2006 Governor's races

[Smash255]

NY does not lean Dem, alot hinges on several factors.  While Pataki isn't all that well liked, he does have alot of support and could still get reelected.  If he runs for reelection it will be close between him and Spitzer.  However, if Pataki abandons the Governor's mansion to run for President, or even for the Senate, and Guiliani takes over, Guiliani wins hands down against Spitzer. 

Pataki's chances of getting re-elected are slim to nill.  Polls show Spitzer winning by double digits.  Spitzer's approval is in the 60's, Pataki's approval is in the 40's.

[Sam Spade]

A wee bit of inside information on the Texas race for you, spent some time in Austin during their special session for education, for good reason most republicans dont want Perry to be governor again, were not even sure that hed win, spending time in a few Senators offices  let me hear of thier meetings on this issue

I'd put a billion dollars on Kay Hutchinson for 2006

So would I.  I'd also imagine Henry Bonilla would then run for Senate, probably.

I personally don't like Rick Perry myself, fwiw.

[J-Mann]

You've got Kansas as NCF (I'm guess "no clear frontrunner"), and I'd say that's just about right.  It's too early to tell who will be running against Gov. Sebelius, though the KC Star had an article yesterday throwing out names of a few of the usual suspects.  AG Phill Kline is the one I most expect to run - he'll have the backing of the conservatives.

When the big picture is looked at right now, Kansas may actually lean Dem, if only slightly.  Despite her tax increase proposals, education will probably dominate the race, and Sebelius has no glaring negatives.  What she does have is a sizable war chest already amassed - she's a fundraising queen.  With the GOP split in the state, the Republicans may have a tough time taking this governorship back.

[Vasall des Midas]

No Clear Favorite´.

[BobOMac2k2]

It's not looking good for Rod in Illinois, although I will be voting for him.

[Keystone Phil]

It's not looking good for Rod in Illinois

I don't know much about him but I remember watching the 2002 Gubernatorial debates on C-Span and he was very annoying.

[BobOMac2k2]

He'll have that effect. He's just lucky Chicago will vote for him.

[George W. Bush]

 Any word on Ohio Candidates? I have heard Betty Montgomery (Auditor) amd Jerry Springer (UGGG)

[Keystone Phil]

Any word on Ohio Candidates? I have heard Betty Montgomery (Auditor) amd Jerry Springer (UGGG)

Ken Blackwell - Republican Secretary of State - is also a candidate.

[Smash255]

He'll have that effect. He's just lucky Chicago will vote for him.

One thing that could save him is the disaster otherwise known as the Illinois GOP

[BobOMac2k2]

LOL...

They have cost themselves the senate seat twice. Once with Forcing Fitzgerald not to seek re-election and forcing Ryan out of the race.

[WalterMitty]

i think/hope that mitt romney is in trouble in mass.  the strongest contender might be AG  thomas reilly. 

personally i hope shannon o'brien will run again.  she would have my support.

[A18]

yawn. People who constantly talk about how they want Republicans to lose should not have Republican avatars.

[Storebought]

yawn. People who constantly talk about how they want Republicans to lose should not have Republican avatars.

Agreed

[Q]

Pasted from another board:

In your sig, you say you support Cathy Cox for Governor. Did she try to mess with evolution in schools? I remember reading about that, I think it was her, but I'm not sure.

No, there are two elected officials in Georgia with similar names: Democratic Secretary of State Cathy Cox and Republican Secretary of Education Kathy Cox.  In fact, the confusion over the names was the greatest factor that contributed to the election of Kathy in 2002 - voters simply thought she was the very popular Cathy.

It was Kathy who made a fool of herself during her anti-evolution outburst last year.  But if you ask me, I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to believe that she was conscripted to do something outrageous like that to diminish respect for the Cox name in the state, since the Republicans knew Cathy would be running for governor against Sonny.

Thanks for the clarification. Is she the favorite for the nomination at this point?

