Dems need a champion for Senate

Two things are certain about the Senate race next year.

Democrats think they can beat Sen. Richard Burr. And party faithful seem worried about the candidate roster. Over the weekend, articles in The American Spectator and The Hill ruminated on the would-be or wouldn't-be candidates.

The Spectator article dismissed Cal Cunningham and Kenneth Lewis as "no-name lawyers." The piece focused on why top-tier candidates, including Attorney General Roy Cooper, decided not to run.

So why did Cooper brush aside a Senate bid? We'll never know for sure, but two possibilities come to mind. One is the heat Cooper has taken from Republicans, which has trickled into the wider electorate, for going soft on former Democratic Gov. Mike Easley. Easley is under state and federal investigation for alleged ethics violations and campaign finance malfeasance.

A second reason is a defamation lawsuit filed against Cooper nine years ago. The suit alleges that Cooper defamed his Republican challenger during a race for attorney general by airing a misleading television ad. A superior court judge recently denied Cooper's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to go to trial.

The Hill piece wonders whether Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who is clearly trying to generate buzz for a run, could follow in the steps of Kay Hagan, who was seen as a long-shot candidate who went on to defeat Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Still, thanks to the decisions of state Attorney General Roy Cooper and a few members of the state’s congressional delegation to pass on the race, Marshall appears next in line.

Nobody is getting terribly excited about her candidacy, but nobody was terribly excited two years ago either, after a similar cast of characters passed on a challenge to Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

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Re: Dems need a champion for Senate

Submitted by czarromulusaugustus on August 3, 2009 - 1:38pm.

One consideration to think about is the fact that Straight Party Voting will down tremendously

Democrats = 1,283,486 with a sizable portion coming in Absentee/One Stop Voting

Republicans = 881,856

One would think that the Republicans might be able to combat this considering it accounted for half of President Obama's vote and there not an Obama on the ticket to pull people to the pull!

Thus down ticket candidates might have trouble garnering the same votes...

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Re: Dems need a champion for Senate

Submitted by dgilligan on August 3, 2009 - 12:13pm.

This shows why you should laugh at Washington-based media's coverage of state races until well into the general. I'm sure they would have said John Edwards (regardless of what he's done recently) was a "no-name lawyer" in mid-1997... and look how that race turned out. In an election where Dems already have 60 seats maybe a no-name outsider is an asset more than a vulnerability.

I do agree Burr will be a better candidate than Dole was, he's much younger and will be more difficult to portray as out of touch. He also had the Dole campaigns mistakes to learn from. The landscape will be different without Obama on the ballot but I don't think that's quite so clear cut an effect as simply hurting Democrats.

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Re: Dems need a champion for Senate

Submitted by GiggleBox on August 3, 2009 - 11:07am.

I believe Burr will be a better candidate than was Dole.

From your blog post to Karl Rove's ear. He recruited both.

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Re: Dems need a champion for Senate

Submitted by rapidtransit on August 3, 2009 - 10:59am.

I believe Burr will be a better candidate than was Dole. And Lord Obama may not be as popular this election as last. But then again if Lord Obama regains his momentum then his Democratic designee will enjoy a walk in the park.

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Re: Dems need a champion for Senate

Submitted by GiggleBox on August 3, 2009 - 9:56am.

The Spectator article dismissed Cal Cunningham and Kenneth Lewis as "no-name laywers."

Kay Hagan who?

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Re: Dems need a champion for Senate

Submitted by John_Burns on August 3, 2009 - 9:43am.

Quoting the American Spectator on an assessment of Democratic candidates is like quoting the Yankee game day program on the Red Sox post-season chances.

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Re: Dems need a champion for Senate

Submitted by ishley on August 3, 2009 - 9:28am.

Wrong as usual, Bitter. Senator Hagan received more votes than President Obama, so it seems a stretch to say that she rode his coattails. North Carolinians elected Senator Kay Hagan because Dole didn't work too hard and because she represented the Bush administration and the national Republican party rather than the people of NC. We've been through this before on this blog.

As for 2010 Senate candidates, I think that The Spectator should look more closely at Cal Cunningham. As a member of the U.S. Army, he was awarded the Bronze Star, served in Iraq, and brought some of the first legal actions against out-of-control civilian contractors. Meanwhile, Burr missed half of his Armed Services Committee meetings and repeatedly voted against funding for our troops and our veterans. If I were Burr, I would be ashamed of myself. I expect Burr will find it quite unpleasant to try to explain to voters why he couldn't make time for those meetings and why our men and women in uniform didn't deserve adequate funding. I bet he would be especially embarrassed to have to make excuses when standing on stage alongside a war hero like Cal Cunningham.

Finally, can you or anybody point to what Burr HAS done as our U.S. Senator for the past five years?

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