Sen. Winters' potential for Hooley's seat considered [OR-5]

Statesman Journal ^ | July 15, 2003 | Steve Law

[JohnnyZ]

Salem Republican Jackie Winters might try to unseat local Congresswoman Darlene Hooley with a nudge from the top gun in her party

[JohnnyZ]

Black Pub a possible candidate for Congress in a swing district ping.

It seems to me that Boquist could step aside and let someone else have a crack at Hooley. That last 5% is the hardest to get, and he hasn't managed it in two tries.

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[JohnnyZ]

Another black Republican who might could be running for Congress.

There are a couple possibilities out there, with Mrs. Winters and Vernon Robinson being the best bets for election.

There's Marvin Scott and Herman Cain (& Bartell) running for Senate.

GA-13: William Coit looking for a rematch against David Scott
also a slight possibility that Dylan Glenn will run for a seat in 2004, but more likely 2006 and beyond

VA-3: Del. Winsome Sears might challenge Bobby Scott
NC-12: Dr. Ada Fisher is challenging Mel Watt
MS-2: Clinton LeSueur (or possibly Yvonne Brown) challenging Bennie Thompson again

Also state senator Maurice Washington of Nevada is in Jim Gibbons' district, I believe, which will likely be open in 2004.

Who else?

[AuH2ORepublican]

"It seems to me that Boquist could step aside and let someone else have a crack at Hooley. That last 5% is the hardest to get, and he hasn't managed it in two tries."

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I agree, he'll have a hard time beating Hooley this time either. The third time was the charm for Kline againt Luther in MN, but had they not changed the district during redistricting, I don't think he would have won.

Hooley's district gave Bush a slim majority in 2000, and should give him a larger majority in 2004. Assuming that Winters is a moderate-to-conservative Republican and not a liberal RINO, she should be able to ride Bush's coattails to victory. Darlene Hooley may be "well liked" according to the reporter who wrote the story, but she's way too liberal for her swing district (which has a slight GOP lean to it).

[AuH2ORepublican]

"Who else?"

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Maybe State Rep. Jennifer Carroll in Florida (who's run against Corrine Brown before). In MD, Lt. Gov. Steele won't run against Mikulski, but maybe Alan Keyes or current RAT Curry will run. I'm sure a black Republican will run against Engel in NY, but probably won't have much of a chance in such a heavily RAT district. And I'd be surprised if we didn't get a black candidate to run against Ballance in eastern NC in a more winnable race.

[JohnnyZ]

Winters stresses school spending -- on actual local schools and teachers and stuff -- and was endorsed by Oregon Right-to-Life.

[Lopeover]

Oh, this would be soooooo great! Thanks for nudging, Mr. Prez!

[AuH2ORepublican]

"Winters stresses school spending -- on actual local schools and teachers and stuff -- and was endorsed by Oregon Right-to-Life."

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Sounds good to me. To bad she's 66 and won't be able to serve for too many years, but in any event she'd be a great addition to the GOP team in the House.

[JohnnyZ]

Winters is apparently a little more conservative than Zupancic. She supported all the positions of the Oregon Family Council (as did Boquist), while Zupancic didn't support vouchers and it seems had some caveats on gays and abortion, while being generally opposed.

Pro-Life Opposed to Legalized Abortion
Favors Parental Notification before Teenage Abortion
Opposed to Minority Status for Homosexuals
Opposed to Domestic Partnership Benefits
Favors Education Vouchers
Favors Taxpayers Keeping Kicker

[AuH2ORepublican]

"Winters is apparently a little more conservative than Zupancic. She supported all the positions of the Oregon Family Council."

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That settles it. I just wrote Mrs. Winters urging her to run for Congress and pledging my support. For those who are interested, her e-mail address is sen.jackiewinters@state.or.us.

[Kuksool]

Bump

[WaterDragon]

I liked Boquist last election and voted for him. I like Jackie Winters, too. I wish the two of them would settle on which will be on the ballot, not both I hope.

[Dan from Michigan]

If Vern Ehlers retires in Michigan, St Senator Bill Hardiman may be one to watch in the distant future. He won a tough district in Grand Rapids.

The congressional seat there is safe GOP as well.

[Got a right to Life? . . Huh?]

I had the privilege of getting to know Brian Boquist in 2001. The man impressed me as a solid conservative. I hope to see him run again, because he has a lot of momentum in Republican circles and will get more assistance if he chooses to run again.

If Mrs. Winters is the conservative they say she is, we would be blessed to have her run. I Look forward to meeting her at one of the state republican party meetings soon.

[AuH2ORepublican]

"If Vern Ehlers retires in Michigan, St Senator Bill Hardiman may be one to watch in the distant future. He won a tough district in Grand Rapids."

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Yes, Ehlers' district is as safely Republican as they come---it's too bad Ehlers is such a liberal. Is Ehlers considering retiring in 2004? Politics1.com lists State Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, who is 54 years old, as a possible candidate in the district, and I have to assume Sikkema would run only if Ehlers retires. If Ehlers retires and Sikkema picks up the seat, Hardiman may be unable to run for a good 15 years. So if Hardiman wants to run for Congress, he'd better run as soon as Ehlers retires, not wait until the "distant future" or "someday." In the immortal words of John Fogherty, "someday never comes."

[Dan from Michigan]

Ehlers is advancing in age, so his retirement will likely happen reletivly soon. Both Sikkema and Hardiman are popular out there, and have run tough campaigns.(Sikkema did a lot of work for other campaigns, Hardiman faced the one dem that had a shot to win)

Hardiman was just elected in 02, so best case scenario for him is if Ehler hangs on until 06 and complete that St Senate term.

[AuH2ORepublican]

"Hardiman was just elected in 02, so best case scenario for him is if Ehler hangs on until 06 and complete that St Senate term."

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I agree, Hardiman would be a stronger candidate in '06 (or '08) than he would be in '04. But if Ehlers steps down in '04, Hardiman can't afford to wait until Sikkema retires (I think Hardiman is a couple of years older than Sikkema), he's got to challenge Sikkema right away.

I was looking at the state senate district maps, and Hardiman's district comprises the entire city of Grand Rapids (which voted for Gore over Bush in 2000, although not by too much) and a few (very Republican) suburbs to the east. Sikkema's district includes pretty much the rest of Kent County, and thus has a much larger Republican registration. This fact would give Sikkema a big advantage in a congressional primary against Hardiman, which is a shame, because our party would be much better served with a black conservative congressman from Michigan than with another middle-aged white guy (not to take anything away from Sikkema, but you know what I mean).

Didn't Ehlers win his seat by defeating Sikkema in the primary? Is there animosity between the two? If so, maybe Ehlers can time his retirement to benefit Hardiman, who could also benefit from endorsements from Ehlers and President Bush.