Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races

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

Monday, June 11, 2007

Monday Morning Quick Hits

  • Rural voters are turning on the Republican Party. Very bad news for GOP candidates running for any office.

  • Alabama: Sack Sessions highlights the New York Times slamming Jeff Sessions and Republicans on immigration, with such passages as, "But obstruction happened. Republican amendments, designed to shred the compromise, happened. Jeff Sessions wanted to deprive legalized immigrants — yes, legal residents — of the earned income tax credit, a path out of poverty for millions." Meanwhile, Blue Sparks analyzes the pros and cons of a Democratic Senate primary.

  • Minnesota: MN Blue catches Smilin' Norm Coleman flip-flopping on filibustering.

  • New Hampshire: Blue Hampshire takes a more focused look at the Democratic candidates' statements on Iraq.

  • Nebraska: Dave Sund seems to suggest that if Chuck Hagel doesn't enter the Senate race, we could very well see former Senator Bob Kerrey schooling state AG Jon Bruning.

  • Reuters offers a fairly puffy overview of the 2008 Senate dynamics. The nutshell comment comes from Cook Political Report's Jennifer Duffy: "I don't think the majority is in play ... The Republicans' goal is to keep their losses at a minimum."

    • posted by Senate2008Guru | 10:49 AM

    5 Comments:

    Blogger Will Cubbison said...

    Those rural results are horrific for candidates in a lot of specific states that might be big races in 2008. Think Missouri in 2006.

    11:32 AM, June 11, 2007  
    Blogger VA Blogger said...

    BTW:

    Joseph Gerth of the Louisville Courier-Journal says that Forgy has absolutely nothing to do with the DraftForgy blog that you've routinely posted stories from. Both Forgy and McConnell suspect its being run by Democrats targetting McConnell.

    1:25 PM, June 11, 2007  
    Blogger Senate2008Guru said...

    The Gerth column also says:

    QUOTE
    In a recent interview, Forgy stopped short of saying he wouldn't run. But he said he believes that McConnell will help Fletcher's re-election effort. And if he does, Forgy said, McConnell shouldn't expect a challenger next May.

    But Forgy points out that in 1991 he ran a strong race in the gubernatorial primary against then-U.S. Rep. Larry Hopkins on the cheap -- implying he could be a threat if he challenged the Senate minority leader.
    UNQUOTE

    Forgy stopped short of saying he wouldn't run - maybe not a zealous candidate-in-waiting, but an unwillingness to rule it out says something of somebody who only has a draft effort going at the moment. And, again, Forgy cites an expectation that McConnell will be helpful to Fletcher - we'll see how that plays out.

    1:42 PM, June 11, 2007  
    Blogger Anthony_Distler said...

    Fletcher is a dead duck, by almost all counts. It's all in how McConnell plays this. He might actually be helped if he stays away from the govenor's election.

    10:41 PM, June 11, 2007  
    Blogger VA Blogger said...

    Even if there is a supposed schism in the Kentucky GOP (which I think accounts of such are over-blown), that will certainly die down after Fletcher is out of office. I can't see the same dynamics that are leading to the '07 election carrying forward through '08 and affecting McConnell.

    10:36 AM, June 12, 2007  

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