Posted on 02/11/2008 6:13:37 PM PST by LdSentinal
Arizona Republican John Shadegg will give up his House seat at the end of the year — the latest in a string of retirements in the minority-party caucus.
Shadegg said battling for conservative principles in the Democratic-led House has become more difficult, and “there are better places for me to fight that fight.” Shadegg left open the possibility of running for the Senate in 2010 if Republican John McCain of Arizona wins his White House bid.
“At this point, there isn’t a seat. But the conservative movement gets me out of bed every morning. It’s what I believe in,” Shadegg said.
Shadegg’s departure will add to the woes of Republican strategists in a year that is already difficult because of fund-raising troubles and the cavalcade of retirements.
But he insisted his decision will not result in the opposition gaining a seat. “If I thought it was going to go Democrat, I wouldn’t be leaving,” Shadegg said.
A leader among movement conservatives in the House since winning election in the 1994 Republican landslide, Shadegg is the 22nd Republican House member to announce he will leave at the end of the current Congress but not seek higher office. Only two Democrats are ending their political careers.
In 2006, Shadegg, a former head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, finished third in a three-way race to replace Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas (1985-2006), behind eventual winner John A. Boehner of Ohio and Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri.
The loss knocked Shadegg off the leadership ladder because had resigned his post as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee to run. He lost a second bid against Blunt, for the job of minority whip, after that year’s November election, falling 137-57.
A sharp critic of government spending, Shadegg was one of 25 Republicans who voted against the 2003 Medicare prescription drug law. (PL 108-173).
Political Outlook Arizona’s 3rd District, which covers much of northern Phoenix and its suburbs, has a distinct Republican tilt, as President George W. Bush beat Democratic nominee John Kerry , 58 percent to 41 percent, in the 2004 presidential election.
Voters there favored Republican Sen. Jon Kyl , by 57 percent to 40 percent — four points better than he did statewide — and Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano , 60 percent to 38 percent, about three points worse than she fared across the state.
Shadegg safely won his last re-election bid with 59 percent of the vote, but the figure was the lowest general election finish of his career.
He had been set to face off against a well-funded Democrat.
Lawyer Bob Lord raised $613,000 in 2007 and had $503,000 on hand by Dec. 31; Shadegg raised $1 million and had $864,000 on hand by the end of the year. Lord has been hitting Shadegg for his voting record, which he said has prioritized Bush over Arizonans, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already been running ads in the district.
“Shadegg’s retirement shows the incredible momentum for change all across Arizona and the nation,” Lord said. “Having been campaigning for a year, I can tell you that voters in the 3rd District of Arizona are tired of the way Washington has ignored the critical priorities facing our nation.”
Independent Annie Lloyd is running as well.
Republicans will undoubtedly fight to keep a seat that has long been in their column: Kyl represented the district for eight years before winning a Senate seat in 1994.
Shadegg’s chief of staff, Sean Noble, may well be the first to line up on the GOP side. He said in an e-mail he is “seriously exploring the possibility of a run.”
Shadegg built a political base as a counsel to the Republican caucus in the state legislature and in the state attorney general’s office.
If McCain becomes president, the state’s governor, Democrat Janet Napolitano , is required to appoint a Republican to finish McCain’s term in the Senate, serving through the end of 2010. Shadegg might seek the Senate seat at that point.
“Serving Arizona in the United States Congress is the single greatest privilege in my professional life,” said Shadegg, whose father, Stephen, was a longtime aide to Sen. Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican presidential nominee. “I still get goose bumps when I look up at the Capitol dome as I walk to a vote.”
Conservatives on the march.
Shedegg is one of the good ones, If he runs for the McCain slot, he should win it.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968744/posts
A more immediate issue is who will be the Republican nominee to succeed Shadegg in the House.
What are the chances that that egotist McCain will quit his senate seat before next November? I imagine he’ll want to keep it if he loses the presidential race.
Hillary will probably not resign her seat, either, certainly not before the convention.
Bob Dole was shamed by the press into quitting his seat. But McCain and Clinton are both shameless.
McCnutts aint going anywhere.
“He would me a tremendous improvement over McCain in the senate.”
He would be. Those his endorsement of McCain’s Presidential candidacy was a disappointment.
Heh, Jane, I would rather you consider THE SHERIFF.
Why would the Governor not elect a “leftist” Republican to replace Senator McCain instead?
Sounds that way. But McCain will lose, and lose huge.
(...yeah I know it doesn't have to be a conservative.)
Jim Kolbe was the first one who came to mind. There are surely even worse options out there.
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