Monday, February 27, 2012 7:11:17 PM
Kerrey ‘Leans Strongly’ Toward Nebraska Senate Bid
Bob Kerrey speaks before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Wednesday, June 2, 2010, in New York.
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
February 27, 2012
Former Sen. Bob Kerrey is leaning “pretty strongly” toward running for a Nebraska seat this year despite an earlier announcement that he was out of the race, according to a Democratic aide.
Mr. Kerrey’s decision apparently is not final, and he has until a Thursday filing deadline to make a choice. Mr. Kerrey called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) in recent days, but aides declined to divulge the content of the conversation.
A decision to launch a campaign would roil the race for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson’s retirement in November, and it would be a remarkable turnaround for Mr. Kerrey. Earlier this month, the former senator and governor said he was not running because that would be best for him and his family.
Strategists from both parties say a Kerrey candidacy is the Democrats’ best chance of holding onto the seat in a conservative state. Democrats currently hold a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, and Republicans are mounting a push to retake the majority.
Mr. Kerrey would face stiff headwinds in Republican-leaning Nebraska, but without him, Democrats conceded privately their chance are small.
As Mr. Kerrey mulled a run earlier this year, Republicans and outside groups began attacking him as a carpetbagger. Mr. Kerrey, 68 years old, has lived in New York City for the past decade as president of the New School in Manhattan, and Republicans say he’s lost touch with the Cornhusker State and its values.
Mr. Kerrey, who served two Senate terms starting in 1989, responds that he has stayed in close contact with Nebraska, where he own five restaurants and three health clubs. Mr. Kerrey is a former Navy SEAL who was wounded in Vietnam.
Democrats also note that Republicans are embroiled in a bitter primary, as state Attorney General Jon Bruning, who is supported by much of the GOP establishment, faces off against state Treasurer Don Stemberg, who is backed by many conservative activists.
Republicans wasted little time Monday gearing up their attacks on Mr. Kerrey when reports surfaced that he was reconsidering a run. Rob Jesmer, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which coordinates GOP Senate campaigns, sent out a memo saying Mr. Kerrey is too liberal for Nebraska.
“Bob Kerrey isn’t just far more liberal than many of this friends in Washington,” Mr. Jesmer wrote. “He also has far more serious electability problems than Ben Nelson ever did.”
Copyright ©2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/02/27/kerrey-leans-strongly-toward-nebraska-senate-bid/ [with comments]
Bob Kerrey speaks before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Wednesday, June 2, 2010, in New York.
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
February 27, 2012
Former Sen. Bob Kerrey is leaning “pretty strongly” toward running for a Nebraska seat this year despite an earlier announcement that he was out of the race, according to a Democratic aide.
Mr. Kerrey’s decision apparently is not final, and he has until a Thursday filing deadline to make a choice. Mr. Kerrey called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) in recent days, but aides declined to divulge the content of the conversation.
A decision to launch a campaign would roil the race for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson’s retirement in November, and it would be a remarkable turnaround for Mr. Kerrey. Earlier this month, the former senator and governor said he was not running because that would be best for him and his family.
Strategists from both parties say a Kerrey candidacy is the Democrats’ best chance of holding onto the seat in a conservative state. Democrats currently hold a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, and Republicans are mounting a push to retake the majority.
Mr. Kerrey would face stiff headwinds in Republican-leaning Nebraska, but without him, Democrats conceded privately their chance are small.
As Mr. Kerrey mulled a run earlier this year, Republicans and outside groups began attacking him as a carpetbagger. Mr. Kerrey, 68 years old, has lived in New York City for the past decade as president of the New School in Manhattan, and Republicans say he’s lost touch with the Cornhusker State and its values.
Mr. Kerrey, who served two Senate terms starting in 1989, responds that he has stayed in close contact with Nebraska, where he own five restaurants and three health clubs. Mr. Kerrey is a former Navy SEAL who was wounded in Vietnam.
Democrats also note that Republicans are embroiled in a bitter primary, as state Attorney General Jon Bruning, who is supported by much of the GOP establishment, faces off against state Treasurer Don Stemberg, who is backed by many conservative activists.
Republicans wasted little time Monday gearing up their attacks on Mr. Kerrey when reports surfaced that he was reconsidering a run. Rob Jesmer, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which coordinates GOP Senate campaigns, sent out a memo saying Mr. Kerrey is too liberal for Nebraska.
“Bob Kerrey isn’t just far more liberal than many of this friends in Washington,” Mr. Jesmer wrote. “He also has far more serious electability problems than Ben Nelson ever did.”
Copyright ©2012 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/02/27/kerrey-leans-strongly-toward-nebraska-senate-bid/ [with comments]
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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