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Dem Hopes For Nebraska Senate Seat Fade
Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey (D-NE) said today that he will not run for the seat of retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), giving Senate Democrats their second dose of disappointment from Nebraska after former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D) decided not to run last month.
Fahey was seen as a credible candidate, and his decision likely makes the GOP more favored to retain the open seat. Rancher Scott Kleeb (D), who ran a competitive House campaign in the state's most conservative turf in 2006, is still considering the race.
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You heard it here first: the GOP will retain the White House and take back at least ONE House of Congress in 2009!!!
November 13, 2007 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Really, Jake?
The Dems will cruise to Senate pickups in CO, NH, VA and NM, so I'm guessing you think the House will flip back to GOP control.
Which seats do you see going red?
November 13, 2007 1:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Cindy Sheehan defeating Nancy Pelosi, for starters : )
November 13, 2007 1:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jake, there are simply not enough Dem held seats in play for Republicans to take back the House.
November 13, 2007 2:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, Rod, I assume you are counting Pelosi's seat as "not in play" right? A man can dream, can't he?
November 13, 2007 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nebraska already collapsed from 4th to 13th in the latest Senate rankings from Campaign Diaries and this should confirm that it is out of the list of competitive races.
November 13, 2007 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Kleeb is in the Nebraska maverick mold of Kerrey and Hagel, don't count him out.
November 13, 2007 4:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm an outsider who has spent a little bit of time in Nebraska, so I don't pretend to be an expert on this, but my gut tells me that Kleeb is actually a stronger candidate than Fahey would have been (although not as strong as Kerrey would have been).
Nebraska is one of those states where the rest of the state looks askance at the big city (Omaha) -- being the mayor of Omaha may give you lots of press and a political base, but it generally doesn't sell that well in rural areas in statewide races (witness Hal Daub's repeated failure to get elected statewide).
Scott Kleeb has the kind of profile that can sell in Nebraska -- a rancher from the western (overwhelmingly Republican) part of the state, but also with the ability to do well in more urban areas like Lincoln and Omaha. The fact that he got 46% in 2006 in one of the top 10 most Republican districts in the country offers real hope that he can be competitive statewide. He's young, attractive, articulate, thoughtful and innovative -- he may be the best candidate to run against one of George W's cabinet members who bailed out during the process of reauthorizing the farm bill....
Nebraska is always a tough state for Democrats, but as Exon, Kerrey, Zorinsky, and Nelson have shown, Nebraskans have shown a remarkable willingness to send Democrats to the Senate.
Kleeb is exactly the candidate we need in this race.
November 13, 2007 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I said here long time ago that Kerrey would not get in with the former republican governor get in. What a chicken Kerrey turns out really to be!
November 13, 2007 5:47 PM | Reply | Permalink