Last Chance for Kentucky Dems to Win Statewide Office Bows Out

I've been saying it for seven years: If Crit Luallen wouldn't accept the Governor's Office on a platter in 2007, she has no interest in ever running for it.

But she's also the only Kentucky Democrat who can win statewide office in the current climate.  Hell, she could beat Mitch McConnell and both she and Mitch know it.

I'd vote for Crit anywhere, anytime, for any office, because she is fucking great at everything she does.She turned the Auditor's Office from a waste of time and money a beacon of efficiency and good government and scourge of corruption and incompetence everywhere.

But she's done, y'all. She's left us to the clown car of Conway and Edelen and Stumbo and Lil' Andy Beshear.

Sam Youngman at the Herald:

Former State Auditor Crit Luallen, long thought to be one of the strongest Democratic candidates for governor in 2015, said Thursday she is not running.

Luallen said in a statement to the media that "after careful deliberation, I have decided not to enter the 2015 governor's race."

Thirty-five years ago, the Kentucky Democratic Party had one of the deepest Democratic candidate benches in the country. Smart, young, progressive and politically-talented people like Crit Luallen were lined up to win state office for the foreseeable future.

Now the only two Democratic politicians capable of beating any random repug - Luallen and Steve Beshear - are retiring from electoral politics.

And we're all gonna die.

KY Dems Ignore 2014, Set Sights on 2015

Conway proved in 2010 by losing to the Tribble-Toupeed One that he's a terrible candidate, but he's not stupid enough to run against McConnell.

Joseph Gerth at the Courier:

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said Wednesday “there’s a good chance” he will run for governor in 2015 and that he won’t “defer to anybody” when making his decision.

“I think I have enough statewide experience that I could go and talk about state issues, issues that are concerns all across the state as well as look out for Louisville’s interests,” Conway, who is in his second term as attorney general, said in an interview Wednesday with The Courier-Journal’s editorial board.


Conway, 43, has said for some time that he is considering the race, but he edged ever closer in the one-hour interview Wednesday, which was live-streamed on the newspaper’s website.

SNIP

He also again stated that he would not attempt a run against U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., next year.

Yawn. Here's the real question: Does "won't defer to anybody" mean he knows Crit Luallen is not running for governor, or that he's willing to challenge her in a primary?

I still think Luallen is not going to run for governor. But what if she declared for U.S. Senate? There's Giffords and maybe Bloomberg money lining up against Mitch now, and Luallen's a sight tougher than Ashley Judd.

Luallen vs. McConnell would be one for the history books.

But this would be one for the comic books.

Best Dem to Beat McConnell Bows Out

Crit taking on Mitch was always a pipe dream, but now she's finally ruled it out.

Kenny Colston, KPR-Frankfort:

Former Auditor Crit Luallen says she will not challenge Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell in 2014. Luallen has long been considered to be among the best-situated Democrats to unseat McConnell. She served two terms as auditor and many political observers credit her with raising the office's profile during her tenure. Luallen also served in former Governor Paul Patton's administration for several years. But the long-time public servant tells Kentucky Public Radio she will not enter the 2014 race.

“No, I’ve stated repeatedly in the last several months when I’ve been asked that the U.S. Senate race is not my interest. My real background experience, where I believe I can make the most difference is state policy and state leadership. So if I run again I’m looking toward the governor’s race," she says.

The governor's race is not until 2015, and the field for that one won't be clear until after the Democratic primary for Senate in May 2014.

Now, somebody talk Ben Chandler into challenging Mitch so Ben can lose by 50 points and then slink off to some no-show job at a wingnut think tank for traitorous dems so we can be rid of the worthless DINO for good.

Report: Leading Democrat Will NOT Run Against Mitch McConnell

UPDATE BELOW, UPDATE II

I love being able to say I told you so.

Page One Kentucky:

Crit’s definitely out. That’s what we hear. We’re just waiting on her announcement.

Media Czech at BlueGrassRoots notes the departure of two close aides has more than one possible explanation:

So what does this mean, if true? Well, in my opinion, this means one of two things.

1.) She has decided not to run for Senate next year.

2.) She has decided to run, and D.C. is planning on bringing in some big name insiders to run the campaign.

Both bloggers believe an announcement from Crit is imminent.

