Good for Minnesota. Bad for NARN.
Mark Dayton is apparently not running for Senate again:
Dayton, a department store heir who tapped $12 million from his own fortune to finance his 2000 campaign, also faced a fundraising hurdle. He has said he would be unable to finance the 2006 campaign on his own, and would seek private donations, but had only about $177,000 in his campaign account at year’s end. He has said his campaign likely would need $15 million or more.
Dayton’s popularity began to sink after he made a controversial decision last fall to temporarily close his Senate office for several weeks during Congress’ pre-election recess out of fear of a terrorist attack. Heaped with ridicule by Republicans, Dayton defended his decision, which was based on a review of a classified CIA report about a doomsday scenario on Capitol Hill.
His decision to pull out nearly two years before the election would open the door for other Democrats with Senate aspirations to enter a race in which several Republicans have expressed interest in running.
Republican Reps. Mark Kennedy and Gil Gutknecht, as well as former senator Rod Grams -- the man Dayton ousted in 2000 -- have all expressed interest in Dayton’s Senate seat.
One senior Democrat in Washington said Dayton’s decision ``doesn’t surprise me.’’
``It’s an uphill climb for him,’’ this individual said. ``He has become somewhat of a target for the Republicans.’’
Minnesota's gain is the Northern Alliance's loss; we just lost two guaranteed years of material.
Not as bad as the guys from Dayton v. Kennedy, of course.
Posted by Mitch at
February 9, 2005 08:06 AM
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Whooooooo-hoooooOOO!
Posted by: mdmhvonpa at February 9, 2005 01:17 PMDayton v. Kennedy shall rise, Phoenix-like from the ashes of our URL.
Posted by: Doug at February 9, 2005 01:34 PMSo how does this affect the "dumbest senator" race? I mean, by recognizing the inevitable, he may have shown enough common sense that he is no longer in the running.
OTOH, I can't say that I'm of the opinion that one act of common sense counteracts a lifetime of ... hmmm ... Mark Dayton.
Should there now be two separate categories, or should the issue in contest be, "Who is the dumbest senator who unaccountably has a chance to be reelected?"
Posted by: Doug Sundseth at February 9, 2005 01:36 PMPerhaps he was afraid of the possibilty of finishing third behind the Republican nominee and Jesse "The Pirate King" Ventura. So, rather than risk residing with Skip Humphrey in the "Where Are They Now" file in a repeat of the 1998 governor's race, he took the coward's way out. Just a theory...
Posted by: Just Me at February 9, 2005 02:12 PMNever worry.With Babs Boxer and Patty Murray of Washington State splitting a thimble full of brains between the two of them ,the race to the bottom of the intelligence scale is still in the offing and has only lost one contender.Watching either of them in committee still sounds like nails on a chalkboard but somehow even more annoying.Just think,now Dayton can be even more ridiculous for the next two years.
Posted by: Ed Viehman at February 9, 2005 04:17 PMPlease don't mistake my question as indicating that the race would be uninteresting in Dayton's absence. I never thought his candidacy a sure thing.
"...now Dayton can be even more ridiculous for the next two years."
I'm afraid that assumes facts not currently in evidence. Specifically, it assumes that Dayton's actions when presumptively trying to win reelection are more rational than when he is no longer appealing to his electorate. I suspect that he thought he was triangulating (if so, he is clearly no political geometer), but that his judgement is just that poor. If so, the correlation between his actions to appeal to the electors and his actual appeal to the electors might well be negative (or non-existant, of course).
Posted by: Doug Sundseth at February 9, 2005 04:48 PMI think I speak for every Democrat in Minnesota when I say....
*THANK GOD!*
Now if we can persuade Alan Page to run, we've got a great shot in 2006 of holding the seat and taking Mark Kennedy out at the same time.
I'm so happy....
Posted by: Jeff Fecke at February 9, 2005 10:47 PMI'm hoping that Al Franken runs. It seems only fair to replace one clown with another....
;^)
Posted by: Mark at February 10, 2005 07:34 AM