Associated Press
Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R)
Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:
* With less than a year before Virginia's gubernatorial race, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) surprised just about everyone by officially ending his campaign and clearing the way for the state's right-wing attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, to win the GOP nomination.
* Cuccinelli will likely face Terry McAuliffe, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who also ran in 2009, though former Rep. Tom Perriello (D) is reportedly interested in the race.
* Speaking of 2013 gubernatorial races, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is seeking a second term, and a new Quinnipiac poll shows two-thirds of Garden State voters believe the governor deserves to be re-elected. In a hypothetical match-up against Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D), the poll shows Christie ahead by 18 points, 53% to 35%.
* With former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D) having resigned, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) announced there will be an April 9 special election to fill the vacancy. Party primaries will be held on Feb. 26.
* On a related note, expect the Democratic primary in the Illinois race to be very crowded, with local officials already warning of a "free-for-all."
* Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) apparently has one short-term goal, as far as the midterms are concerned: keep retirements to a minimum. Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) are already reportedly weighing retirement.
* And despite his many scandals, Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) insists he does not intend to resign, and expects to run for re-election in two years.
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What are the odds that Christie will NOT do something to piss off the left between now and the election? Pretty high, I imagine, but there may not be enough time for it to affect the race enough for Booker to win. Maybe he should run for Senate (as suggested on Chris Matthews' show last night)?
Cuccinelli will likely face Terry McAuliffe,
Couldn't we get an actual, you know, Democrat to run? Legend-in-his-own-mind Terry McAuliffe (who's about as much a "Democrat" as my cat) couldn't win his way out of a wet paper bag with chainsaws and hand grenades.
How about Jim Webb? Although I get the impression he hates politics...
Please, please, please, yes, Perriello!! McAuliffe, ugh.....I'd obviously never vote for Cuccinelli but make phone calls and canvass for McAuliffe? Doubt it. But Perriello, definitely and with enthusiasm!
How can we expect earnest, progressive candidates to succeed if even this site treats them as also-rans?
Tom Perriello is a progressive who gave full-throated support to health care reform and other causes in his single congressional term.
Instead of highlighting Terry McAuliffee, a quintessential cynical centrist and mentioning Tom Perriello as an afterthought, the comment could have either highlighted Mr. Perriello or put them on equal footing.
If anyone from the DNC or DSCC is reading, I told your agents when they called asking for money that I now only give directly to progressives candidates, but the one exception I made was to Tom's requests on behalf of Tim Kaine's campaign.
Part of it is name recognition. McAuliffe is already well-known outside VA Democratic circles, Perriello - not so much. Personally, and as a non-Virginian, I'd prefer Perriello as he's at least been a successful candidate in a part of Virginia. Hopefully Perriello can demonstrate to the VA Democratic Party that he's a better bet than McAuliffe.
As to this site treating Mr. Perriello as an "also ran", I refer to you back to my statement about name recognition. Until Mr. Perriello becomes as well-known as Mr. McAuliffe, he'll probably continue to be listed in second place.
Christie vs. Booker? Man... I'd be kind of... torn.
On the one hand, while I dislike Christie for a bunch of reasons, there's no denying that the guy gets things done and that he actually leads fearlessly. He can be a rude SOB, but he doesn't sweat the small stuff. His stand on social issues leave little to be desired since he's a conservative, but that hasn't played a huge part in New Jersey politics.
Now I agree with Booker in every way and the guy could LEAD. The fact that he kicked out a gangster from Newark deserves respect, but I do have a few issues with him, too, mostly in terms of his backers. I haven't seen any evidence of him being led astray by said backers, but the fact that he's got rich people paying for his campaign... well, I dunno. Maybe I'm being unfair. Also, I'm not from Newark, but I benefit from Booker cleaning that place up. I park my car there. My home is but a few miles from Newark and having Newark reformed into a safe place is important for me and my family. Can Newark afford to lose Booker?
Torn....
'Thursday's campaign round-up'? Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves here?
What I would like to ask someone is if we can't take care of our own elections at home, who are we to go abroad and tell someone else how to take care of their elections. I can't believe that their are so many sore losers in this country, although we shouldn't be surprised considering that the south is still fighting the Civil War to this day. I now live in Texas, but have lived all over this country and never heard any referenc to the Yankees or Rebels till I moved to the south.