Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races

Keeping a close eye on developments in the 2008 U.S. Senate races

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Sunday Rundown

  • Texas: The Houston Chronicle has Congressman Nick Lampson "giving serious consideration" to a Senate challenge to relatively very unpopular John Cornyn. The conventional wisdom is that this would be a good move for Congressman Lampson, as his district leans heavily GOP (it is Tom Delay's scandal-tainted former district), and he might actually have a better chance against Cornyn statewide than he would in an attempt to retain the seat against a GOP challenger who isn't as bathed in scandal as Tom Delay. No word from the Lampson camp on a timeline for the decision-making process.

  • Georgia: Not a single day goes by (literally not a single day) where I don't hope that war hero, former Senator, and true patriot Max Cleland reconsiders and challenges "Shameless" Saxby Chambliss to a re-match. Here is Senator Cleland with Wolf Blitzer recently, courtesy of Atrios.

  • Kentucky: Mitch McConnell's unpopularity is gaining its own gravity in earned media, from the pages of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

  • Nebraska: Speaking of McConnell, he will be headlining fundraisers for Chuck Hagel next month. This adds an interesting layer to the Hagel-Bruning fight. While Bruning argues that the NE-GOP should nominate him over Hagel because he will do more to advance the Bush agenda than Hagel will, Hagel retains the support of the Senate GOP establishment. This is to be expected, as Senate Republicans tend to support incumbents in a primary, regardless of ideology (see: Laffey-Chafee and Toomey-Specter). What will be particularly telling is if Bush or Cheney (especially Cheney) come to Nebraska for Hagel. There is certainly no love lost between Cheney and Hagel, so that will be something to keep an eye on.

  • Oklahoma: Tulsa World reports that State Senator Andrew Rice is considering a challenge to Jim "In Denial" Inhofe. Learn more about Senator Rice at RunAndrewRun.com. What Rice lacks in Inhofe-style insanity, he more than makes up for with a very diverse and impressive resume.

  • Headline of the day: "Bush record poses problems for GOP candidates"

  • Jon Stewart on Bill Moyers Journal: 33 engrossing minutes. Watch it this afternoon.

  • 2 Comments:

    Blogger Will Cubbison said...

    Lampson
    We might lose that seat no matter what.
    He has shown he can fundraise really well.
    Why the heck not?

    3:48 PM, April 29, 2007  
    Blogger NOVA said...

    I wonder if his numbers had more to do with everyone wanting to take DeLay's seat andless to do with his fundraising prowess? I agree that the prospects of holding his seat aren't extremely bright, but I do hope we have a challenger with a more dynamic background/personality to take on Cornyn. However, I am all for competitive primaries and believe they are healthy, Lampson just isn't my first choice.

    7:03 PM, April 29, 2007  

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