Posted on 02/03/2007 4:57:26 PM PST by SandRat
With all the speculation about John McCain's bid for the White House, there's been little discussion about what would happen to his U.S. Senate seat if McCain actually won the presidency.
The talk among Democrats is that Gov. Janet Napolitano might be interested in the job. Turns out if McCain vacated the seat it would be up to Napolitano to appoint a replacement to finish out the term, which ends in 2010. He or she must be Republican.
In a recent article, Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, speculated that Napolitano would pick one of her GOP supporters "to serve as a caretaker, ensuring that the seat is open in 2010."
Asked about the situation, Napolitano shrugged off the whole thing as a "what if" question. "Let's let the process work," she said.
As a popular governor who is term-limited, Napolitano could be the first Democrat from Arizona to win a U.S. Senate seat since Dennis DeConcini.
A new poll lists Napolitano as the most popular public official in Arizona, dislodging McCain from that long-held spot.
If Napolitano ends up not running in 2010, Roll Call speculates Gabrielle Giffords and Raúl Grijalva would be possible Democratic candidates.
But then there's this possibility: McCain doesn't win — or doesn't even run — ruining everyone's hopes to be his heir.
McCain still strong in AZ
Meanwhile, a recent poll by the Behavior Research Center finds that McCain would be the clear winner of Arizona's electoral votes in a race against either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
Glassman's out ahead
In his bid to earn the Demo-cratic nomination for the right to replace outgoing Ward 2 Councilwoman Carol West, Rodney Glassman seems to have staked out the inside track.
His campaign co-chairs are Democratic heavy-hitters George and Roslyn Miller — the former two-term Democratic mayor and his wife — and Janet Marcus, the longtime councilwoman who represented Ward 2 from 1987 to 1999.
Glassman has also already filed for public matching funds from the city, collecting the necessary $10 contributions to qualify under election laws. City Clerk Kathy Detrick said Glassman's money application is the earliest she's ever seen.
The other Democrat mulling a run is Clarence Boykins, executive director of the Southern Arizona Black Chamber of Commerce.
Boykins — who has pulled papers and said this week he's deciding whether to get into the race — is probably best know for his failed run in November for the District 30 seat in the state House of Representatives.
In that race, Boykins said his opponent Jonathan Paton should have given up his seat before going to serve in Iraq. "You cannot serve two masters," Boykins said at the time.
For the Republicans, Lori Oien, a former Mothers Against Drunk Driving volunteer, is attempting to be the first Republican to hold the seat since at least 1979.
Saguaro hugger
Winning his first real stripes since being sworn into Congress in 2003, Rep. Grijalva was selected as the chairman of the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee of the Natural Resources Committee this week.
On his first day, Grijalva introduced a bill to expand the boundaries of the Tucson area's Saguaro National Park.
No wonder! McCain's not getting anywhere near the Pubbie nomination. Why waste one's time on such theoretical nonsense?
Heck, she could just switch parties, appoint herself and save a step.
That would be +1 in the Senate.
If we do it right, putting McCain somewhere on the ticket might at least provide the benefit of getting him out of the Senate.
He or she must be Republican.
I think the empty seat must be replaced by the Governors choice. In this case the Governor is Democrat. So her choice would be to appoint a Democrat.
That would be a +/- 0.
;)
This is correct. Why else would there be all this talk about the Senate changing hands because Tim Johnson of SD, which has a Republican governor, had a stroke?
Under Arizona state law, the replacement must be from the same party as the person vacating the office.
Laws in other states vary.
Each state decides how to fill vacant U.S. Senate seats. Some states allow the governor to do it, some let the legislature do it. And some, like Colorado and perhaps Arizona, require the replacement be from the same party as the senator who vacated the seat.
The closest thing to a "positive" about McCain becoming POTUS - one less psyco-RINO in the Senate....
Unfortunately, that would also mean that there is one MORE psycho-RINO in the Whitehouse.... not a good trade.
What you think doesn't matter. Arizona law says that a replacement to a vacant seat MUST BE OF THE SAME PARTY as the person who vacated it.
If that's the AZ law then that's the law. I beg your humble pardon.
It is da law. There are a number of patsys she could appoint, though. My guess is former Attorney General Grant Woods, a Republican who supported her and Harry Mitchell.
That seems to me an ill-considered law. A Governor forced to appoint a member of the opposite party might be tempted to appoint an incompetent, an extremest, or someone in ill health, in the hopes of having the appointee be defeated at the next election. It's one of those laws that sounds logical, but I'm not so sure it is.
From Amendment XVII:
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
The Governor does not have to appoint a Republican. Remember when the Republican Senator died in GA and the Dem Governor appointed Zell Miller. That is why it is so important that we work to get the Governor's offices because most voters don't realize that even in a Republican state with a Democrat Governor if the Republican Senator dies the Dem Governor will appoint a Democrat until the next election. They do not serve a full term but only until the next general election which is what happened in MO with Carnahan.
SEN. JOHN McCAIN: THE ULTIMATE "RHINESTONE HERO"
SEN. JOHN McCAIN: THE ULTIMATE "RHINESTONE HERO" Part II
U.S. Sen. John McCain is no War Hero
John McCain: The Manchurian Candidate
McCain Is Booed by Labor Activists
McCain Rides to Kerry's Rescue: "John Kerry is Not Weak on Defense" (Today Show alert)
John McCain SCREAMS AT 9/11 FSA MEMBERS FOR OPPOSING HIS BILL TO GIVE AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS
A number of articles on McCain. (some the same as above)
McCain/Soros by Rabbi Areyh Spero
Soros' "Reform" (an article about Soros‘ instrumental hand in McCain/Feingold)
Not Child‘s Play [McCain/Schumer bill could effect FR?]
McCain's Letter (McCain aligns with Global Enviro activists)
McCain Looked into Caucusing with Democrats
Climate bill sets stage for debate (Sens. McCain, Obama, and Lieberman join forces)
McCain Still Disliked by Fiscal Conservatives (Club For Growth)
John McCain Goes Left for Money
Sens. Snowe, Collins to head Maine exploratory committee for McCain
We've been working to get Nappie out of office. We've been fighting the influx of Liberals from outside and a growing Pinkness in Phoenix, Tucson & Flagstaff. There is one more difficulty as well, THE GOP itself.
If we AZ voters don't accept the GOP machine choice and elect another in the primary then the GOP machine won't support our choice against the Dems, the last gubernatorial election and the replacement for Jim "Rump-Ranger" Kolbe in CD-8.
We picked Randy Graf as Kolbe's replacement in the primary and the GOP machine was torked at us not picking their hand-groomed choice and the "Rump-Ranger" was torked too, so Randy got no Help from Kolbe or the GOP against Giffords. Now the House Seat belongs to a DemonRAT
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