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KY-Sen: Conway Makes It Official

by: Crisitunity

Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 12:50 PM EDT


It's been widely rumored for several weeks, but today it became official: Kentucky AG Jack Conway will be running for the Democratic nomination in the 2010 Senate race.

Attorney General Jack Conway said today that he will seek the Democratic nomination next year for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Jim Bunning....

The attorney general is expected to kick off his campaign with a press conference Monday attended by Luallen, Chandler, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, D-3rd District, and perhaps other Democratic leaders who are backing him.

This comes hot on the heels of yesterday's blockbuster PPP poll that showed every possible Democrat beating Jim Bunning. The poll showed Rep. Ben Chandler in the best position vis a vis Bunning, leaving me momentarily wondering if Chandler would try elbowing Conway aside, but it looks like the informal troika of Chandler, Conway, and Luallen have successfully resolved the issue of who gets to run for Senate, and will all be appearing together. (The same poll shows Conway beating Bunning by 9, so we're still in great shape with him.)

This won't be an uncontested primary. Far from it, as Conway will still need to get past Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo, who doesn't match up as well against Bunning according to PPP, but has the advantage of having come within a few points of Bunning in 2004, and who has the endorsement of Gov. Steve Beshear. As with the Democratic primary in Ohio, the trick will be keeping the primary competitive enough that the candidates get the free media needed to raise their profiles going into the general, but keeping it from lapsing into the negativity that can wound the primary winner going forward. (H/t MediaCzech and generalleeferd.)
Crisitunity :: KY-Sen: Conway Makes It Official
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KY-Sen: Conway Makes It Official | 24 comments
Primaries are good
May the best general election candidate win.
T Paw most likely not runing for MINN gov
This is maybe some good news for the democrats... Minnasota is a state we need to get back in order to fofset the almost sure losses we will have in KS, TN, and the like.
I'm very concerned about Wyoming.
Yeah, that sounds funny, but I seriously am.  We have Parkinson in KS, and I sure hope he runs.

TN is one that I'm less hopeful about than WY, strangely.  Partly because the state is trending away from us, and partly because we don't seem to have anyone willing to step up to the plate.  Or as much as I've heard here on SSP.

Also, we REALLY need a CAT FUD fund, now.

Bill Posey is not half-alligator...and is outclassed by Davy Crockett anyway

[ Parent ]
Roy Herron
who is the chairman of the Democratic Senate Caucus announced he is running and he will be a good candidate. He knows how to win in rural areas which have been trending against us, so I think he can win statewide. Obviously it will not be easy, but I feel much better about our chances now.
[ Parent ]
In which state?
I think both WY and TN were mentioned...

Check out Georgia's best progressive political blog
[ Parent ]
Found it
[ Parent ]
I'm still disappointed
Out field for TN-Gov stinks.  Lincoln Davis should have run.  Ya, we'd lost his house seat, but we're going to eventually anyway.
[ Parent ]
In Tennessee,
the fields for both sides look bad usually because we do not elect any other state officers. We have two big cities, but only one former mayor has been elected Governor (Bredesen in 2002). For Tennessee are field is okay, and Republican field is not exactly loaded either.
[ Parent ]
yeah look at Zach Wamp
The guy represents a solid GOP East Tennessee district, the state does lean red on most things now but central and west Tennessee will vote for the right Democrat.  I could easily see Wamp losing to one of the guys we've put up.
[ Parent ]
I like Herron
because I he will do well in the rural areas (for a Democrat), particularly in West Tennessee. The Republicans right now do not have a candidate that appeals better than the average Republican in Middle and West Tennessee. This does not mean we will win, but does give us a path to victory. The key for us to win is to hold down the margins in either the doughnut counties around Nashville or hold down the margins in the east. Wamp I think will have problems because he is a DC politican and Tennesseans appear leary of electing Congressmen governor.
[ Parent ]
Coleman could have been a strong candidate to replace Pawlenty
Too bad he had to be a sore loser and meaninglessly drag out the Senate race for so many months, killing any future in politics.
[ Parent ]
I don't want to
Be the negative one, but I think even more so than Ohio this race has the potential to be very negative.
Kentucky
Who is the more progressive out of the two. I know this is Kentucky we're talking about, but we might as well elect a progressive as long as Bunning is going down as Santorum did.  
Conway
MediaCzech put it well in his/her/its? diary:
Dan Mongiardo is the Blue Dog that some are pointing to, as he co-sponsored the Rovian anti-gay amendment here in 2004, he constantly shills for the abomination that is mountaintop removal mining, and he has no problem speaking at NRA conventions in between Glenn Beck, Karl Rove and Mitt Romney bashing Democrats who will "take away their guns".

Conway , ONTH, opposed the anti-gay marriage amendment, is pro-gun (this is Kentucky we're talking about...) but not stuck on the insane, "Democrats will take your guns away" meme, and, if he supports mountaintop removal, isn't the raging cheerleader for it that Mongiardo is. Plus, he's pro-Choice while Mongiardo is pro-Life and at least as good as Mongiardo (if not better) on labor issues. Best of all, he can actually win in Kentucky.
[ Parent ]
Yeah
some quick googling and it's pretty obvious we want to back Conway in this race.  Cool thing is: Conway is only 39 years old.  If we get him in, there's a pretty good chance we hold that seat for awhile.
[ Parent ]
Am I the only one
who thinks Conway kinda looks like Harvey Dent from "The Dark Knight"?
Whatever the similarities
Conway sure is photogenic. He's the best looking candidate I can remember us putting up over the last couple of cycles.
[ Parent ]
not bad
Gotta give it up for Scott Kleeb though... Man... Tight jeans, cowboy hat... Maybe its a Western thing! haha
[ Parent ]
And
He's running against one of Sadaam Hussain's son's!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J...
[ Parent ]
Hmmm.
All the other major Democrats seem to be lining up around Conway while Beshear of course was forced to support his Lieutenant Governor less it be taken as a public slight. I feel that Conway will win this. I don't think this primary will be more negative than Ohio. Ohio will be negative; there you have two ambitious statewide officers in a big state. Here, well ,Kentucky politics just doesn't work like that. I think they will privately agree to stay positive and not go nuclear and damage one or the other's chances of beating Bunning or somebody else if he loses.

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
Just to add
to your points, both Conway and Mongiardo still have a career in statewide office if they lose. Both will still hold their current positions, can seek reelection to them in 2011, and either run for governor in 2015 or Senate in 2014. If Fisher loses, I think his political career is done. Brunner can probably rebuild her career, but it would take longer than either Conway or Mongiardo. I think it is less likely to go nuclear in Kentucky because neither wants to risk their future by burning too many bridges.
[ Parent ]
yes, excellent points
that didn't occur to me. Yeah, Mongiardo will definitely not want to burn too many bridges, I think he wants to be Governor one day, if not Senator.

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus
[ Parent ]
It should be interesting
I recall Mongiardo performing very well in 2004 in the eastern part of Kentucky where he's from.  Conway is from Louisville.  Yet there are a ton of very conservative DINOS who vote in Democratic primaries.  Could come down to turnout in western vs. eastern KY in the primary.
[ Parent ]
How much you wanna bet that (professional) Democratic strategists are reading this blog?
[ Parent ]
KY-Sen: Conway Makes It Official | 24 comments

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