National Republicans “have begun to intervene in a handful of key Senate and House battlegrounds where state parties are in disarray, seeking to head off the possibility that local mismanagement could cost the party control of Congress,” Politico reports. “These ‘orphan states,’ most notably behemoths with traditionally weak parties like California, Illinois and New York, are increasingly the focus of top GOP officials in the nation’s capital this spring.”
In the national GOP’s eyes, Delaware is most definitely an ophan state, as the state GOP here is in disarray, if not in outright war with itself. But then again, save Tom Kovach and the U.S. House race, since the state GOP has utterly failed at recruiting any credible candidates to challenge Sen. Carper, Gov. Markell and Lt. Gov. Denn, I wonder if the RNC will even bother with Delaware. Since the GOP has the House majority without Carney’s seat, they are unlikely to spend money in a state that will guaranteed to go Democratic in the fall, and which has a favorite son on the Presidential ticket.
U.S. SENATE–MAINE–GENERAL ELECTION (Maine’s People Resource Center): Fmr. Governor Angus King (I) 56, Secretary of State Charlie Summers (R) 22, Matt Dunlap (D) at 12%.
Does anyone want to be Romney’s VP?
“Remember, in the modern era, it’s rare for a losing Republican vice presidential nominee to become the nominee in a later election. Dan Quayle, for example, is a punchline, not a presidential candidate, and the same goes for the most recent member of the club, Sarah Palin. Which is to say that, in a world where Republicans don’t see a future for Romney, we should expect the vice presidential ‘race’ to become a microcosm of the nomination contest, ambitious Republicans keep themselves out of the running, and leave the field to second and third string politicians who have nothing to lose from a defeat in November.”
He’s right. Dan Quayle’s 1996 campaign went no where. Did Jack Kemp even run in 2000? Sarah Palin did not run this year. Anyone remember President Miller (Goldwater’s running mate in 1964) or President Lodge (Nixon’s in 1960)? Bob Dole is probably the exception to this rule, as he did run for President eventually, twenty years after his failed VP nomination in 1976.
U.S. SENATE–INDIANA–REPUBLICAN PRIMARY (Garin-Hart-Yang (D)/Bellwether Research (R) for Howey Politics Indiana/DePauw University): Sen. Richard Lugar (R) 42, Richard Mourdock (R): 35
U.S. SENATE–INDIANA–GENERAL ELECTION (Garin-Hart-Yang (D)/Bellwether Research (R) for Howey Politics Indiana/DePauw University): Lugar (R): 50, Rep. Joe Donnelly (D) 29; Donnelly (D) 35, Mourdock (R) 35