UPDATE, 6:30 a.m., Dec. 7: Looks like Andrew Horne is going to be the Mitch Killer.

UPDATE II, 11:15 a.m., Dec. 7: Crit Luallen oficially bows out of Senate race.

Cross-posted at Blue in the Bluegrass.

Rubbing It In

I will leave it to the fine writers of the Lexington Herald-Leader and the Louisville Courier-Journal to talk about Governor Ernie Fletcher's gracious concession speech.

Here, we're gonna wallow in schadenfreude. Just how bad did Ernie lose?

• Fletcher is the first sitting Kentucky governor to lose a bid for re-election.*
• Out of 120 counties, he took 28. Twenty-three of those are in the south-central "Old Fifth" district where Democrats stay deep in the political closet. Even in overwhelmingly republican Wayne County, Ernie won by only four votes.
• Ernie and running mate Robbie Rudolph both lost their home counties.
• Ernie lost the 10 biggest metropolitan areas in the state.
• Ernie lost all six Congressional Districts.
• Ernie's losing 18-point margin is short of a record, but Beshear's 619,000 votes are the most ever garnered by a gubernatorial candidate in the state.

* OK, OK: Ernie's only the second Kentucky governor to stand for re-election since the 1992 constitution change permitted it. Geez, you people are picky!

But the biggest loser of the night was Kentucky's Republican Party. Not only is Kentucky now a purple state poised to turn deep UK Wildcat Blue next year, but two of the big winners are Democratic up-and-comers poised to win big races in the future.

Attorney General-elect Jack Conway is not yet 40, and watching him light up the crowd last night it was easy to see him in eight years accepting victory as Governor. And doing the same in 2024 as President.

Re-elected State Auditor Crit Luallen got more than just cheers; the whole crowd sang along to her theme song "Kentucky Woman." The moment the polls closed last night, Crit became the front-runner to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell next year.

Mark Nickolas has the scoop: apparently DSCC Chair Chuck Schumer is telling people Crit is definitly running and will have the DSCC's full support.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'll believe Crit is running for another office immediately after winning re-election when I see her signature on filing papers in January.

Cross-posted at BlueGrassRoots.

Join the Ditch Mitch Bandwagon Today!

Hate the republicans in the Senate? Think Minority Leader Mitch McConnell should be tarred and feathered? Afraid Kentucky just doesn't have what it takes to get rid of him when he runs for re-election next year?

Never fear - Ditch Mitch is here!

Via the indispensable Bluegrass Report, here's the press release:

Good Morning:

Team Ditch Mitch KY is proud to announce the official launch of its blog at:http://www.DitchMitchKY.com/

Over the next 20 months, we'll center our efforts there on holding MitchMcConnell accountable for his legislative and political record, one we believehas made Americans less secure in nearly every aspect of their lives: in their finances, retirement, health, on the job, and from threats of terrorism at home and abroad.

Twenty months is certainly an eternity in politics, but as things stand now, we see McConnell as very vulnerable. He's framed himself as President Bush's biggest enabler in the U.S. Senate and as the chief obstructionist of a progressive Democratic agenda that majorities of Americans and Kentuckians support. Moreover, the Kentucky GOP -- the house that Mitch built -- is showing major cracks in its foundation. Mitch was right, it takes "money, money, money" to build a political party, but we're learning by example that it takes a different kind of competence and character to maintain and nurture it.
From our perspective, a perfect storm in November 2008 would find Kentucky Democrats energized by a dynamic presidential candidate and anticipating a landslide victory, and would see turnout among Kentucky Republicans depressed because of problems and divisions in the GOP nationally and at the state level.

We know this fight will be a tough one, as these entrenched incumbents rarely fall outside of narrow margins, but we believe that our cause is right for the future of Kentucky and the nation.

We've brought onto our team blogging veterans from the highly successful efforts in '06 to defeat Conrad Burns and George Allen; these people will be contributing on both the tech and content sides of the operation.

I would appreciate any "heads up" you're able to give concerning McConnell-related content you might be featuring on your own sites. If you have any questions about Ditch Mitch KY, please direct them to me, and I welcome any feedback.

