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It sounds like Lisa Murkowski will do every thing she can to remain in the Senate. According to the Anchorage Daily News, indications are that she is prepared to launch a write-in campaign this evening (announcement will be around 9 pm Eastern):
Lisa Murkowski supporters are urging people to come out tonight for what’s being called a “campaign kick off,” although her campaign manager isn’t ready to say that she’s decided to run.
Bonnie Jack, who was a Murkowski campaign elections observer for the count of absentee votes, sent out an email this morning. “Join us at the Kick-off of Senator Lisa’s campaign — with a theme of “write in her name in and fill in the oval.”
Murkowski recently narrowly lost the Republican primary to Tea Party-backed Joe Miller. Since then, Murkowski has been reviewing her options. With none of the minor parties willing to give her their ballot line and the deadline to file as an independent passed her only two options remain: accept forced early retirement or mount a write-in campaign. It appears she is going with that latter.
Murkowski lost the Republican primary because hardcore conservatives turned on her, but overall, she remains fairly popular with a broad swath of the electorate. Despite that, I still think winning a write-in campaign would an insanely difficult task and I think her chance of winning are remote. The list of successful statewide write-in campaigns in America is very short.
At the very least, it should make the race extremely interesting. Early polling indicates Murkowski running as a write-in would slightly hurt Democrat Scott McAdams, but I won’t put much stock in that until I at least see the focus of Murkowski’s potential campaign. It is possible with Miller and Murkowski splitting the Republican vote, it might allow McAdams to win a narrow plurality with made up entirely of committed Democrats.
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Edward Teller In Alaska Posted This At Noon Left Coast Time Today.
He, and info he has, suggest McAdams winning with 40% of the vote as Mur and Joebag split the GOP votes.
This will be one interesting one to follow thru its conclusion.
Do they need to spell her last name correctly?
Alaska does like to keep thing interesting. This is going to be a slug fest.
Great, if she doesn’t win it will split the Republican vote and a Democrat will pick up a seat. I can hear Palin now!!!!
Yesterday’s Scott McAdams-Joe Miller debate in Juneau, on vimeo, courtesy of Alaska blogger, I Eat Gravel.
Some of the issues they discuss may seem esoteric outside of Alaska – the importance of the ferry system, for instance, but others are central to the campaign’s importance to the country.
This, of course, was before Murkowski came back in.
Don’t get too giddy. I predict she’ll be out of the race within no time. They are going to strip her of her leadership positions in the senate in response to this act, and that will so damage her she won’t be able to sustain a viable campaign. You gotta love Republicans. At least in public, they don’t put up with anyone not doing what they’re told (see Karl Rove and Christine O’Donnell).
I wrote about her prospects in a three-way race back on September 10th. The polls taken right after she conceded to Miller posed their questions from the viewpoint of her being the candidate from a “real” political party here, such as the Libertarians or the AIP.
Alternatively, McAdams and Miller might split the anti-incumbent vote and allow Lisa to squeak through. I suppose.
I read earlier that writing in Lisa M will suffice. Makes you wonder just how far leniency will go. For example, if you write in “Pork,” will that do?
Now that’s funny.
There’s always the Lieberman gambit.
In the best circumstances, Alaskans are very hard to poll. McAdams has been very much on message since even before the August primary, defining himself as the “moderate.” Miller won because of the anti-abortion initiative on the August ballot, and from $600,000 infusion into an AK primary by the Koch brothers. $600K in a primary here is like spending $10 million or so in a California primary.
Good. I was hoping it would be accepted in the spirit in which it was offered. *g*
KTUU TV Anchorage seems to be getting ready to cover the announcement live. I can’t find anyone else. They’re showing Rhonda McBride, in front of the indoor podium.
They’re moving the announcement to 6:00 Alaska time – one more hour. Ms. ET is out waving McAdams and Berkowitz-Benson signs with about 50 other people right now in Tea Party Ground Zero – downtown Wasilla.
KTUU is now interviewing Joe the Teabagger live, at his Anchorage campaign HQ. He’s dissing Murkowski. IMHO, she wouldn’t be coming back in unless she’s been sitting on some serious shit on Joe, and has finally decided to spring it.
I’ve gotta hit the shower to get ready for our monthly Mat-Su Democrats’ Egan Dinner in Palmer. Tonight we’re hosting a forum of people running in the October local races – school board, Borough Assembly and Palmer Mayor.
Wouldn’t that require, by analogy, that the Alaska Ds financially support & organize to vote for Murkowski?
Yeah, of course… it was “second glass of wine” dry humor.
Or is she just doing this out of spite to make sure Miller doesn’t win?
She expects to draw Dem votes – destroying the Dem – as in Florida. Hard to see a Dem win here or in Florida, even with 3 candidates.
Yeah, the difference is Florida Democrats expect Charlie Crist to caucus with them if he’s elected. Does any Democrat in Alaska expect her to do the same?
I doubt she would caucus with the Dems – she is called Moderate but I’ve seen nothing moderate about her.
In Florida, the Crist wave appears to be crashing on rising Dem support – which of course will give the seat to the GOP.
This is encouraging news for the cause of common sense. The republicans are now “officially” split and imploding. Dems were headed for waterloo, but this kind of news, together with Delaware and Florida could spell snatching a small victory, from the jaws of defeat. As long as Dems get off the “wish list” issues and get back on message about the “real meat and potatoes” issues like jobs, the economy, the environment, health care and ending the wars honorably…then there suddenly becomes a small chance of holding on to Congress and keeping the Senate safe. Hopefully, people will wake up !
Hopefully people will wake up? Well, if this article doesn’t wake you up, nothing will. These mid-term elections are not about Obama or the Dems. This is what the mid-term election is about. And, I believe some of these right wing religious fanatics are in the Democratic party. However, not voting or voting green will be allowing these right wing religious nuts to gain control of Congress. How many are already in Congress????
The solution is to go vote Dem; try to keep control of Congress; then start working to get these right wing religious fanatics out of the Democratic party. Sarah Palin called on Fox News to support the Republican candidates. We need to figure out a way to get this message out in the media.
Please read this article. Wake up people!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-cohen-phd/hiding-in-plain-sight-the_b_721520.html
I don’t think the ferries issue is esoteric at all. It goes right to the heart of Joebag’s assertion that the government spends too much on projects (the Alaska ferries are largely financed with federal funds) that should be funded by the private sector or by localities.
The logical upshot of Joebag’s theories about government spending is that the Alaska ferries (indeed hundreds of ferries in the US) would be unaffordable or nonexistent.
I think she’d lose the write-in, because peoples’ arms get tired fast.
It would only be good as spite against Sarah Palin.