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"The GOP should be concerned about Bobby Etheridge - he'd be the toughest D nominee, by far...."

I'm not so sure about that. Bowles has statewide name ID, and money up the wahoo. He ran quite strongly in rural areas in 2002, much better than I thought he would (and much better than Al Gore did, I may add). I don't think Etheridge will run better than Bowles did in rural areas, even though he used to be a tobacco farmer. At this point, I would be pleased if Etheridge ran for the Senate, since (i) it will open up his House seat, which would give us an excellent chance for a pick-up (President Bush got 53% of the vote in his redrawn district), (ii) Etheridge would probably lose to Bowles in the primary, or allow Blue to slip through with 40% composed almost entirely of black votes, and (iii) regardless of who wins the RAT nomination, he would have a hard time getting all the RATs back together to support him after the contentious primary. So to Etheridge, I say bring it on!

Johnny, what's your take on the RAT race?

Another possibility I forgot to mention if Etheridge runs in the RAT primary: RUN-OFF! With three fairly popular candidates, there's a good chance that none of them would get as much as 40% of the vote, thus making a run-off necessary. That would push back even further the date in which the RATs know who their nominee is, and will leave them precious little time to lick their wounds and unite behind the winner. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of Etheridge running for the Senate.

Bob Etheridge seriously considered running for the Senate in 2002. But Richard Gephart convinced him to stay in the House. Now that the House RATS are destined to be a minority at least until 2012, Etheridge will most likely run for the Senate. Etheridge's House seat, the NC-02, covers parts of Wake County and GOP-trending Johnston County. George W. Bush and Liddy Dole carried the NC-02. Etheridge's House seat rightfully belongs to the GOP. If Bob Etheridge pursues a Senate campaign, we should be able to win the NC-02. I also look forward to seeing Bowles, Blue, and Etheridge smack each other down in the primary. It shall be fun to watch.