• FL-Sen: Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio has formed an exploratory committee for the Senate seat that Mel Martinez is vacating. However, if Crist runs, Rubio will bail to run for Governor, instead. (J)
• NY-Sen-B: This would be pretty serious. Long Island Democratic Congressman Steve Israel is said to be considering a primary run against Kirsten Gillibrand, according to the NY Times. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Rep. Carolyn Maloney are also openly mulling the race. (J)
• KS-Gov: Looks like Kansas Dems are back to the drawing board not just in terms of the senate seat but also the governor’s mansion. Lt. Gov Mark Parkinson, who will be taking over for soon-to-be-ex-Governor Kathleen Sebelius, has reaffirmed his earlier statement that he wouldn’t seek the governor’s seat in 2010.
• PA-Sen: Glen Meakem, a Pittsburgh-area right-wing internet entrepreneur, was one of the fallback options for a conservative primary challenge to Arlen Specter. He’s backed out of the fray, apparently deferring to Pat Toomey’s renewed interest in the race. (You may remember Meakem as the guy who personally financed those internal “polls” showing John Murtha neck-and-neck with his defrauder challenger last year.)
• RNC: The RNC is transferring $1 million each to the NRSC and NRCC to help them dig out from under the 2008 debt and get back on the offensive. In other RNC news, one of the RNC’s three African-American members, Dr. Ada Fisher of North Carolina, is calling on RNC chair Michael Steele to step down in the face of his increasing, well, ridiculousness.
• Census: Incoming Commerce Sec. Gary Locke says the Census will stay a part of his portfolio at Commerce. It also looks that sampling, which is the real methodological sticking point that’s the source of the political squabble over census management, won’t be used aggressively; Locke said that sampling will be used “minimally, as an accuracy check.”
• NH-St. Sen.: It’s all but official: former Rep. Jeb Bradley is downshifting his career, to say the least. Tomorrow he’ll announce his candidacy for the New Hampshire state senate in SD-3. This will be an open seat vacated by a Republican, so it’s not even a potential GOP pickup. (Trivia time: I can think of at least two other ex-Representatives who are currently state senators. Can anybody name them?)
Mervyn Dymally was another ex-Representative (1981-1993) that served in the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2008 when he had to leave due to term limits. Interestingly, Dymally was Lieutenant Governor before serving in Congress.
Roy Dyson (D-MD) and Jim Barcia (D-MI)
So even if Locke fully supported statistical methods, his hands would be tied.
I’m almost certain it is considering they have several hundred state house and senate members. Doesn’t sound like a good way to stay relevant in that state.
Its like he just wants to be on the state dime or something. Even though it probably pays almost nothing.
Doesnt Rep. Israel represent The Hamptons? I wonder if he would get the bulk of their campaign contributions in a Dem primary. Though Im sure Obama, the Clintons and Schumer will all be helping Gillibrand tremendously.
http://thehill.com/leading-the…
sigh…
I don’t think are are actually going to primary Gillibrand. I think they are just saying that to force her to move to the left.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…
The GOP candidate for IL-05 is a regular free Republic poster with countless outrageous posts.
Surprisingly good numbers for Cazayoux and Melancon who aren’t well-known statewide. Hopefully Caz gets the message and runs. He has nothing to lose.
http://www.dailykos.com/statep…
Cleo Fields served in the LA state Senate.
One more who doesn’t appear to have been mentioned here: Pennsylvania State Senator Raphael J. Musto (D-Luzerne). He has served in the State Senate since 1983, having served a partial term in the U. S. House after winning a special election in April 1980, then losing in the November 1980 general election.