To say I'm disappointed with Gibbons would be an understatement. He had a moral obligation to rise to the occasion and run against Harry Reid (taking out the 'Rat Senate leadership in one fell swoop). At this point, I hope he is soundly defeated in the GOP primary for Governor. I don't have anything against his wife, but charges of nepotism would arise over her running (despite her having served as a state legislator). If I'm not mistaken, Sen. Olympia Snowe was married to Jock McKernan in ME when he served as Governor (and she then in the House, both of whom having served in opposite Congressional districts), but obviously she would've only been serving as a First Lady only on paper.
As for Sen. Maurice Washington, I wonder how much the state party would rise to support him. I know there have been ethics charges lodged against him in the late '90s (I no longer recall what they were over), and that might hinder his efforts at running. Do we even know if Washington is interested in running ? I wish we could get in (at minimum) two African-American Republicans in Congress so that he doesn't get painted with the brush of tokenism. At this point in the game, I have no idea where our opportunities will be for advancing those candidates at the Congressional level next year (save perhaps for State Sen. Jackie Winters in OR, but she has to run for reelection to her own seat for a final term, and she'd be turning 70 only 3 months into her term in 2007, sadly a bit too old to be embarking on a Congressional career).
"As for Sen. Maurice Washington, I wonder how much the state party would rise to support him. I know there have been ethics charges lodged against him in the late '90s (I no longer recall what they were over), and that might hinder his efforts at running."