Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

June 15, 2009

Democrats Plan for Byrd "Contingencies"

Sen. Robert Byrd's (D-WV) state of health "has prompted some quiet, behind-the-scenes discussions in the event the senator is unable to return to office," the West Virginia Gazette reports.

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) met with state Democratic Party chairman Nick Casey last week, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) on a conference call to discuss contingencies."

Casey "is generally regarded as the consensus choice to serve as a placeholder for Byrd's Senate seat in the event Byrd would have to step down prior to the 2010 elections."

Roll Call reports Byrd is still hospitalized and has no plans to return this week.

Update: The Hill reports Byrd will undergo physical therapy this week after being in the hospital for a month.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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