Attorney General Jim Hood, who already is considered the presumptive Democratic nominee for the open gubernatorial post in this year’s election, has drawn a primary opponent. And, the two are quite familiar with each other.
Three times, Mr. Hood’s office has filed charges against Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler, each time failing to convince a jury of the latter man’s guilt. Mr. Schuler has faced charges on aggravated stalking (hung jury), robbery (not guilty), and obstruction of justice (not guilty). Now the two are going to battle each other for their party’s gubernatorial nomination, which should make this primary campaign very colorful to say the least. Emerson College, located in nearby Boston, conducted a survey of New Hampshire Democratic voters just after neighboring Sen. Bernie Sanders (I/D-VT) announced his presidential campaign. According to Emerson (2/21-22; 405 NH Democratic registered voters), Sen. Sanders has taken the lead over former Vice President Joe Biden, the first time any other Democratic candidate has led in a primary poll.
The Emerson results post Sen. Sanders to a 27-25% edge over Mr. Biden, with California Sen. Kamala Harris trailing at 12%. In another instance where Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren fails to reach double-digits, she scores just 9% in this neighboring state poll. Also, soon after announcing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) jumped to 8%, followed by ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), both tallying 5 percent. Washington Gov. Inslee said in a media interview late last weekend that he could announce a presidential campaign as early as this week. He also did not rule out the possibility of seeking a third term as Governor should his presidential bid fail early.
Two North Carolina congressional seats are soon headed for special elections, but, at the present, they are being administered differently. In the 3rd CD, the death of Rep. Walter Jones (R-Farmville) means that Gov. Roy Cooper (D) will schedule the special election to fill the vacancy. Now that the State Board of Elections has ruled there will be a new election in the disputed 9th CD, it is they, the five-member panel, who will set the voting schedule for this latter situation and not Mr. Cooper.
The Governor has yet to issue his election order for District 3, and it is thought that the State Board members may wait until a schedule is set in that district before announcing the 9th District election calendar. Many believe they will unify the District 9 schedule with District 3. Therefore, we can expect to wait a bit longer before we know when the seats will be filled. It is likely the entire process in both places won’t be completed until sometime in June, accounting for the possibility of holding a secondary run-off election necessary if no candidate reaches 30% of the vote in an original primary. Former Iowa Governor and ex-US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (D) indicated over the weekend that he will not challenge US Sen. Joni Ernst (R) next year. Mr. Vilsack served two terms as Iowa’s Governor before going to Washington to serve in President Obama’s cabinet for the entire tenure of his Administration. During her husband’s time in Washington, Mr. Vilsack’s wife, Christie Vilsack, unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Steve King (R-Kiron/Sioux City) in 2012, losing 53-45%.
No Democrat has yet come forward to announce a 2020 Senate candidacy. It is possible that many prospective contenders were waiting for a signal from Mr. Vilsack. With his decision now public, we may soon see political action begin to brew. Despite being publicly attacked for what many claim are white supremist comments and being stripped of his committee assignments as a result, Rep. Steve King (R-Kiron/Sioux City) says he will run for re-election next year. He was originally elected to the western Iowa seat in 2002 and has held the seat largely without major controversy until now. Already, state Sen. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull), former Irwin Mayor Bret Richards, and Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor are announced Republican candidates.
Under Iowa election law, if no candidate receives 35% in a primary election, a district convention is then convened to choose a nominee. If a crowded field ultimately takes shape, Rep. King might have a chance of winning re-nomination with a plurality vote, or possibly prevailing in a convention. It is clear that Democrats will target this seat in 2020, despite the region performing as strongly Republican for decades. In 2018, Rep. King, as the current controversy was taking form, defeated Democrat JD Scholten, 50-46%. Morris County Sheriff James Gannon, who Republican leaders hoped would challenge freshman Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), says he will not run for Congress next year. Ms. Sherrill was impressive in her 2018 campaign, putting to bed early what had been a reliable Republican seat. Her political strength suggests that she will not be a top tier GOP conversion target in 2020, at least in the early going.
After three days of hearings before the North Carolina Board of Elections and ending with even Republican candidate Mark Harris calling for a new election, the five-member panel finally issued the order, a conclusion that has been apparent for weeks. At the Board’s next meeting, a special election schedule will be announced.
The 9th District election has been tied up for months following the November election over voter fraud allegations in one county and internal Board of Elections politics. Because North Carolina has a three-tiered election process, meaning a secondary run-off election occurs if no party primary contender reaches at least 30% support, the timing could stretch well into June before the 9th CD finally has a Representative for this congressional session. Despite US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying on several occasions that he would not be entering the open US Senate race in his home state of Kansas next year, speculation continued to grow that he would run. Though candidate filing won’t occur until June of 2020 for the August primary, meaning much time remains to reverse course, Mr. Pompeo again said yesterday that he is ruling out launching a Senate campaign.
The seat is open because veteran Sen. Pat Roberts (R) is not seeking re-election. US Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Great Bend/Western Kansas) has previously said that he would enter the Senate race if Mr. Pompeo decides not to run. Responding to former state Supreme Court Justice Bill Waller Jr. entering the Republican primary to challenge Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, term-limited Mississippi chief executive Phil Bryant (R) came out early to take sides.
Yesterday, Gov. Bryant formally endorsed Lt. Gov. Reeves for the party nomination. Despite Mississippi’s strong Republican voting history since the turn of the century, Democrats will have an unusually strong nominee this year in the person of Attorney General Jim Hood, one of the most successful Deep South Democrats. Mr. Hood has won four consecutive elections as the state’s AG, at a time when any other Democratic regional victory has been quite scarce. The Bryant move was designed to help put distance between Reeves and Waller, ensuring a clean nomination run for the former man. Gov. Bryant understands that Mr. Reeves will need a united Republican base to defeat the hard-charging Mr. Hood. |
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