Campaign Diaries

Here’s the 12th installment of my weekly 2010 update, in which I list all the changes I have logged in during the week to the “retirement watch” and recruitment pages. Written in red are those politicians who announced their definite plans rather than simply expressed interest or stroke speculation.

This past week was decisive in a number of contests, none more so than Kentucky’s Senate race. Jack Conway’s decision to jump in also informs us that Rep. Ben Chandler will run for re-election and that Auditor Crit Luallen will pass on a Senate run for the second consecutive cycle. The Democratic field is thus set. We also know that Secretary of State Trey Grayson would be the presumptive GOP nominee if Jim Bunning retires, making the Senator’s plans the only remaining question in this race. Other major news came from Alaska: Sarah Palin made it clear that she would not run for Senate, making Lisa Murkowski one of the safest incumbents of the 2010 cycle!

In lower-profile but nonetheless important developments, L. Brooks Patterson’s exit from Michigan’s gubernatorial race has the potential to shake up the GOP field; former Senator Bob Smith became the first Republican to jump in Florida’s open Senate race - though he faces huge obstacles to winning the nomination; reports that Judy Baar Topinka is unlikely to run for Illinois Governor makes it unlikely that Republicans can seriously contest the race; and the GOP continues its desperate search for a challenger to Harry Reid, with state Rep. Sharron Angle the latest Republican to mull mounting such a difficult challenge.

First, updates to Retirement Watch:

Second, updates to the Senate recruitment page:

Third, updates to gubernatorial recruitment: