Wyoming: Hosting GOP leaders
Jackson, Wyo. will host the Republican National Committee Western Leadership Conference in September 1999. All Republican presidential candidates will attend the conference, which covers 13 western states, Guam and American Samoa.
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Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska), once considered a strong gubernatorial challenger, will seek re-election. Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer (D) and state Sen. Loren Leman (R) publicly pondered campaigns for Murkowski's seat while Murkowski considered a run for governor. Leman reportedly is still considering a gubernatorial bid.
Former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington (R) was sentenced on Feb. 2 to 30 months in prison plus five years probation for his 1997 fraud convictions. Symington will likely serve his time at Nellis Prison Camp, a minimum-security federal prison near Las Vegas. Symington is set to enter prison March 20, but his attorneys will try to keep him free on appellate bond. U.S. District Judge Roger Strand imposed the punishment. He also fined Symington $60,000, but U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Nielsen Jr. will handle the decision regarding restitution at a Feb. 25 hearing.
Florida's five black Democratic state senators, concerned that intraparty squabbling may damage the state Party and black candidates, asked Democratic Rep. Willie Logan to stop attacking state Democrats over his ouster as the party's House leader. Last month, Rep. Ann McKenzie (D) replaced Logan, the first black to be selected speaker designate, following charges that he was not advancing the party's agenda. The House Democratic Caucus' action triggered criticism from black Democratic legislators, black party supporters and the state NAACP. Sens. Matthew Meadows, James Hargrett, Betty Holzendorf, Daryl Jones and William Turner requested in a letter that Logan step down.
A special prosecutor has initiated a criminal investigation of former state Sen. Larry Young (D), who was expelled from the legislature following charges that he used his state Senate office for personal gain. Other lawmakers have expressed alarm that the investigation would include their activities. After Young's expulsion, legislative leaders pledged to re-examine ethics laws, including rules governing lawmakers' relationships with lobbyists and businesses.
Former Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn officially entered the field of Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls last week, joining Attorney General Scott Harshbarger (D) and former state Sen. Patricia McGovern (D). Flynn, who until recently was U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, is a self-described "political outsider," and this is his first statewide campaign. The state Ethics Commission slapped Flynn with the largest fine it ever imposed for financial irregularities, and he faces substantial legal debts as a result. Sources in Boston say they expect Flynn to return to his blue-collar Democratic base in an old campaign trademark – a station wagon that makes frequent strategic stops for stumping.
Democratic activists have not yet lined up behind the possible gubernatorial bid of Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross, a Republican-turned-Democrat, but the state chapter of the National Organization for Women offered its support last week. Ross has not officially announced whether she will run, but sources say she has been leaning toward running. Former state Transportation Commissioner James Larocca (D) and New York City Council Speaker Peter Vallone (D) have announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination.
With the passing of the Feb. 2 state candidate filing deadline, political observers in North Carolina can predict with some confidence that this fall's elections will not upset the status quo. Only half of the state's 12 races for Congress will be competitive, and the races for U.S. Senate, state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals appear to feature few surprises. In the state legislature, House Republicans boasting hefty war chests expect to slightly expand their slim lead. Democrats in the state Senate appear poised to build their lead in the chamber as well.
A recent poll on the Rhode Island gubernatorial race shows a virtual dead heat between incumbent Gov. Lincoln Almond (R) and likely Democratic candidate Myrth York. Add Cool Moose Party candidate Robert Healey into the mix and the survey still shows a dead heat, but with York favored slightly. In that matchup, York got 37 percent, Almond 35 percent and Healy 9 percent. Nineteen percent of poll respondents were undecided. Almond's numbers were are lower than expected.
Although Gov. William Janklow (R) has yet publicly announce his reelection plans, Attorney General Mark Barnett (R) recently said he'll run if Janklow doesn't. On the Democratic side, state Rep. Ron Volesky, a lawyer and perennial candidate, has filed candidacy papers but has not yet circulated the nominating petitions. Sources say Volesky just doesn't like Senate Democratic leader Bernie Hunhoff and may simply be dropping hints at a bid to irritate him. Hunhoff is considered a serious gubernatorial candidate.
Social conservatives are pressuring Washington state Republican leadership to enact action a bill banning gay marriages. State GOP chairman Dale Foreman has said he will add his voice to the lobbying effort, and even Democrats who have long such a measure are now ready to go along with it. Gov. Gary Locke (D) has said he will veto the bill, which he has said is unnecessary because current law does not recognize gay marriages.