Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races

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

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Tuesday Tidbits

  • Alaska: The Alaska Democratic Party has unveiled the go-to website for information on Ted Stevens' numerous monumental ethical scandals, RetireTed.com. Bookmark it, send a link to your friends to help spread the word, and check it regularly.

  • Texas: Attorney Mikal Watts is ending his Senate bid citing understandable family time issues. While the article notes that there is two-and-a-half months until the filing deadline, it looks like Lieutenant Colonel and State Representative Rick Noriega will be the guy barring any surprises. Stay tuned.

  • Maine: Today we have the most recent revelation in a long string of Susan Collins inappropriately using taxpayer-funded Senate resources for political purposes. We knew that Collins' Senate staff used their Senate computers to update Collins' Wikipedia profile to appear more politically palatable. And we knew that Collins' taxpayer-funded Senate Chief of Staff has been quarterbacking her political battles with Maine Democrats. Today we find out that Susan Collins' Senate staff used Senate e-mail to communicate with the 2004 Bush-Cheney political campaign. This appears to be the latest clear violation of Senate ethics rules regarding the use of Senate resources for political purposes, and an appropriate ethics investigation should ensue to determine the breadth and depth of Susan Collins' violations.

  • New Mexico: Keep Draft Udall going!

  • South Carolina: Former SC-Dems Chair Joe Erwin will not run for the Senate in 2008, removing another name from an already-shallow bench. While Republican Lindsey Graham may face a difficult primary, Democrats have yet to field a candidate. Attorney Tom Turnipseed continues to consider a bid, while I continue to hope that 2006 Lt. Gov. nominee Robert Barber Jr. gives consideration to a Senate bid.

  • Alabama: I hadn't heard of this guy before today, but State Representative Billy Beasley says that he will not enter the 2008 Senate race against Republican Jeff Sessions, leaving the unsettlingly quiet Vivian Figures as the nominee-to-be.

    • posted by Senate2008Guru | 1:10 PM

    3 Comments:

    Blogger mainefem said...

    Steve & Amy Abbott are indeed on Collins' payroll (doing nicely on the double-dippin').

    See my diary.

    In addition, the webstat "tracker" (pun intentional) IP pings on TMB are quite revealing (heavy daily traffic from the Sergeant of Arms' Senate office, in the D.C. Beltway...on the taxpayers' dime).

    Abbott has "contemplated" running in ME's CD#1 U.S. House race, BTW.

    That would warm things up, dontcha think?

    2:04 PM, October 23, 2007  
    Blogger Small Tent Democrat said...

    It doesn't matter whether anyone besides Noriega gets into the Texas Senate race. Noriega is a strong enough candidste in every category except the one category which would make a difference in the race: fund raising.

    There is talk about John Sharp getting into the race because Noriega is too liberal on immigration to win, but that won't matter. Sharp can't win the primary, and Noriega can't win the general election. Period.

    For Texas to elect its first statewide Democrat in over a decade, they will need to run a major media campaign in Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Corpus Christi, etc.

    Pack up your tent. This race is over.

    12:19 AM, October 24, 2007  
    Blogger Unknown said...

    Welcome back Senate Guru. The folks at www.generationbluepac.com would still love to talk to you about working together. Shoot us an e-mail at generationblue@gmail.com so we can get in touch.

    12:21 PM, October 24, 2007  

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