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Plumbing Iowa for Democratic Caucus Votes? Bring Money
That legwork appears to be paying off.
LaMagna announced Thursday that he would not run and instead would serve as a co-chairman of Cantwell's campaign. Cantwell sources were optimistic that Wilson would follow LaMagna's lead. But one Iraq war critic, Seattle attorney Hong Tran, is a declared candidate in the Democratic primary.
  Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) is one of a number of Democrats working Iowa 18 months before the 2008 presidential precinct caucuses are held. (Photos By Charlie Neibergall -- Associated Press) |
Cantwell was recently endorsed by the King County Democratic Party, which takes in the city of Seattle and has a reputation as the state's most liberal enclave.
Meehan said, "Cantwell is not in the same boat as Lieberman," noting she supported a recent amendment by Sens. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) calling on President Bush to set a timeline for troop withdrawal.
Lieberman, who until recently had been assumed to have an easy reelection, voted against the amendment, which the Senate defeated, and has been vigorous in his support of the war, if not always the Bush administration's handling of it.
Cantwell won her seat in 2000 by 2,229 votes, upsetting Sen. Slade Gorton (R). She is likely to face former Safeco Insurance Co. CEO Mike McGavick (R) in the fall.
Running Interference for Osborne
A coach is supposed to cheer his team after a big loss. But in this case, it's the team that's cheering on the coach.
Rep. Tom Osborne (R-Neb.), who gained fame as head coach of the state university's triumphant Cornhuskers football team, was coasting toward the GOP's gubernatorial nomination. But when President Bush snapped up Gov. Mike Johanns for a Cabinet position and Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman became governor and declared he would run to keep his job, the primary turned into a hard fight.
In May, Osborne lost that fight.
Undeterred, Osborne supporters Johnny Rodgers, 1972 winner of the Heisman Trophy and one of the best players in Cornhusker history, and football trainer Doak Ostergard hoped to launch a campaign to write in Osborne's name this November.
But Nebraska law prohibits a candidate defeated in a primary election from being a write-in candidate in a general election. Rodgers and Ostergard sued last week to overturn the law.
"Tom really believes he can do some good things for Nebraska, and we do, too," said Rodgers, who played under Osborne when he was the team's offensive coordinator. "It's a grass-roots effort."
Osborne said in a statement: "As nice as it is of my former players and associates to be concerned about my future, none of their efforts have involved consultation with me."
