Comments on: Down-the-ballot: Franken wins DFL endorsement, AK-AL gets heated

By: jaxx raxor

jaxx raxor — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:11:00 +0000

Al Franken’s candiancy is not doomed, and the support of the feminists DFL Caucus as the convention has definitely helped him. Nontheless, if female DFLers refuse to support him, then he is going to have a hard time. Mike Ciresi could get in the race, but he would only succeed if Franken collasped completely, and then he would be seriously underfunded against Coleman, unlike Franken and his bucket of cash. The DSCC may not be comfortable heavily supporting Cirsei in terms of money and would prefer to test incumbents in which the GOP is safer but the Dem challangers are on the rise, not the fall.

On the Alaska at large seat, I think a repeat of the 2006 Alaskan GOP primary and the 2008 Maryland primaries where Gilchrist and Wynn were kicked out is strongly possible. Not just because of the Club of Growth but that popular reformist Governor Palin is at least impliciting supporting her Lt. Governor in the at large race. Makes me wonder why reformist Republicans aren’t challanging Ted Stevens but I guess his even longer record than Young makes the GOP not even dare to challange him. Young’s best hope is that there is third canddate in the GOP primary and hopefully this person and the Lt Gov will split the anti Young vote and cause him to win. However even that is a long shot.

If Sean Parnell wins the primary, the race will turn from lean Democrat to Likely Republican or even safe Republican. In a tradionally republican state, the Democrats will have extreme difficulty taking out a well known Republican who is associated with the reformist Governor.

By: Taniel

Taniel — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:38:00 +0000

CS,

I'm still not sure what the disagreement is. I did not claim that Al Franken had sank as a candidate. But there is little doubt that Franken did take a hit within the DFL and that what was supposed to be a formality (his endorsement at the convention) ended up being a much more suspenseful affair with Nelson-Pallmeyer suddenly becoming a hot item that at least one congressman was supporting. 62% of a convention ballot against a massively underfunded and underorganized opponent does not strike me as a show of force and the point I am making is that Franken had no rival who could take advantage of his difficulties.

Also, Jim Webb did not let himself be on the defensive, if my memory serves me correctly, and the Dem Party rushed to his rescue. Franken has been on the defensive for a while now and his party has not yet rallied around him to defend him.

By: C.S.Strowbridge

C.S.Strowbridge — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:20:00 +0000

“Mike Ciresi must be regretting that he dropped out of the Minnesota Senate race for he certainly could have benefited from the series of bad news Al Franken has been suffering through”

The latest round of ‘bad news’ is based on his career as a satirist and is unlikely to swing too many voters. (It had little or no effect on Webb.)

Unless you can come up with actual evidence that it is hurting his poll numbers, you don’t have the evidence needed to make that claim.