Days before he died of congestive heart failure, the New York Times reports former New York City Mayor Edward Koch made an announcement in his hospital room: “I want to help Chris Quinn.”
“But it was not to be. Mr. Koch died three days later, and among his many legacies is now a peculiar question for Ms. Quinn: how to utilize an endorsement by a popular and influential advocate who also happens to be deceased.”
“Yes, I’m Teddy Turner. You can’t pick your parents.”
— Teddy Turner (R), quoted by Politico, “trashing his dad every chance he gets to show voters of the 1st Congressional District he’s not some tree-hugging lefty — or worse yet, Jane Fonda’s son.”
Mark Sanford (R) is out with his first ad for the South Carolina 1st congressional district special election.
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Illinois state Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D) is expected to drop out of the 2nd congressional district special Democratic primary and back former state Rep. Robin Kelly (D) in the contest to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The move shakes up
the Democratic field just nine days before the Feb. 26 primary election.
Capitol Fax: “The reasons are many, including Mayor Bloomberg’s decision to point his massive super PAC right at Hutchinson while backing rival Robin Kelly.”
Bloomberg has attacked Hutchinson for her support for the National Rifle Association.
Ken Cuccinelli (R) has a new book out and the Washington Post notes Democrats are promoting it with the hope that it will help sink his Virginia gubernatorial campaign.
A new WBUR poll in Massachusetts shows Rep. Ed Markey (D) leading Rep. Stephen Lynch (D) among likely Democratic U.S. Senate primary voters, 38% to 31% with 4% prefering another candidate and 26% still undecided.
Will Ferrell endorses Eric Garcetti for Los Angeles Mayor in a hilarious new ad.
Mark Sanford’s (R) congressional bid “is equal parts political campaign and confessional tour,” Politico reports.
“The disgraced ex-South Carolina governor is back on the trail seeking forgiveness for the sins that caused his political career to collapse in spectacular fashion four years ago: The mysterious days-long disappearance, the lies about hiking the Appalachian Trail and the extramarital affair with an Argentine woman that splintered the Republican’s picture-perfect family and shattered his presidential aspirations.”
Said Sanford: “I’m not in any way unaware of how I’ve let you down. I’m not in any way unaware of my well-chronicled failings as a human being. But I am equally aware that God forgives people who are imperfect.”
The blizzard that struck New England has some Massachusetts Republicans concerned that the storm “could jeopardize the ability of state Rep. Dan Winslow and other GOP candidates to qualify for the ballot in the special election to replace Secretary of State John Kerry,” National Journal reports.
“Candidates for the special election must submit 10,000 certified signatures by Feb. 27 to qualify for the April 30 primary. With Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick (D) declaring a state of emergency Friday afternoon and banning cars from driving on the roads, Senate contenders are forced to put a hold on signature collecting until the storm passes.”
The Cloakroom: All the big Republican names have declined to run in the special election to fill John Kerry’s vacated Senate seat.
Former Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey (R) told the Boston Herald that she won’t run for Secretary of State John Kerry’s old seat in the special election scheduled for June 25.
Washington Post: “Healey joins a growing list of Republicans in turning down the race, including former senator Scott Brown, former congressional candidate Richard Tisei, former governor Bill Weld and Romney’s oldest son, Tagg Romney.”
Tagg Romney emails ABC News: “I have been humbled by the outreach I received this weekend
encouraging me to become a candidate for the US Senate, but the timing
just doesn’t work.”
The Boston Herald reports that Tagg Romney “is considering a run in the special Senate election now that Scott Brown has opted out.”
Meanwhile, the Boston Globe says former Gov. William Weld (R) will not run.
Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) told the Richmond Times Dispatch about a meeting requested by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R), the man who outmaneuvered him for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
“Losing has liberated Bolling, loosening his image and his tongue. The loyal Republican who deferred to others defers no longer. Bolling is especially direct in expressing his distaste for the negative image the GOP projects and the just-say-no issues promoted by its new titular leader: Cuccinelli. This is an uncharacteristic role for Bolling — he is refusing to endorse Cuccinelli and will decide by mid-March on an independent candidacy that could sink Cuccinelli’s — and it is generating attention from an unlikely quarter.”
Said Bolling: “It’s like he’s written off trying to reach mainstream voters.”
Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) will not run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by John Kerry, a source tells the Boston Herald.
Washington Post: “Brown’s decision leaves Republicans without a top candidate for the seat
held by Kerry… On the Democratic side, longtime Rep. Ed
Markey is the frontrunner, but he faces a challenge from fellow
Democratic Rep. Stephen Lynch, who is much more conservative.”
“With time running short, Washington Republicans have begun a ‘full court press” to persuade an increasingly reluctant Scott Brown to run in the special election to replace John F. Kerry,” the Boston Globe reports.
“The eleventh-hour effort, coordinated by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, comes as those familiar with Brown’s deliberations are becoming convinced that he will not run and instead will look for a job in the private sector.”
Steve Kornacki: “The Republican panic stems from a belief that Brown is their party’s best – and only – hope of winning back a seat in deep blue Massachusetts. That view is well-grounded.”
The Washington Post gets an early copy of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s (R) new book which doesn’t hit stores until Feb. 12.
In The Last Line of Defense: The New Fight for American Liberty, Cuccinelli “uses language akin to Mitt Romney’s famous ’47 percent’ comment. The Republican presidential candidate had suggested that a share of the electorate was so dependent on government hand-outs that it would never vote for him.”
“Romney’s words, captured on a hidden camera, helped sink his campaign. Time will tell how the similar language plays for Cuccinelli, who unlike Romney has never been accused of trying to pass himself off as a moderate. In his case, he wants voters to hear it.”
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Massachusetts finds Scott Brown (R) edging Ed Markey (D) in a possible special election match up to fill the seat of Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), 48% to 45%.
Caveat: “69% of the voters currently undecided voted for
Elizabeth Warren in November, while only 17% of them voted for Brown. If
those folks ended up voting for the same party that they did in
November, Markey would lead Brown by a point. Brown may be starting out
at 48%, but it’s a very hard path to 50 for him given who the undecideds
are.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
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.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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