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Well its been awhile, but it is time for a new edition of the Election News Dump! For those unfamiliar with this portion of the website, consider this where we put all the election stories that aren’t worthy of a full-length post but are still noteworthy. We mostly stick with Senate and 2016 news unless something major happens in one of the House races.
With all that being said, let’s see what’s going on today.
Senate ’14
South Dakota: The fight for the primary still nonexistent
- Rep. Kristi Noem Not Running
This is not the best news if you are hoping for a muddied Republican primary but Rep. Kristi Noem, elected in the wave year of 2010, announced that she would not challenge former Gov. Mike Rounds to replace retiring Democrat Sen. Tim Johnson. The South Dakota Senate race has been a let down for Democrats as Rounds seems to be prepared to steamroll over likely challenger Rick Weiland.
However, there is some hope that Rounds will still face a big-time primary as the Club for Growth was never keen on Noem and Tea Party groups are apparently unimpressed with the sophomore Representative. If these groups want to challenge Rounds, focus will likely shift to former LG Steve Kirby or maybe a State Rep like Stace Nelson who I was told of by a person on Twitter.
Mississippi: Cochran Unsure
This is an older headline but since we haven’t really heard much out of Mississippi as sixth-term incumbent Thad Cochran is mulling retirement. I would expect Cochran to step aside soon as the 75-year old Senator would have to deal with a Senate that’s getting increasingly “younger” (there’s been eight retirements this cycle, plus the death of Frank Lautenberg) and Cochran might want to just get out. This seat would be safe Republican however, its worth keeping an eye on.
Iowa: Will Republicans settle on a candidate?
One of the better pickup opportunities for the Republican Party was thought to be Iowa. It is a “purple” state and the retirement of popular native son Tom Harkin left this seat vulnerable to Team Red. The Democrats picked up Rep. Bruce Braley, a solid prospect, but Republicans were hedging their bets on Rep. Tom Latham to take the plunge. Then Latham announced he wouldn’t run, conservative firebrand Rep. Steve King joined him in not running as well as Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz and LG Kim Reynolds.
What the Republicans are left with is their junior varsity squad. Their current “recruits” is a Chief of Staff to Chuck Grassley (David Young), a Ron Paul-type candidate in Matt Whitaker and a radio show host. However, Joni Ernst is considering a run in Iowa and I have no idea if it will be worth it but she would be (as of now) the only woman declared in the race as well as the only elected official.
New Jersey: Great News For Booker
- Unions Likely To Stay Home In New Jersey Special
Here’s a boon for the Cory Booker campaign. It looks like some of the key New Jersey unions including the NJEA and CWA are both staying home. The NJEA (teachers union) would be against Booker given the Mayor’s reputation as a pro-charter school reformer. However with both Reps. Rush Holt & Frank Pallone in the race, its not worth the unions time to not only spurn one of the Reps. who have a positive union record but also not worth antagonizing Booker who will likely win the seat.
White House 2016
Hillary Clinton has now joined most of the world in joining Twitter and while that isn’t on par with a trip to Iowa or New Hampshire, its noteworthy in itself. If Clinton is going to be “in touch” with voters, Twitter is probably one of the best places she could be on and with her meme avatar and such, she’s grasping the “Buzzfeed” world quite well I believe.
More updates coming throughout the week, keep your eyes peeled, discuss the races below and maybe post information we might have missed!
