Democrats' morning disappointment: Cochran running for re-election
Until two weeks ago, no Democrat was hoping for a Cochran nomination anymore. The rumors had been long silenced by Cochran's initial moves, and while Democrats had hope for the seat early in the cycle they had pretty much given up. Then two weeks ago surfaces news that Cochran is very seriously considering retiring, uplifting Democrats who have the bench in the state to make this seat extremely competitive if it opens up; Cochran himself confirmed he might head out and said he would make his decision some time in November. Rumors became more and more insistent that Cochran was not going to run again...
But Cochran squashed the hopes that... he had created today by announcing that he would run for re-election: "I have enjoyed serving in the Senate, and I am highly honored to have had the support and encouragement to continue this service from friends throughout the state." Besides the puzzling question of why Cochran would launch such rumors if he did not intend to resign, this means he is pretty much safe for re-election. He is a long-time political figure of the state, and the Democrats who would be very strong are unlikely to challenge him. Cochran has not raised a lot of money in his campaign for now, which was one of the reasons people thought he might get out, but that's not a problem if there are no strong challengers.
This is the second cycle in a row that a Mississippi Senator gets to the brink of retirement before announcing he is running again (Trent Lott in 2006), which has to be very frustrating for all of those who want to run for Senate in Mississippi, whether on the GOP or Democratic side. Republican Rep. Pickering, who was always presented as next-in-line, stopped waiting and announced he was retiring from Congress a few months ago.
In further bad news for Democrats, the GOP is setting his sights on one of the most vulnerable Democratic seats in the country: IN-07. The district is a solidly Democratic district, but Rep. Carson has been plagued by health issues over the past few years, and she vaslty underperformed in 2006. Republicans feel very strongly that they can unseat her if they run a credible campaign -- which they did not do in 2006 though the GOP candidate only trailed 54-46.
State Rep. Jon Elrod could soon jump in the race and make life difficult for Carson. Complicating the picture for Democrats is a red trend in the district: Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, a Democrat, was stunningly defeated in last week's off-year elections. Peterson could run for the House seat if Carson gets out, but his defeat last week has to make Republicans feel good.
But Cochran squashed the hopes that... he had created today by announcing that he would run for re-election: "I have enjoyed serving in the Senate, and I am highly honored to have had the support and encouragement to continue this service from friends throughout the state." Besides the puzzling question of why Cochran would launch such rumors if he did not intend to resign, this means he is pretty much safe for re-election. He is a long-time political figure of the state, and the Democrats who would be very strong are unlikely to challenge him. Cochran has not raised a lot of money in his campaign for now, which was one of the reasons people thought he might get out, but that's not a problem if there are no strong challengers.
This is the second cycle in a row that a Mississippi Senator gets to the brink of retirement before announcing he is running again (Trent Lott in 2006), which has to be very frustrating for all of those who want to run for Senate in Mississippi, whether on the GOP or Democratic side. Republican Rep. Pickering, who was always presented as next-in-line, stopped waiting and announced he was retiring from Congress a few months ago.
In further bad news for Democrats, the GOP is setting his sights on one of the most vulnerable Democratic seats in the country: IN-07. The district is a solidly Democratic district, but Rep. Carson has been plagued by health issues over the past few years, and she vaslty underperformed in 2006. Republicans feel very strongly that they can unseat her if they run a credible campaign -- which they did not do in 2006 though the GOP candidate only trailed 54-46.
State Rep. Jon Elrod could soon jump in the race and make life difficult for Carson. Complicating the picture for Democrats is a red trend in the district: Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, a Democrat, was stunningly defeated in last week's off-year elections. Peterson could run for the House seat if Carson gets out, but his defeat last week has to make Republicans feel good.
posted by Taniel at
11:09 AM
1 Comments:
I would be shocked if Republicans could take IN-07. This is a district that voted for John Kerry by 18 points. At this point, I would not be surprised if Carson simply retired and let a stronger Democrat hold the seat easily.
By
Anonymous, At
14 November, 2007 18:40
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