Bad news from those of you who wanted to see a competitive Senate race in WV. Looks like it ain’t going to happen:
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito said today she will not challenge Sen. Robert Byrd next year for a U.S. Senate seat, but instead will try to keep her high-profile position in the House of Representatives.
Capito, R-W.Va., made the long-awaited announcement this morning, less than a week after Byrd announced he was running for his ninth term in the Senate.
The congresswoman, now in her third term in the House, said she is leaving her options open to run for the Senate seat, but will do so only if there is a groundswell of support for her to try and oust Byrd.
Six more years of Byrd.
Steve
I guess those anti-Byrd ads that were running earlier this year didn’t pan out so well.
Sen. Byrd is doing pretty well for 87. Better than my grandfather, although I guess I wouldn’t send Grandpa to the Senate!
Jim
It really sucks. In addition to being an embarrassment to our state, Byrd has been wrong on every public policy issue since he filibustered against civil rights bills in the 60s, down to his opposition to the Iraq war. A senile egomaniac.
Shygetz
I dunno, based only on the two examples you list, seems like he’s batting .500. That’s All-Star level.
skip
Without Byrd’s largesse Jim would still be using lyme in the village loo.
Mac Buckets
Byrd’s got the endorsements of Charles Lindberg, President Taft, and Lou Gehrig! He’s a crackerjack of a fellow! 23 skidoo and vote for Byrd!
Tim F
In 2006 the Republicans play D. Frank Luntz, bless his demented soul, anticipates a rout.
Geek, Esq.
Have the R’s recruited any A-list candidates to challenge red state D incumbents?
ND went from toss-up to gimme. Now WV did as well.
Hippie Doug J
Six more years of taxpayer PORK which is matched only by that of Ted Stevens R – Alaska (230 million dollars for a bridge so that 50 people can be connected to the mainland)
Poor West Virginia, FORCED to take all that Federal Loot which Byrd brings home. I’m all verklempt!
carpeicthus
Does WV have an R governor? She’s probably betting he’ll die during the next term and she’ll get the slot without the mess of a campaign.
Shygetz
If I were a Republican with aspirations, then unless I had some terminal illness with less than 2 years to live, I wouldn’t run for dog catcher. It’s gonna be tough for the Repubs to find quality candidates with the troubles the party is having.
Davebo
Hippie Doug
Actually it’s significantly more than 50 people, and of course, the bridge doesn’t connect anything to the mainland.
But horrible pork just the same.
Another Jeff
I don’t think the situation is quite as drastic for Republicans as Shygetz does, but it is interesting that during the 2002 midterms, you had Democratic Senate candidates touting how they’ve worked with President Bush and trying to be seen in pictures with him.
Well, in South Jersey, and we get all the commercials here in PHilly cuz SJ is part of the Philly media market, John Corzine, Democratic candidate for Governor, is running commercials that are basically SCREAMING that DOUG FORRESTER (the Republican he’s running against) IS GEORGE BUSH’S CANDIDATE!!!
Granted that’s not all that telling as to the rest of the country since Democrats hold an overwhelming edge in New Jersey and considering that Doug Forrester couldn’t beat a senile, drooling, last-minute replacement like frank Lautenberg for the Senate, he’s not gonna beat Corzine, but it’s still interesting.
Steve S
Jim – This is just a guess, but I’ll bet you’d find that african americans in West Virginia most likely support Byrd by a huge margin over any Republican challenger. This despite his past votes against civil rights, in large part because he’s since apologized for them. Whereas the Republicans continue to this day to try to harm african americans.
Now I know y’all aren’t doing it because your racist pigs, but rather that you think keeping african americans from voting and being well off will hurt Democrats, because they vote for Democrats cause they ain’t trying to harm them. But you really gotta stop and ask yourself just what do you believe in, if you are willing to abdandon what is right just for a short term win.
Another Jeff
Yeah, good point Steve. I’m a small business owner, i have four employees, all of whom were hired by me, and two of whom are black. I’m trying to harm them by giving them a job, paying them well, and paying for benefits for them and their families and sponsoring youth football, basketball, and little league teams in the Southwest Philly neighborhood where one of my black employees lives and where her kids play on the teams.
