2009/2010: Jeb's second thoughts?
Posted: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 9:13 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
2009, 2010
CALIFORNIA: Meg Whitman, ex-EBAY CEO, is officially exploring a bid for California governor, setting up a high priced GOP primary between two moderates, as Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has been running for months.
COLORADO: The AP profiles Colorado's new senator, former Denver schools chief Michael Bennet, who fully intends to run for the seat in 2010, as he setting up a campaign Web site and will file papers in a few days. "A Yale-educated lawyer who made millions working as a corporate restructuring specialist before entering government work, Bennet was an aide to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper before taking over Denver's schools in 2005. A reform plan Bennet brought to the school district earned him national accolades in education circles. Bennet was among those who advised Obama on education during the presidential campaign...."
(CQ's Jonathan Allen counts the appointees who successfully ran for reelection, and the odds aren't all that good. "Since the 17th Amendment established procedures for filling vacancies in 1913, only 60 of the 180 men and women appointed to the Senate -- an even one-third ratio --have won the next election in their own right, according to records kept by the Senate.")
FLORIDA: One of the most plugged-in Florida political reporters, Adam Smith of the St. Pete Times, has an intriguing story quoting many Jeb Bush friends as saying the ex-Republican governor may be having second thoughts about a return to politics.
ILLINOIS: Good news, bad news for the Illinois GOP: A potential electable moderate may decide to run for the Senate seat in 2010, but if Mark Kirk runs, he leaves a House district that will be very difficult for the GOP to hold as an open seat.
VIRGINIA: Today, the day before Terry McAuliffe officially launches his gubernatorial bid, Democratic rival Brian Moran appears in “Arlington County, where he began his political career as a prosecutor two decades ago,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes. “Moran expects to pick up the support of the majority of the county's elective officials. Though Moran is backed by big-name Democrats across the state, he is emphasizing his Northern Virginia roots ahead of McAuliffe's kickoff Wednesday. McAuliffe, too, is based in Northern Virginia.”