Thornburgh leaves Brownback in charge of Kansas
In somewhat of a surprise move, four-term Republican Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh dropped out of Kansas’s gubernatorial race, making Senator Sam Brownback not only the presumptive Republican nominee but also the overwhelming favorite to win the Governor’s Mansion.
Indeed, Brownback won’t have to face too serious an opponent in the general election either: Democrats have been more busy sabotaging themselves than recruiting a viable candidate. State Senator Chris Steineger is now running for the Democratic nomination, but the lawmaker with a strained relationship with his party should not provide much of a challenge for Brownback.
To the extent that Democrats had any hope of retaining this governorship, their only chance was for Republicans to devolve in ideological warfare and damage their general election prospects. (While Brownback is one of the conservative movement’s leading figures, Thornburgh has a more moderate reputation.) With the Senator now sure to coast to the GOP nomination, he should face no trouble uniting the vote of Republican-leaning voters - enough to win a statewide race in Kansas.
For those who have no interest in Kansas politics, don’t forget that Brownback ran for president in 2008. His attempt to emerge as the conservative champion fell flat when Huckabee rose, but he would be in a better position to try again in 2012 or 2016 having executive experience under his belt.
Klein is not interested in challenging Crist
Democratic Rep. Ron Klein has been mentioned as a potential Senate candidate ever since the seat opened up. But given the fact that he was not sounding too enthusiastic before Charlie Crist entered the race, it became very unlikely that he would be interested in running after the Governor’s entrance. Yesterday, Klein finally made it official that he would not be running by announcing that he was endorsing Kendrick Meek’s bid.
With Klein’s exit, the only obstacle to Meek’s nomination is Rep. Corrine Brown, who formed an exploratory committee a few weeks ago. Yet, Meek has been building an unexpectedly formidable campaign since the beginning of the year, collecting prominent endorsements and raising enough money to position himself as the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Klein’s support only solidifies Meek’s standing and serves as a reminder that Brown should get in the race very quickly if she wants to mount a credible campaign.
Klein’s decision also has resonance at the House level. FL-22 is a swing district, so an open seat race would have been hotly contested. The DCCC now doesn’t have to worry about the district, though it is still possible that Klein faces a competitive re-election race. (The race is rated potentially competitive in my latest ratings.)
David Williams leaves Bunning alone
Finally, a Republican who isn’t looking to make Jim Bunning’s life miserable! State Senate President David Williams, whose name we first heard when the NRSC’s meeting with Williams prompted Bunning to get enraged, just announced that he would be running for re-election rather than mounting preparations for a Senate run.
Interestingly, Williams also gave the Senator the ultimate political gift: He expressed his belief that Bunning would not retire - something few if any Republicans are willing to do. “I think Jim Bunning is going to continue to run,” he said. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you the general election significance of whether he retires; so will he or won’t he? I’ve long believed the former; yet, the last time we checked in, Bunning looked so cornered by his Republican critics that I found it hard to see how he could survive.
Might Williams’s decision alleviate the pressure? If he feels like he can easily coast to the Republican nomination despite the NRSC’s hostility, how likely would he be to quit? Secretary of State Trey Grayson is positioning himself to run if the Senator retires, but he probably has too many ties to Bunning for him to pull the trigger on a primary challenge - though he certainly has not been holding back from putting pressure on the Senate to retire.
It’s unclear whether Williams ruled out running for Senate if the seat opens up, though I take his comments to mean that he would not run even under such a scenario. That means that a Bunning retirement would make Grayson the clear favorite for the GOP nomination - not that this would mean that much in the grand scheme of things: Kentucky’s primary is early enough
