2009/2010: Villaraigosa says no
Posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 9:06 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
2009, 2010
CALIFORNIA: "Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa of Los Angeles announced he would not enter the 2010 race to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who is barred from seeking re-election. Mr. Villaraigosa, a Democrat who begins his second term in July, said he could not leave his job as his city faces a budget crisis and high unemployment," the AP writes.
This is HUGE news. The Latino vote in the Democratic gubernatorial primary is officially up for grabs. This could be a big boon for Jerry Brown's comeback attempt, as San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who doesn't have a statewide base, needs the winning number in the primary to be in the 30s, not 50s.
LOUISIANA: "Political insiders on both sides of the aisle are convinced that Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.) is set to challenge Sen. David Vitter (R) in 2010, which begs the question of what happens in Melancon’s south-central district next year," Roll Call reports. "Judging by all the noise out of the National Republican Congressional Committee over the news that Melancon is considering the race, there is little doubt that the Bayou State’s 3rd district is about to rocket to the upper echelon of GOP targets. Republicans have yet to unite behind one candidate, but state Rep. Nickie Monica has already said he’s thinking about the race."
NEBRASKA: "House Democrats are expected to largely be on defense in 2010 defending many of the freshmen and sophomore lawmakers who gave them their 41-seat majority, but party strategists have set their sights on Rep. Lee Terry’s (R-Neb.) Omaha-based district as one place they might play offense," Roll Call writes. "Terry won re-election with just 52 percent of the vote last year as President Barack Obama won the 2nd district and its vote in the Electoral College."
NEW JERSEY: Chris Christie will testify before Congress this week about federal monitoring contracts he awarded during corporate fraud settlements. In one case, Christie awarded a high-paying contract to his old boss, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, the Star-Ledger reports. “Seton Hall University political scientist Joseph Marbach said it is a smart move by Christie's campaign to address the issue head-on, noting the hearing will draw less attention from voters in the summer and on the same day as final votes on the state budget. In a letter to Rep. John Conyers, Christie told him he must leave the hearing by 1:30 p.m. to “attend previously scheduled commitments I have in New Jersey.”
VIRGINIA: A little help from your friends... "The Republican National Committee transferred $1.5 million to the party's gubernatorial nominee in Virginia in May, boosting the GOP's investment in a race it hasn't won since 1997," The Hill reports. "The RNC's transfer to former Attorney General Bob McDonnell came before the Republican officially won his party's nomination, though he had no serious challengers for the top spot."
Speaking of McDonnell and fundraising, he hit three fundraising stops with Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R). Barbour predicted GOP wins this year’s gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia, though he said a popular new Democratic president would help McDonnell’s opponent, Creigh Deeds. He “noted that in 1993, a fresh, shiny Democratic president, Bill Clinton, aided the prohibitive favorite, Democrat Mary Sue Terry, ” who was then defeated by Republican George Allen, ushering in years of GOP control of Virginia.