Wow, thanks. And since we’re giving off backhanded compliments, I’ll bet you don’t sweat much for a fat guy.
I know what i believe and i sleep real well at night. Of course, maybe I’m not who you were addressing all this to since even though i tend to vote for more Republicans than Democrats, my registration is still Democrat because you have to be if you wanna get anyone in gov’t to return your calls here in Philly.
rilkefan
Does Byrd have six more years in him?
If he goes to his reward while in office, does the governer appoint a successor until the next election? If so, what sort of choice would be likely under the current governer?
Ben
I’m surprised that this news surprises anyone.
You had to assume that Byrd would figure out some way to win…folks don’t stick around in the Senate as long as he has without learning a thing or two about elections and how they’re won (ideally long before a vote).
If Strom couldn’t lose his seat with the garbage he represented over the years, Byrd’s a shoo-in.
Off Colfax
Exactly what I was thinking. He’s been getting more and more frail-looking all throughout this term, and he’s got to be on his last legs, if not his last toes, by now. And even if he is a match in the political-awareness realm for Strom Thurmond, I’m doubting he’d be a match for him in the biological longevity realm.
I’m laying odds on Robert Byrd not surviving the upcoming term. Any takers?
Barry
“Six more years of Byrd”
Republicans have given the US eight years of George. I don’t see grounds for complaint. George will cost a heck of a lot more, and hurt the US far, far worse.
Steve S
Another Jeff
That doesn’t really address the question, Jim raised. He implied Byrd is a racist pig.
Which is it? Are we all supposed to condemn Byrd and ignore Republicans? Seems kind of two-faced… and you play the same game. I’m supposed to ignore Republicans doing blatantly stupid things, because you think you’re a nice guy.
Why did Jim bring it up to begin with? That’s the real question.
Another Jeff
The fact of the matter is, Steve, the point was addressed as well as it could be since you made so many ridiculous generalizations.
You’re the one that chose to say “y’all”, so you weren’t just talking to Jim, you were apparently talking to anyone who happens to vote for Republicans.
Which, considering i that i have voted for a few, made me feel the need to tell you how pompous and full of shit you are.
I’ll put my own life and my own actions on matters of race up against good little white liberals like yourself, who think that saying “african american”, and getting pissed at Bill Bennett, and doing the requisite name calling is actually doing something productive.
I mean, i know why you do it. Doing something productive is hard. Righteous indignation is easy.
Elrod
West Virginia’s Governor Manchin is a Democrat. If Byrd croaks, his replacement will be a Dem. Apparently, Capito has some stiff competition in her district too.
The reason Republicans are shying away from these races is because 2006 is going to be a very bad year for the GOP nationally. Even good Republicans will lose, and bad Democrats will win. That means Blagojevich will win again in 2006, even though he’s a corrupt bastard. DeWine will lose in Ohio, Santorum will get killed in PA, and there’s a good chance Burns will lose in Montana. Talent may very well lose in Missouri as well to Clair McKaskill. Oh, and Mark Kennedy, probably the best Republican candidate in Minnesota, won’t win the open Senate seat either. In another year? Sure. But not in 2006. Same with Steele in Maryland, though if Cardin gets the Dem nomination, he’ll win it easily anyway. The real question mark is Kyl in Arizona. If Jim Pederson drums up some name recognition, he could upset Kyl. And then there’s Chafee. He still leads over Brown and Whitehouse, but not by much. Down the stretch, he might go too. The Dems could very well pick up PA, OH, MT, MO, AZ and RI and not lose a single seat. That would give the Dems the Senate. If trends continue the way they are, with Bush’s poll numbers dropping, and demoralized conservatives staying home, this scenario is very likely.
Bruce from Missouri
6 more years of Byrd is better than 6 years of any member of the Republican kleptocracy.
Any vote for a Republican in 2006 is a vote for Bush. So with John’s stated distaste for Bush, why would he be wanting to vote for a Republican senator?
MMM
I think pretty much anyone here could answer Bruce’s question.
She/the Republicans would have lost anyway.
rilkefan
Elrod, thanks.