Salon.com > 2014 elections

Republicans face Tea Party backlash after “fiscal cliff” vote

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:54:00 +0000

Republicans are facing potential backlash from Tea Partyers for supporting the "fiscal cliff" deal, which wound up passing without the support of many of the more conservative members of the party.

Nick Carey of Reuters reports that in the Senate, Tea Party groups are eyeing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., Saxby Chambliss, Ga., Lindsey Graham, S.C., and Lamar Alexander, Tenn., all of whom are up for reelection in 2014.

"Many people here have watched Mitch McConnell's voting record and are dissatisfied with what they've seen," Eric Wilson, executive director of the Tea Party group the Kentucky 9/12 Project, told Reuters. "There are some potential candidates working in the background and doing the right thing."

"If a credible candidate comes forward, then Saxby Chambliss is in major trouble," said Debbie Dooley, a founder of the Atlanta Tea Party.

"I am over 90 percent certain that if there is a reliably conservative candidate in 2014 he will have my total support," Joe Dugan of the Myrtle Beach Tea Party in South Carolina also told Reuters.

Cory Booker will explore run for Senate in 2014

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:47:00 +0000

In a statement on his website, Newark Mayor Cory Booker announced that will explore a run for Senate in New Jersey 2014 - and not challenge Gov. Chris Christie next year.

"Let there be no doubt, I will complete my full second term as mayor. As for my political future, I will explore the possibility of running for The United States Senate in 2014," Booker said.

Booker's run would be for the seat currently occupied by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, another Democrat. Lautenberg, who at 88 is the oldest U.S. Senator, has not announced whether or not he will seek another term when his is up in 2014.

Booker continued:

Rove: Obama wants Republican “civil war”

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 21:01:00 +0000

In an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove accused President Obama of pushing for a "civil war" within the Republican Party, and using the "fiscal cliff" negotiations to shore up his party's position for 2014.

Rove writes that Obama's positions on tax increases and additional stimulus spending are both "political" and "ideological. The president does want to expand government's size, cost and reach in order to, in his words, 'transform' America."

He continued that Obama is also hoping that by not backing down on tax increases, he can cause a rift in the Republican party:

He apparently believes that Republicans, in a weakened state and defending an unpopular position, might buckle on a central GOP tenet, opposition to any increase in marginal rates. That might kick off a Republican civil war, resulting in divisive party primaries in 2014 that leave the president's opposition even more weakened and produce more subpar candidates like this year's Republican Senate candidates in Indiana and Missouri.

"This brings us to Mr. Obama's real goal: having Democrats recapture the House in 2014 and once again stave off losses in the Senate," Rove writes.

Senator Ashley Judd?

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:15:00 +0000

A new poll from PPP shows that in a hypothetical matchup between actress Ashley Judd and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Judd is only behind by 4 points.

Judd, who says she is considering a run in 2014, is trailing 47-43 percent behind McConnell, who happens to be the most unpopular senator in the country.

From PPP:

Only 37% of Kentucky voters approve of him to 55% disapprove. Both in terms of raw disapproval (55%) and net approval (-18) McConnell has the worst numbers of any of his peers, taking that mantle from Nebraska's Ben Nelson.

McConnell is predictably very unpopular with Democrats (23/73). But his numbers are almost as bad with independents (33/58) and even with Republicans he's well below the 70-80% approval range you would usually expect for a Senator within their own party (59/28).

Among Democrats, Judd is the top choice for the primary, with 29 percent of the vote, compared to Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson who came in second at 16 percent.

PPP surveyed 1,266 Kentucky voters for the survey overall, and 585 Democratic primary voters.

Florida’s Crist may run again; GOP says it’s ready

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 15:26:00 +0000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Now that former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist is a Democrat, pretty much everyone in Florida's political world expects him to seek his old job.

"I will consider it, and I will think about it," Crist told The Associated Press by phone while boating off of Miami and before a planned dinner Saturday evening with former Democratic governor and Sen. Bob Graham.

The former Republican governor revealed his long-anticipated conversion Friday, after more than two years as an independent. He made the announcement on Twitter and included a photo of his new voter registration form, which he filled out at the White House.

Earlier Saturday, Florida Republicans gathered for a meeting and said they will be extra motivated to re-elect Gov. Rick Scott if his opponent is Crist, who left the GOP during his 2010 run for Senate.

