Republican Senate

Even before former Democrat Party Chair Tom Byrne announces his decision, it is already clear that Sen. Frank Lautenberg will face a primary challenge.  On Saturday, Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello confirmed that he plans to launch a primary campaign against the already-retire incumbent.  Cresitello plans to argue that Washington needs to change more than Lautenberg […]

Sen. Frank Lautenberg was thinking pretty highly of his chances this November, even against the self-financing Andy Unanue.  What probably hadn’t occurred to him, though, is that he might not make it to November.  Former state Democrat Party Chair Tom Byrne has confirmed that he is polling to test the waters for a primary bid […]

First Lady Laura Bush visited Kansas on Tuesday to headline a fundraiser for Sen. Pat Roberts, who is seeking his third term this November.  Roberts, who already had over $2.7 million as of the end of last year, took in over $200,000 at the event, which included over 400 contributors.  Those numbers suggest that the […]

When Anne Estabrook left the New Jersey Senate race earlier this month, it appeared as though the slim hope we had of capturing Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s seat had all but disappeared.  Only professor Murray Sabrin and state Sen. Joe Pennacchio remained in the race, and neither one had raised nearly enough money to wage a […]

Within the last few days filing closed in a couple of mountain west states.  Idaho probably featured the most bizarre sequence of events surrounding a filing deadline of any state so far.  Hal Styles, Jr., who has never lived in the state, filed in the Republican primary.  Both Kent Marmon and rancher Rex Rammell quit […]

Due to an impending death in the family, updates will be sporadic over the next week or so.

Al Franken and Sen. Norm Coleman caught breaks on Monday when attorney Mike Ciresi dropped his Senate bid, citing the desire to avoid a divisive primary.  Ciresi had run a formidable campaign, but never managed to gain traction against the New York comedian and his coastal fundraising base.  His departure ensures that Al Franken will be […]

Two unpleasant, though certainly not unexpected, developments have severely hampered our chances of staying close to where we are in the Senate over the last few days.  First, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee reiterated that he would not challenge Sen. Mark Pryor.   With the Arkansas GOP in disarray, Huckabee was the only person who could have […]

New Jersey Republican Anne Evans Estabrook, who was recruited by the NRSC to challenge Sen. Frank Lautenberg largely because of her willingness to at least partially self-finance her own campaign, suffered a stroke and has abandoned her Senate bid.  The stroke was minor and does not appear to be life-threatening, yet the first stroke increases […]

Texas Democrat nominee Rick Noriega narrowly avoided an embarassing run-off against an actor who has been dead for over a decade retired Air Force attorney Gene Kelly.  Noriega has been touted by some on the left-wing blogosphere as a candidate who could “expand the map”, yet he managed only 51% of the vote in a […]