana National Guard, an Iraq War veteran and a bronze star recipient, breaks a lot of stereotypes.
"It's an exciting turn of events," one Democratic operative says. "You look at John Walsh and you see a salt of the earth leader. He's not a politician. Montanans like that."
Pundits in Montana say Walsh can capitalize on the infrastructure and volunteer base left over from Tester's campaign, which boasted an elaborate ground game and effectively mobilized women and Native American voters to win the race.
But already, Walsh has had a bit of a mishap, a sign of his inexperience in the spotlight. Thursday, Buzzfeed reported Walsh pushed "like" on a photo of breasts. Immediately, the account was scrubbed and Walsh said it had been an innocent mistake.
"It looks like D.C. Republicans are so fearful of John Walsh running for Senate that they're attacking a war hero with spam. That's the best they got?," one Democrat told BuzzFeed. - U.S. News, 9/16/13
I admit the BuzzFeed story made me worried that Walsh's Senate bid would be dead before it even started, especially thanks to the press about Carlos Danger. But the fact that he's not letting that stop him from running could be a good sign. Plus there's these facts to keep in mind:
http://www.usatoday.com/...
JD Sherry, Vice President of Technology and Solutions at antivirus firm Trend Micro says permissive and confusing privacy settings on the world's most popular social network make such political chicanery easy to do.
"The default privacy settings on social networks tend to be very permissive, and making changes to the privacy settings can be so confusing in fact that you run a real risk of making things worse when you think you're making them better," Sherry says. "This means that most people have overly permissive privacy settings, a not very clear grasp on how to change them, and a not clear sense of who really can see what they're posting."
A recent Trend Micro consumer survey shows that:
24% of social media users have posted something they regret or have taken down
36% of social media users say they have seen something inappropriate
30% of Google+ users have never checked their privacy settings
34% of Twitter users have never updated their privacy settings
38% of social media users know how to limit material they put online - USA Today, 9/16/13
So we'll see how that will play out on the campaign trail. Walsh's candidacy is part of the Democrats 2014 strategy to get more veterans elected to Congress:
http://www.politico.com/...
The party has mounted a concerted push to recruit military veterans to run in next year’s midterm, figuring it’s a lot harder for Republicans to caricature people who’ve donned their country’s uniform as Obama-loving liberals.
House Democrats, who need to net a daunting 17 seats to win the House, have so far recruited a half-dozen veterans to run in red-tinged districts. Among them: Jerry Cannon, a 65-year-old retired Army major general from upstate Michigan, and Kevin Strouse, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who’s seeking a seat in the Philadelphia suburbs. In Iowa, where Democrats are trying to knock off bomb-throwing GOP Rep. Steve King, the party is fielding Iraq War veteran Jim Mowrer.
In the opposite chamber, Senate Democrats, who are trying to defend a six-seat majority, are waging an uphill battle to protect a conservative Montana seat. The party is wooing the state’s lieutenant governor, John Walsh, a retired Army brigadier general. Democrats are also trying to protect a Michigan Senate seat, where Rep. Gary Peters, a former lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve, has launched a campaign.
“This is a concerted effort, and it’s part of a surge of veterans running as Democrats in the last few years,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.). “It used to be that Democrats started out from behind on national security but that’s been erased.”
“What better profession for a candidate than someone who put on the uniform of the U.S. military and fought for us?” he asked. - Politico, 9/17/13
And Walsh is already making his military background a key aspect to his candidacy:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Walsh, the former adjutant general who has said he never considered a run before Schweitzer bowed out, enters the race with just one election under his belt. He won a tight race last year as Gov. Steve Bullock's running mate.
He has two grown children with his wife, Janet, and a grandchild.
Walsh, a native of the Democratic stronghold of Butte, touted his long military career and promised to put politics aside in the Senate.
"I'm not a politician. I'm a soldier. I'm a fourth-generation Montanan from Butte," a message prepared for supporters said. "For all our children and grandchildren, Montana deserves leaders who will live up to their obligations, put service ahead of self, and have the courage to make the tough decisions while protecting the vulnerable." - Huffington Post, 10/3/13
Of course Walsh may not be the only Lt. Governor names John to run for Baucus' seat:
http://www.politico.com/...
Former Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger — a Republican turned Democrat — has said he is considering it. And a political unknown and former San Francisco banker, Dirk Adams of Wilsall, has said he will mount a campaign.
Many Republicans expect U.S. Rep. Steve Daines will enter the race as their front-runner. Daines has been raising money consistent with a Senate run, and has said he could announce his decision fairly soon.
Former Gov. Marc Racicot, who used to chair the Republican National Committee, rejected a run of his and encouraged Daines to enter the race.
Two other low-profile Republicans have already said they are running, current state Rep. Champ Edmunds of Missoula and Kalispell air traffic manager David Leaser. - Politico, 10/3/13
I'll be interested to see what move Bohlinger makes. I wrote about him a little while back that you can read here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Walsh seems like he could be a strong candidate, especially if Congressman Steve Daines (R. MT-AL) jumps in. Walsh would already have some ammo to hit Daines with. Daines is a big government shutdown cheerleader:
http://billingsgazette.com/...
Daines, a freshman congressman considering a run for the U.S. Senate next year, has voted consistently with House Republicans in their effort to demand a repeal and now a delay of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
Late Monday, the House voted on a version of the budget bill that would delay Obamacare’s mandate that all individuals have or buy health insurance by 2014 and remove federal assistance for congressional employees buying health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges. The Senate quickly rejected that version and sent it back to the House late Monday. A deal couldn’t be reached by midnight and the government moved toward a partial shutdown.
Daines also said he felt the Senate and President Barack Obama have been unreasonable in not bargaining with House Republicans over the budget bill, which needed to pass Monday night to avoid a partial government shut-down.
“We’re hearing from the voice of Montanans and Americans, saying we want two things: We want to see the government remain open and have Congress act on some of the harmful provisions of Obamacare,” he said. “I’m hoping the president and the speaker (of the House) can engage so we can find some common ground to move forward.” - Billings Gazette, 9/30/13
This race has been pretty quiet and I'm happy to see some action taking place on this. I'll be looking forward to learning more about Walsh's candidacy. Stay tuned.