North Carolina: Congressman Bob Etheridge is reconsidering running for Senate in 2010 against vulnerable freshman Republican backbencher Richard "Bank Run" Burr. This could be a good omen as then-State Senator Kay Hagan first decided against a 2008 Senate bid before reconsidering and going on to defeat Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole. Congressman Etheridge ended June with almost $900,000 in his campaign account, not a bad start against Burr's $2.5 million. Congressman Etheridge recently met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss a bid, and says that he hopes to make a final decision by September.
Illinois: Republican Mark Kirk has a new primary opponent in his bid for the 2010 GOP Senate nomination:
The latest entrant in the Republican primary is Pat Hughes, a lawyer and real estate developer who announced his candidacy Wednesday, according to the Daily Herald newspaper in suburban Chicago.
Hughes appeared Aug. 8 at a candidates' forum in Bloomington that was organized by some conservative county GOP chairmen. He talked about his background and views and also criticized Kirk for voting for a "cap and trade" climate change bill that the House passed in June with the support of just eight House Republicans.
"He is not a fiscal conservative, and I am," Hughes said.
At least six other Republicans have filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for the seat of retiring Democrat Roland W. Burris. They are John Arrington, a former alderman from Harvey; Tom Kuna; Don Lowery, a former state circuit judge; political activist and frequent candidate Andy Martin; Eric Wallace, who was decisively defeated in a 2006 bid for the Illinois state Senate; and Robert Zadek, a businessman.
If Hughes is a halfway decent lawyer and real estate developer, he should have some personal wealth to boost his campaign. With Hughes and others bashing Kirk from the right (on votes like cap and trade), it'll force Kirk's rhetoric to shift toward an even more conservative stance, which won't help his general election prospects in blue Illinois.
Louisiana: Courtesy of Vote Kids, on David Vitter: "Tell him to look out for our children, not the insurance industry." Reportedly, the ad buy is $36,000.
Iowa: The far-right-wing Club for Growth is putting the screws to Chuck Grassley with TV ads urging Grassley not to "cave in" to Democrats on health care reform. And Grassley will no doubt do the right wing's bidding dutifully.
Missouri: Several days ago, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called out Congresscritter Roy Blunt for spreading lies on health care reform. Today, the Springfield News-Leader picks up the story. I hope Missourians are paying attention.
North Dakota: The News Blog for KFGO Fargo-Moorhead bets that Republican Gov. John Hoeven will not challenge popular Senator Byron Dorgan in 2010 for a few reasons including: 1) Hoeven isn't a risk taker; 2) Hoeven would have to spend nearly all his time fundraising; and, 3) Hoeven is considerably younger than Dorgan and can wait out Dorgan's eventual retirement.
Health care reform: With Democrats ready move on from negotiating with a Republican Party that has made it clear that they will not vote for real health care reform under any circumstances, all of a sudden, Republicans Richard Burr and Mike Enzi are ready to consider the watered down co-op option. I hope Democrats won't take the bait. Further, I hope Democrats will vociferously and repeatedly remind the media that a public option is the compromise, down from single payer.
