Posted on 03/14/2002 7:04:55 PM PST by Geronimo
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tipper Gore is weighing an overture from Democrats to run for her husband's old Senate seat from Tennessee, sources close to her said Thursday.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Democrats urged Mrs. Gore to run after Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., announced last Friday that he would not seek re-election.
One of the sources said Mrs. Gore was committed to public service and believed she owed it to herself to give some thought to a run.
Her husband, Al Gore, held the Senate seat from 1985 to 1993, before becoming vice president. Gore said he would not run for his old seat immediately after Thompson made his announcement.
One Democratic operative close to the Gores, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mrs. Gore had received a handful of overtures from Democrats urging her to consider running for the Senate and Mrs. Gore was weighing them.
However, the official said that it does not appear likely that Mrs. Gore would run, given her tendency to shrink from the limelight during the presidential campaign and her general unease about the national political process.
Still, the official, said it was telling that Mrs. Gore did not reject the overtures out of hand. A Democratic official who spoke with Al Gore on Thursday said the former vice president said his wife was talking to people in Tennessee who are eager for her to run and is thinking through the possibility of a Senate campaign.
Jano Cabrera, a spokesman for the couple, said Mrs. Gore was in Los Angeles Thursday and could not immediately be reached.
Earlier, Cabrera said the Gores are house hunting in Nashville. Gore has been dividing his time between Washington and Tennessee, where he is teaching at two universities in the Nashville area.
Cabrera said the Gores will keep their farm near Carthage, where Gore's mother lives, as well as a house in Arlington, Va., that has been in Tipper Gore's family for 60 years.
Gore says he has not decided whether he will run for president again, but he recently formed a leadership political action committee that he says will support Democratic candidates nationwide.
But boy are the Democrats in mucho trouble if this is the best they can come up with.
Out of curiosity, how do you see the overall Senate picture?
The definitive post of the thread !!
I don't predict the Senate. It is too early, and too volatile. Those that do are just wasting bandwidth. The thing about the Senate, unlike the House, is that there is high media exposure, debates, etc., and things can swing, and gerrymandering is not in play.
Having said that, if things move more than a couple of seats either way, it will be a surprise, as of now.
I'm really friendly and people seem to like me well enough. My kids are grown, so I have the time and all. Well, ya know, I've always cared about children, so I think it's just a natural progression thing.
Honestly, sometimes people say to me just out of the blue, "Dog Mom, you're so friendly. Your kids are grown now, and we notice you really care about children. Hey why don't ya run for the U.S. Senate." Really, people say that to me every time they see me getting groceries or picking up dry cleaning, or taking out the garbage. I guess it's just natural for people to make that connection.
I'm thinking that when I have my signs made up I'll just do big giant ones that say DOG!!! FOR U.S. SENATE, kind of like HILLARY!!! Those one-name personalities seem to get a lot of attention these days.
DOG!!! FOR U.S. SENATE
Republican held: 1. NH (50%) 2. AR (51%) 3. TN (65%) 4. CO (67%) 5. TX (75%) 6. NC (75%) 7. OR (80%) 8. SC (85%) 9. OK (90%) 10. ME (90+%)
Democratic held: 1. SD (51% Rep.) 2. MN (45%) 3. MO (45%) 4. GA (30%) 5. IA (25%) 6. MT (18%) 7. LA (18%) 8. NJ (18%)
There are three possible Senate outcomes: 1. Reps gains seats, in which case they regain control. 2. Dems gains seats 3. a wash... 1 and 2 seem equally likely. So the real question, I think, in terms of Republican chances to regain control of the Senate is the odds of outcome 3 happening. I would estimate that at 25%. So that gives Reps. a 37.5% chance of gaining one or more seats, the Dems a 37.5% chance of gaining one or more seats, and a 25% chance neither do.
The more interesting point, is that in this cycle we should be on the defensive (even though we aren't) - in the next 2 (2004, 2006) the Dems will almost definitely be on the defensive.
Mrs. Dole at least went out and worked for the Red Cross while Bob Dole was majority leader.
1) They need this Senate Seat !!
2) They're running no-names against a famous name [Lamar Alexander]
Last election, I overheard a redneck's comment on Al Gore -- "He just wants to take my guns away and kill little babies"
Tipper Gore is not a statesman - she just has the famous name.
What happened to that investment job Algore got in California?
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