Tuesday Night Round-Up
Mississippi: Former Congressman Ronnie Shows has withdrawn from the 2008 Senate race to succeed Trent Lott. This clears the way for former Governor Ronnie Musgrove as the Democrat in the race against ethically questionable Republican Senate-appointee Roger Wicker. In his statement, Shows gets behind Musgrove's candidacy:
Ronnie Musgrove has a long history of working with all Mississippians to bring about change and I believe he is now our best hope to be the Independent Voice this state needs in Washington. I look forward in the coming months to helping Governor Musgrove win this election so Mississippi will have a Senator who will work to end the partisan bickering that prevents Washington from getting anything done.
This race is expected to be very tight, with one poll showing Musgrove with a lead and another showing Wicker with a lead.
Oregon: Political commentator for The Oregonian, Jeff Mapes, reports on new Rasmussen Reports polling numbers on the 2008 Senate race. Both Democrats hold Republican Gordon Smith under 50%, but the gap is in double digits. Smith leads Oregon state House Speaker Jeff Merkley 48-30 and activist Steve Novick 48-35. Mapes doesn't think much can be made of the 5-point difference between Merkley's and Novick's results, but notes that the advantage still lies with Smith.
Idaho: Former Congressman Larry LaRocco has released his radio ad taking on Republican Jim Risch's broken promises on taxes, and it is scathing. You can listen to it online or read the text (in PDF).
South Dakota: Republicans continue to insist that they will find a top tier opponent for Senator Tim Johnson. With state rep. Joel Dykstra and businessman Sam Kephart looking like absolutely no match whatsoever for Senator Johnson, former Lt. Gov. Steve Kirby is reportedly considering a bid. Kirby was last seen finishing a distant third in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2002. A decision from Kirby is expected "by the end of the month." Amongst the other names bandied about is Republican former Gov. Bill Janklow who, some of us may remember, killed a man in 2003. Bottom of the barrel much?
Montana: Senator Max Baucus made his 2008 Senate re-election bid official by filing with the Montana Secretary of State's office this morning.
Tennessee: Former Knox County Clerk Mike Padgett is jumping into the 2008 Democratic Senate primary race to determine Lamar Alexander's opponent.
1 Comments:
what you can make of that Oregon poll is that it's the fourth in a row--Lake, SUSA/RollCall, Riley and Associates, and now Rasmussen--to show Merkley behind Novick in some fashion, either head to head or compared in general election heats. Despite DSCC interference in the primary to favor Merkley, he apparently can gain no ground. Furthermore, his daily fundraising in January appears to be off by 50% from his 4Q daily average, a number already not impressing his masters back in DC.
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