As people start staring out the window at work, anticipating the holiday weekend....
MN-Gov: Coleman Flirting With Gubernatorial Bid. No...Really.
This was hinted at back when Tim Pawlenty announced his retirement, but now the whispers are getting louder: is Norm Coleman contemplating a run for Governor? The head of the GOP in Minnesota said that he talked to Coleman, and that the former Senator is not "ruling anything in or out." The St. Paul Legal Ledger does a nice job today, meanwhile of summarizing the field for this top-tier governors race.
TN-Gov: Prominent State Senator Moves Closer To Democratic Primary
State Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle has filed paperwork to run for Governor. He becomes the fifth Democrat to declare an interest, but Kyle might have an ace in the hole--he is the only one of the five thus far who hails from vote-rich Shelby County (Memphis).
IL-Gov: GOP Field For Governor Reduced By One--Birkett to Run for AG
One of the fence-sitters on the Illinois Governors race got off the fence today, by declaring that he will NOT be a candidate. DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett instead announced he is planning to run for Attorney General. The current Attorney General, Democrat Lisa Madigan, has frozen the Democratic side a little bit as she vacillates between running for Governor, running for the U.S. Senate, and running for re-election.
NH-Sen: Popular Former GOP Governor Joins Sununu on the Sidelines
Laura Clawson told us here at Daily Kos this morning that former Senator John Sununu has decided NOT to run for the open Senate seat in 2010. Later in the day, the wound was compounded when Stephen Merill, who was a popular Republican governor of the state during the 1990s, told the Manchester Union-Leader that he ALSO did not wish to run for the Senate. Good news for the GOP, though: Ovide Lamontagne (last seen getting blown out by seventeen points against Jeanne Shaheen back in 1996) is sounding more and more like a candidate. The GOP is still hoping for either former Congressman Charlie Bass or state AG Kelly Ayotte to make a bid.
In other NH-Senate news, a new poll by the University of New Hampshire has likely Democratic nominee Paul Hodes leading all but one prospective GOP opponent. Ayotte actually holds a 39-35 lead over the Democrat, while Hodes holds narrow leads over Sununu (43-41), Bass (40-38), and possible candidate Frank Tausch (45-25).
AK-Gov: Top Palin Critic Seeking to Be A Palin Opponent
Democrats, usually scrambling to find statewide candidates in Alaska, seem to have a run on them for 2010. The newest name is state Senator Hollis French, who headed last year's Troopergate investigation and has been a leading critic of Sarah Palin. Palin, of course, has not clarified her 2010 plans. She apparently has been too busy excoriating her old pals at Team McCain for not affording her enough opportunities to get her sweat on.
NATIONAL: The Sad Tale of the Gingrich "Revolution" Class of '94
Politico, besides being quite busy ripping the folks at WaPo to shreds today, has also posted an interesting piece by Michael Falcone highlighting the personal travails of several members of the Congressional "class of 1994" that was swept in by that year's Republican tsunami. Sure, you know about guys like Mark Sanford and John Ensign. Sadly, there are many more examples. Some will find it somewhat sad, others will bathe in the schaudenfreude. Either way, a worthy read.
NATIONAL: Epic Fail For The NRCC On Cap and Trade Attack Ad
Yesterday, the NRCC (the House campaign wing of the GOP) announced that they were going after several "vulnerable Democrats" on their votes for President Obama's American Clean Energy and Security Act. It did not take long for the nonpartisan analysis site FactCheck to weigh in on the ad:
"The NRCC ad credits a Washington Times editorial for its claim that the Waxman-Markey bill would make electricity prices “skyrocket,” costing families $1,870 a year. But the NRCC is wrong...The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects that the bill would cost households an average of $175 in 2020."
Other analysts, of course, even imply that the plan will eventually lead to savings, and not costs. One TV station in Roanoke, Virginia is already refusing to air the advertisement.