Kindest regards,

Matt Gunterman

Now, we don't actually, technically, have a candidate to challenge Mitch yet. But with seven Democrats vying for just one spot in the gubernatorial primary in May, there'll be at least six losers licking their wounds and eyeing Mitch's seat.

And who knows? There are two leading Democrats who passed on the governor's race - Auditor Crit Luallen and Sixth District Congressman Ben Chandler - plus Louisville businessman and Chandler's 2003 Lite Guv running mate Charlie Owen who might jump in, depending how things look come next January (filing deadline is the 30th.)

Owen, by the way, has been faithfully sending Christmas cards every year to everyone who contributed to the Chandler-Owen campaign in 2003. He's definitely running for something.

Dirty Ernie and the Seven Ponies - Part 1

There are seven - count 'em, seven - Democrats fighting for pole position in Kentucky's May gubernatorial primary. Not one of 'em a thoroughbred.

The two top Democrats in Kentucky aren't even in the race. Sixth District Congressman Ben Chandler bowed out once Democrats took back the U.S. House. As the senior Democrat from a red state, he's in tall cotton these days, snagging a plum spot on Appropriations even though he's in only his second term.

State Auditor Crit Luallen - a dedicated public servant with twice the brains and three times the government experience of anybody else in the race - was the first to decline the governor's race, causing a run on Prozac by goo-goo Democrats who forget that politicians of genuine integrity tend not to get far in this state.

Another statewide-elected Democrat is running as second-banana on a no-hoper ticket, a decision that has him being stalked by white-coated gentlemen from Eastern State Mental Hospital. More on the Attorney General tomorrow.

So, who's left? We've got the state Treasurer who's barely old enough to vote, two former Lieutenant Governors with loser reputations, a crooked businessman who specializes in throwing old poor people out of his nursing homes to make room for richer patients, a Speaker of the state house who can't get Democratic bills passed by his own Democratic majority, a gun nut who favors legalizing marijuana and a highway contractor who came in dead last in the 2003 primary.

Are you really going to make me tell you more? Fine. You asked for it.
Treasurer Jonathan Miller is actually not a bad guy, and is the goo-goo crowd's second choice after Luallen. (At 39, he's one of the youngest gubernatorial candidate ever.) His running mate, Irv Maze, is the Jefferson County Attorney who is both successful and popular in Louisville, but unknown elsewhere. Their two big handicaps are geographical - Miller is from Lexington, so they're a Golden Triangle ticket and thus mistrusted by the East and West - and religion - Miller is Jewish.

(Not that Kentuckians are anti-Semitic, it's just that Kentucky Democrats think everybody ELSE is anti-Semitic, and therefore doubt Miller could win the general election in November.)

Former Lieutenant Governor Steve Beshear used to be the goo-goos' champion, but that was back in the '80s, before he lost the 1987 gubernatorial primary. Since then, he's been a lawyer to big financial interests, which doesn't sit well with Defenders of the Poor and Downtrodden. If you want to start a fight among Kentucky Democrats, just mention the name of Beshear's running mate, State Senator Dan Mongiardo. Mongiardo, a physician, came within a whisker of beating incumbent U.S. Senator Jim Bunning in 2004. Doctor Dan's supporters seem to think he deserves Lite Guv as a consolation prize. His detractors say any Democrat worth his salt should have been able to crush the senile Bunning in a landslide, and Mongiardo deserved to lose for co-sponsoring an anti-gay marriage amendment that cost him lots of Democratic votes and failed to gain any others.

Steve Henry was Paul Patton's Lite Guv '95-'03. Another physician, but this one with charges of Medicare fraud to his discredit. His main claim to the Governor's Mansion seems to be that his wife is a former Miss America. We had one of those as First Lady before (Phyllis George Brown, '79-'83), and it wasn't pretty. Henry's running mate is Renee True, the Lexington Property Valuation Administrator, and the only woman running for guv or lite guv. I don't know anything against True, but I do know that after Henry was the first person to declare for governor last year, he had to hold off making it official for MONTHS because he couldn't find a running mate. Just about every dem in the state with a pulse turned him down. He barely got True on board in time for the January 30 filing deadline. I'm not sure what Renee is thinking.

Tomorrow: The Traitor, the Speaker, the Pot Head and the Bullman.
Read Part Two

Get the latest on Kentucky politics at Pol Watchers and Bluegrass Report.