United States Elections - 2008 downticket races: Senate, so on.

Started by lord xyz21 pages

Okay now I understand.

Was the candidate, as of June 2008.

Sorry for my poor sentence structure.

Originally posted by lord xyz
Bob Barr sucks.

I tend to agree, in fact he seems to have had exactly opposing views on Libertarian principles up until the day he decided he should run for them.

Oh well, still better than anyone else.

The Green party nomination hasn't been finalized yet, they're still voting.

Originally posted by Bardock42
I tend to agree, in fact he seems to have had exactly opposing views on Libertarian principles up until the day he decided he should run for them.

Oh well, still better than anyone else.

I'm watching him on the Colbert Report, apparently, he's turnedd his back on his Republican views because he's realised that the GOP lies all the time.

He realises marijuana should be legal, it was wrong to impeach Clinton, the patriot act sucks, and government is too big, as apposed to his previous voting record.

Pretty good policies, and a pretty good swing. He also says he's trying to get Libertarian Republicans to vote Libertarian...hasn't mentioned Libertarian Democrats, though.

Comedian Al Franken has received the endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota, and will be the party's nominee for U.S. Senate.

Originally posted by Strangelove
Comedian Al Franken has received the endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota, and will be the party's nominee for U.S. Senate.

Was it wholly on the up and up?

Originally posted by Devil King
Was it wholly on the up and up?
All of the DFL candidates pledged to abide by the endorsement by the DFL Convention in order to avoid a bruising primary. Franken had a supermajority of delegates to the convention, and therefore won the endorsement (on the first ballot) and the nomination.

Good interview from MSNBC with McCain on the economy and other issues: (about 15 min. long)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25085204#25085204

Obama has one too, I'll get it up in just a minute.

Rep. Steve Pearce defeated Rep. Heather Wilson for the Republican nomination for the open Senate seat in New Mexico, by a small margin. He will face the formidable Rep. Tom Udall in November (recent polling has him beating Pearce by 20+ points)

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, the longest ever serving Republican in the Senate (and 1 of only 6 in the state's history), has been indicted on 7 counts of giving false statements to the FBI. Stevens has asked that a) his trial be expedited (he wishes to 'clear his name' before the November elections and b) that the trial be held in Alaska.

This calls into serious doubt his re-election prospects, assuming he even gets past the Alaska GOP's primary on August 28th. He faces two wealthy self-funded challengers, David Cuddy and Vic Vickers.

Whoever wins the primary will likely go on to face Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D) in the general election. After the indictment, Begich's poll numbers have skyrocketed.

Sorry I've been neglecting this thread, I'll try to update it more often than I have been.

If anyone cares.

Originally posted by Strangelove
Sorry I've been neglecting this thread

Your neglect has totally inspired me to vote Republican.

Originally posted by Devil King
Your neglect has totally inspired me to vote Republican.
Your biting wit has floored me again.

Dems look like they're going to gain seats in the Senate, about 5.

NH, NM, CO and VA are all for certain, with MS, AK, KY and OR as a possible 5th or 6th.

Don't be so quick to write off New Hampshire. Jeanne Shaheen is a top-tier candidate, to be sure, but with John McCain at the top of the ticket (he's very popular in NH), Sununu has a much better chance. He also has a sizable cash-on-hand advantage so far.

I would personally switch Alaska and New Hampsire on your lists.

Originally posted by Strangelove
Don't be so quick to write off New Hampshire. Jeanne Shaheen is a top-tier candidate, to be sure, but with John McCain at the top of the ticket (he's very popular in NH), Sununu has a much better chance. He also has a sizable cash-on-hand advantage so far.

I would personally switch Alaska and New Hampsire on your lists.

Well fivethirtyeight.com has NH in the Likely Dem column with a 93% chance of winning but whatever, maybe you're right. I probably should have listed AK as a certain, but the state has rarely elected Dems.

CQPolitics is generally a much better barometer of what's going to happen, in my view. Although sometime I think they can be a little conservative in their picks.

CQ Senate Election Map

Primaries were held in multiple states yesterday:

Kansas: Former Congressman Jim Ryun (R) was denied the opportunity to seek a rematch with his opponent, Nancy Boyda (D). Boyda will instead face State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins in the Republican-leaning 2nd Congressional district (CPVI: R+7)

Michigan: Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D) barely survived her primary, vicariously suffering from the legal woes of her son, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Facing two opponents, the anti-Kilpatrick vote was split and the Congresswoman won with a bare plurality. Winning the Democratic primary is tantamount to winning in the heavily Democratic district. (CPVI: D+32)

Missouri: Congressman Kenny Hulshof (R) won the primary to succeed retiring Gov. Matt Blunt against State Treasurer Sarah Steelman. Hulshof will face Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon in the general election as an underdog, Nixon having no significant primary opponent and the opportunity to amass a large war chest.

Georgia: Businessman Jim Martin (D) won the Democratic primary runoff to face Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) in the general election. Chambliss is favored to win this November.

Article from washingtonpost.com's Chris Cillizza about the likelihood that the Senate Democrats might make it to 60 seats.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/08/60_senate_seats_in_sight.html?nav=rss_blog

The Top 25 most competitive Congressional races, according to RCP's Reid Wilson and Kyle Trygstad

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/09/top_25_competitive_congression.html

CQPolitics's Bob Benenson and Greg Giroux on the battle for Congress

[url]http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000002944356[/img]

Wait, I thought RCP was no good?

Or is that only where McCain is leading?