Well, unfortunately, the 2 biggest names the GA Dems have are both running for the right to challenge Sonny next year, the other being current Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.  At least one of them will be out of a job come 2 years from now.  I'd have to say it's a tossup at this point, although I'm going to predict that Cox gets the nomination.  Taylor has the money advantage, but Cox probably has greater name recognition (although some of it negative due to the confusion outlined above) and is certainly more charismatic.  Furthermore, women make up a substantial majority of the Dem primary voters, which obviously helps Cox.  Taylor seems to be indicating that he will run a negative campaign - in the first week after Cox announed her intentions, his people began to refer to her as "liberal" - an insult, I guess.  Cox should be able to match him on fundraising, so I see no reason why she shouldn't win it.

[Akno21]

Pasted from another board:

In your sig, you say you support Cathy Cox for Governor. Did she try to mess with evolution in schools? I remember reading about that, I think it was her, but I'm not sure.

No, there are two elected officials in Georgia with similar names: Democratic Secretary of State Cathy Cox and Republican Secretary of Education Kathy Cox.  In fact, the confusion over the names was the greatest factor that contributed to the election of Kathy in 2002 - voters simply thought she was the very popular Cathy.

It was Kathy who made a fool of herself during her anti-evolution outburst last year.  But if you ask me, I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to believe that she was conscripted to do something outrageous like that to diminish respect for the Cox name in the state, since the Republicans knew Cathy would be running for governor against Sonny.

Thanks for the clarification. Is she the favorite for the nomination at this point?

Well, unfortunately, the 2 biggest names the GA Dems have are both running for the right to challenge Sonny next year, the other being current Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.  At least one of them will be out of a job come 2 years from now.  I'd have to say it's a tossup at this point, although I'm going to predict that Cox gets the nomination.  Taylor has the money advantage, but Cox probably has greater name recognition (although some of it negative due to the confusion outlined above) and is certainly more charismatic.  Furthermore, women make up a substantial majority of the Dem primary voters, which obviously helps Cox.  Taylor seems to be indicating that he will run a negative campaign - in the first week after Cox announed her intentions, his people began to refer to her as "liberal" - an insult, I guess.  Cox should be able to match him on fundraising, so I see no reason why she shouldn't win it.

Has Max Cleland considered running?

[WalterMitty]

Pasted from another board:

In your sig, you say you support Cathy Cox for Governor. Did she try to mess with evolution in schools? I remember reading about that, I think it was her, but I'm not sure.

No, there are two elected officials in Georgia with similar names: Democratic Secretary of State Cathy Cox and Republican Secretary of Education Kathy Cox.  In fact, the confusion over the names was the greatest factor that contributed to the election of Kathy in 2002 - voters simply thought she was the very popular Cathy.

It was Kathy who made a fool of herself during her anti-evolution outburst last year.  But if you ask me, I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to believe that she was conscripted to do something outrageous like that to diminish respect for the Cox name in the state, since the Republicans knew Cathy would be running for governor against Sonny.

Thanks for the clarification. Is she the favorite for the nomination at this point?

Well, unfortunately, the 2 biggest names the GA Dems have are both running for the right to challenge Sonny next year, the other being current Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.  At least one of them will be out of a job come 2 years from now.  I'd have to say it's a tossup at this point, although I'm going to predict that Cox gets the nomination.  Taylor has the money advantage, but Cox probably has greater name recognition (although some of it negative due to the confusion outlined above) and is certainly more charismatic.  Furthermore, women make up a substantial majority of the Dem primary voters, which obviously helps Cox.  Taylor seems to be indicating that he will run a negative campaign - in the first week after Cox announed her intentions, his people began to refer to her as "liberal" - an insult, I guess.  Cox should be able to match him on fundraising, so I see no reason why she shouldn't win it.

Has Max Cleland considered running?

lol.  max cleland is unfit for government service.  he is quite obviously a nut.

not to mention he has a huge chip on his shoulder about his war injuries.

[PBrunsel]

Iowa will be a GOP pick up. Nussle is very popular here and the Democrats best candidate is Secretary of State Chet Culver, who may make the race competitive but is too liberal for rural voters.

If Grassley would have ran in 2002, the 2006 race probably would have been Governor Grassley's reelection campaign.

