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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (311419)	11/22/2006 4:19:47 AM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1577295

Looking forward to the 2008 election........... Senate Race Updates: TX, OR and ID Despite Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's (R) resounding '06 win, one TX Dem insider says Dems are hopeful that a strong challenger to Sen. John Cornyn (R) will still emerge. The Dem claims Cornyn "has significantly lower approval rating" than Hutchison and that Gov. Rick Perry's (R) plurality win shows the TX GOP base is only 40% of voters. However the Dem concedes that a credible challenger would have to start raising money right now for what could be a $12M campaign. Already mentioned as possibilities are '98/'02 LG nominee/ex-Comp. John Sharp (D) and Houston Mayor Bill White (D), but ex-Rep. Jim Turner (D) still has over $1M CoH left over. There are "rumblings" about Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-28) running, and '02 nominee/ex-Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk's (D) name gets batted around occasionally too (Hotline reporting, 11/21). OREGON: Ben There, Going To Do That? When asked via e-mail, '06 GOV candidate/state Sen. Ben Westlund (I) political adviser Stacey Dycus writes: "Democrats have been asking Ben to run against" Sen. Gordon Smith (R), "but he really hasn't considered it. People have also asked him about" Treas. and re-election to state Senate. "Right now, he's not thinking about his next election, he's thinking about a well-deserved vacation and the next session. ... He is an independent and all I can tell you is that his heart and mind is closer to the views held by Democrats, but he has no plans to change registration. If asked, he may caucus with the D's this session" An OR Dem source reports general optimism about '08, given Smith will up in a presidential year. Ex-Gov. John Kitzhaber (D), as always, is the "lion in waiting." Other attractive candidates would be Clatsop Co. DA Josh Maquis (D), Educ. Sup't Susan Castillo (D), and Treas. Randall Edwards (D) (Hotline reporting, 11/21). MAINE: All Eyes On Allen A ME GOP source concedes Sen. Susan Collins (R) won't likely get a free pass in '08, however most Dems are waiting to see what Rep. Tom Allen (D-01) will do before making their own plans. Allen has long expressed interesting in running for SEN, and the lingering rumors about him running in '06 may have kept state Senate Maj. Leader Michael Brennan (D) from challenge Sen. Olympia Snowe (R). But Allen will be pressed to make a quicker decision for '08, and the GOPer notes Allen didn't run a single TV ad this campaign (presumably to build his warchest) and has spent a lot of time recently in ME-02, outside his CD. At last reporting, Allen had $440K CoH to Collins' $392K Although the new Dem majority in the House might discourage Allen from giving up his House seat, many think he's still likely to run. If not, AG Steve Rowe (D) could be a strong challenger. Also mentioned are Brennan and '02 nominee/Common Cause pres. Chellie Pingree (D), who ran a decent campaign in '02 (Hotline reporting, 11/21). hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com