Prog Blogs, Orgs & Alumni
Betsy Devine
Blue News Tribune (MA)
Democracy for NH
Live Free or Die
Mike Caulfield
Granite State Progress
Seacoast for Change
Susan the Bruce
Campaigns, Et Alia.
Paul Hodes
Carol Shea-Porter
John DeJoie
Ann McLane Kuster
ActBlue Hampshire
NHDP
DCCC
DSCC
DNC
National
billmon
Bob Geiger
Congress Matters
DailyKos
Digby
Hold Fast
Eschaton
FiveThirtyEight
MyDD
The Next Hurrah
Open Left
Senate Guru
Swing State Project
Talking Points Memo
50 State Blog Network
Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Poor Fred Tausch - after an initial field clearing for Ayotte, the Very Serious self-funders are coming out of the woodwork. Say hello to Jim Bender:
Jim Bender of Hollis, a private equity investor who formerly headed Nashua-based Logicraft, Inc., confirmed yesterday that he will file an exploratory committee to formally begin weighing a run for outgoing Sen. Judd Gregg's seat.
...Bender, however, is very serious.
"I'm strongly considering a candidacy because we need to get the federal deficit under control and we need congressional term limits," he said.
And don't forget about William Binnie!
Binnie is keeping his cards close publicly on just how far along he is in the Senate exploration phase.
But Republicans who have spoken to him say he's very serious. They expect him to run.
I loooove self-funders. Richie Rich Tarrant's senate bid against Bernie Sanders in Vermont remains one of my all-time favs. And I suspect now that the go-go years of George W.'s radical free marketeerism are coming to an end, we'll see more of these captains of industry buying their way into nominations to "fix" things in DC.
So, where does Ayotte go now to ward off challengers? To the hard-right of the birthers and nullificationists, or the banksters? So many questions for Judd and Brooks and Big John to work out...
Why o why won't the little people just sit down and accept Judd Gregg's hand-picked successor, Kelly Ayotte?
William H. Binnie of Rye, 51, who heads the Portsmouth-based Carlisle Capital Corp., a real-estate investment and advisory firm, confirmed he is "actively exploring" a run for the seat to be left vacant by Judd Gregg next year.
Binnie, the owner and president of the Wentworth By The Sea Country Club and owner/driver of an auto-racing team, has never run for public office. According to sources, he would base a campaign on his business experience and frustration with Washington and the political establishment if he decides to become a candidate.
Some of the cleverer folks noticed that Sean Mahoney's entry into the fray might actually help Ayotte, since it could split the far-right vote.
But the prospect of a self-funding business candidate throws that scenario out the window. And it kind of makes Ayotte's resume look, well, rather gummit, by comparison.
(Links to the rest of the Stealth Candidate Blues series can be found here.)
Blue Hampshire RSS