[Q]

Has Max Cleland considered running?

lol.  max cleland is unfit for government service.  he is quite obviously a nut.

not to mention he has a huge chip on his shoulder about his war injuries.

The reason he has that chip is that, despite those injuries, his opponent successfully managed to plant the question in the minds of voters of whether Max was patriotic.

A nut?  How possibly?

He won't be running for anything in GA again because he is no longer viable statewide (although perhaps for the House at some point?).

[Akno21]

Has Max Cleland considered running?

lol.  max cleland is unfit for government service.  he is quite obviously a nut.

not to mention he has a huge chip on his shoulder about his war injuries.

The reason he has that chip is that, despite those injuries, his opponent successfully managed to plant the question in the minds of voters of whether Max was patriotic.

A nut?  How possibly?

He won't be running for anything in GA again because he is no longer viable statewide (although perhaps for the House at some point?).

That is sad.

[Q]

Georgia updates:

Current Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor's spokesman had this to say about Secretary of State Cathy Cox, against whom Taylor is running in the Democratic primary:
"Now we will see if Mark Taylor's experience, his record on schools, jobs and protecting families and his moderate views on the issues can beat a liberal like Cox in a Democratic primary."
Tactics like this should boost Cox, not bring her down.

Furthermore: "A poll conducted in October by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV suggests a tough re-election battle for Perdue against either Cox or Taylor.  Perdue led Taylor 44 percent to 41 percent and was tied with Cox at 41 percent each in the poll of 503 likely votes. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points."
Granted, this is an old poll, but it doesn't look good for Sonny, especially considering that Cox hadn't even announced her candidacy at that point.

[BobOMac2k2]

I think Hynes (Illinois Dem Senate candidate in 2004) will try and oust Rod in Illinois this year.

Hes been attacking him lately publicaly.

[muon2]

I think Hynes (Illinois Dem Senate candidate in 2004) will try and oust Rod in Illinois this year.

Hes been attacking him lately publicaly.

The IL Gov has huge problems within his party. I just spoke with a friend very close to the Gov's home neighborhood in Chicago, and the operatives are unhappy and would rather not support him. That being said, it's not clear who wants to take the risk to take him on. Blagojevich has a huge war chest, is very good at raising more, and he's adept at keeping the media from going after him.

[Frodo]

Pasted from another board:

In your sig, you say you support Cathy Cox for Governor. Did she try to mess with evolution in schools? I remember reading about that, I think it was her, but I'm not sure.

No, there are two elected officials in Georgia with similar names: Democratic Secretary of State Cathy Cox and Republican Secretary of Education Kathy Cox.  In fact, the confusion over the names was the greatest factor that contributed to the election of Kathy in 2002 - voters simply thought she was the very popular Cathy.

It was Kathy who made a fool of herself during her anti-evolution outburst last year.  But if you ask me, I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to believe that she was conscripted to do something outrageous like that to diminish respect for the Cox name in the state, since the Republicans knew Cathy would be running for governor against Sonny.

Thanks for the clarification. Is she the favorite for the nomination at this point?

Well, unfortunately, the 2 biggest names the GA Dems have are both running for the right to challenge Sonny next year, the other being current Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.  At least one of them will be out of a job come 2 years from now.  I'd have to say it's a tossup at this point, although I'm going to predict that Cox gets the nomination.  Taylor has the money advantage, but Cox probably has greater name recognition (although some of it negative due to the confusion outlined above) and is certainly more charismatic.  Furthermore, women make up a substantial majority of the Dem primary voters, which obviously helps Cox.  Taylor seems to be indicating that he will run a negative campaign - in the first week after Cox announed her intentions, his people began to refer to her as "liberal" - an insult, I guess.  Cox should be able to match him on fundraising, so I see no reason why she shouldn't win it.

i read in an article once that Ralph Reed is planning on running for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor so he can succeed Sonny Purdue once he completes his second and final term -assuming he gets the chance, that is.   does anyone on the inside have the inside scoop to provide meat to the bare bones i have provided here???

[frenger]

I don't know why no one mentined it before, but there is no chance Carcieri will lose Rhode Island.