In Nevada, Republicans are tripping over one another to run against politically-damaged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV); in Indiana, Evan Bayh (D-IN) attracted a high-profile rival who has an earlier Senate stint on his resume; and in Delaware, the Democrats found a credible candidate to face off against Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) in the run for Joe Biden’s old seat.
The Reno Gazette-Journal says that there are around a dozen Republicans eager for a crack at Reid. One of them is named Sue Lowdon. Chances are you’ve never heard of her, which is why, four months in advance of the state’s primary election, she is already putting ads on television to introduce herself to Nevada voters. Reid has also been running ads in an effort to burnish his damaged image, and will make himself a difficult target with an extremely well-funded campaign warchest.
Bayh is defending the seat he first won in 1998, according to the Indianapolis Star – a seat that opened upon the retirement of Dan Coats (R-IN). Coats has been lobbying and lawyering in Washington DC, and says he’s ready to get back into the political ballgame. Coats’ move is said to have sparked new interest in the campaign in Washington as well as within the state.
Democrats in Delaware had hoped that the seat of Veep Joe Biden would stay in the family, going to son Beau Biden, but the younger Biden decided to keep his state attorney general gig. Republicans have the best candidate imaginable in Castle but the turndown from Beau had Democrats scrambling. Now they’ve turned up New Castle County Executive Chris Coons. His post has a higher profile than it would in most other states – there are only three counties in Delaware and New Castle has a couple hundred thousand more residents than the other two combined. Both the Senatorial political PACs have taken notice.
