Backstory: Lamar Alexander is up for re-election in '08. He's got a good pedigree (according to Tennessee Republicans and the mindless rest), having been Secretary of Education, Governor, and now, adding Senator to his resume. He has also tossed his name into the ring for Minority Whip. Bad news for any possible Dem Opposition in '08 (Namely, Harold Ford Jr. who we hope we can entice...)
The following, though, from The Hill, is good news: He's got opposition. See below the fold.
Lott running for whip post
By Elana Schor
After keeping his plans close to the vest since Election Day, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) formally declared his bid for minority whip on Monday evening.
Lott had refrained from openly discussing his intentions for the whip race even after GOP Conference Chairman Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who was next in line based on seniority, lost his reelection bid last week. Few on Capitol Hill would second-guess Lott's prowess at backroom maneuvering, and his silence had given way to questions about whether a new feint was in the works.
But Lott spokeswoman Susan Irby confirmed his bid in a statement. "Senator Lott is running for Republican whip. His name will be on the ballot. We are closing in on victory," she said.
Lott was forced to step down as Senate majority leader in 2002 after comments he made at former Sen. Strom Thurmond's (R-S.C.) birthday party touched off a racially charged controversy and the White House threw its backing to now-Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).
Frist's fellow Tennessean, Lamar Alexander (R), has already declared his whip bid and continues to make calls lining up support before Wednesday's leadership elections.
"We feel really good about where we are," Alexander chief of staff Tom Ingram said on Monday, projecting that the conference majority Alexander claimed late last week had grown to "majority-plus."
Ingram acknowledged that the secret ballot of Wednesday's election means victory will rely on trusting that senators will stick to their public commitments. Still, he expressed confidence in Alexander's whipping for the whip job, which has seen about 10 senators making calls on his behalf.
One source close to that whip operation said the Alexander camp has Lott's support in the conference pegged at about a dozen senators.
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For those future-minded on DKos: We need to start diarying Alexander's weaknesses, votes, stances, and quotes here in order to provide the ammo for '08's takedown. For those uninterested in TN-SEN, bear in mind, turning Tennessee purple helps the country and bolsters a dem majority.