"Bring it on," Peter Feaman, the party's national committeeman, told a room of Republican activists. "That man sat at my house, in my kitchen, at my breakfast table and told me he was a Ronald Reagan Republican. OK, I'm putting my boots on, because guess what? You lied to me."

Erick Erickson will not run for Senate after all

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:00:00 +0000

CNN contributor and RedState blogger Erick Erickson thought a lot about it, and decided not to challenge Saxby Chambliss in 2014.

“Were I to run for the Senate, it would be a terribly nasty campaign,” Erickson wrote on RedState. “I’m not putting my family through that when the best outcome would mean a sizable pay cut in pay and being away from my kids and wife all the time huddled in a pit of vipers often surrounded by too many who viewed me as a useful instrument to their own advancement.”

Chambliss has of late been targeted by conservatives because he recently backed away from his support for Grover Norquist's tax pledge. Herman Cain has also been floated as a potential Chambliss challenger, though he told the Daily Caller that it's not likely: “My attention will be on exposing the economic pain and suffering to come from a second Obama term, [rather] than on a decision Senator Chambliss made,” Cain said. “No, I’m not running!”

Erickson, for his part, insisted that his brief consideration of a run was not "just some effort of self promotion," but a response to "the efforts of several and the financial pledges of support."

PPP Poll: Cory Booker would have good shot at a Senate seat

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 18:15:00 +0000

A PPP poll finds that Newark Mayor Cory Booker is a favorite among New Jersey Democrats for a potential Senate seat in 2014, should he decide to make a bid for it.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, 88, also a Democrat, is the current seat-holder, and so far has not announced his plans for 2014. Lautenberg has a 43/36 approval rating, according to PPP, and would have a big win in a hypothetical race against Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

But according to the poll, only 36 percent of Democratic primary voters in the state say he should run again, and 45 percent say he should retire. From PPP:

Former South Dakota Gov. Rounds announces run for Senate

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 17:04:00 +0000

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds said Thursday that he will run for the U.S. Senate in 2014.

The former Republican governor's announcement was widely expected, as he said in September that he was forming a committee to explore a run for the seat held by Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson.

Johnson, 65, hasn't officially announced whether he will seek a fourth term. But he released a statement Thursday saying he intends to "put together a winning campaign in the weeks and months ahead," and that his formal announcement will come next year.

Rounds, 58, said at a news conference Thursday that he wants to end the gridlock in Washington, reduce the federal deficit and straighten out health care reform.

"We need to become a country of cooperation instead of confrontation," he said.

Rounds was a state senator from 1991 to 2001 before serving two terms as governor from 2003 to 2011. After leaving office in early 2011, Rounds served as president and CEO of an insurance and real estate company based in Pierre.

Johnson was elected to the U.S. House in 1986 and to the Senate in 1996. He was re-elected in 2002 and 2008. He also previously served in the state Legislature.

Erick Erickson mulling a challenge to Saxby Chambliss

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:02:00 +0000

Erick Erickson, the conservative activist and CNN contributor, says he is giving serious thought to challenging Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., in the 2014 primary.

"I had been rather dismissive of it, but in the past two days have been approached by several organizations and individuals I greatly respect who have asked me to really consider it," Erickson said, according to CNN. "I owe them that and will consider it, but am not prepared to commit to it. I have plenty of time to think about it."

Chambliss has become a recent target of conservatives for backing away from Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge.

"Whether it is me or someone else, conservatives should make beating Saxby Chambliss their chief cause in primary season 2014," Erickson said.

How to get ready for 2016

Sat, 10 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Take a week, take a month, whatever you need to rest up from the 2012 campaign cycle. But then? If you want to really make a difference in American politics, the time to get started is now. Not in September or October 2016, but in the next several months. Here’s why – and five suggestions for what you can do.

If there’s one thing that I try to emphasize to people about American Madisonian democracy, it’s that chances to really effect change are usually found within the parties. Sure, general elections are important, but they tend to ride on large, impersonal forces. Sure, activism can make a difference in November, but usually just around the margins. The Democrats' get-out-the-vote operation this cycle was by all accounts incredibly effective, and yet my guess is that when all is said and done, at the very best it might have moved the ball a point or two in key states … so if you devoted your time and energy to that it made a difference, but only a relatively small one. Or, to put it another way: Sheldon Adelson dropped a whole lot of money on this election, and it didn’t seem to buy anything much.