Free Republic

Raese pressed to take on Byrd By Peter Savodnik  The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and Republican National Committee (RNC) are pressing John Raese, a West Virginia media mogul, to challenge Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) this year.Raese is a former state Republican Party chairman who owns radio stations and a newspaper in the state. He ran for the Senate in 1984 and for governor in 1988, both times unsuccessfully.NRSC spokesman Dan Ronayne said Raese had met with Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), the committee’s chairwoman. “We’re really excited about this guy, and we hope he gets in,” Ronayne said. Raese also...

Hiram Lewis says Capehart should quit Capehart should call on Hiram to quit, too I know I'm the only one who actually reports on a Hiram Lewis press release, but sometimes I can't pass them up. Hiram sent out another one on Tuesday, this time calling on Rob Capehart to resign as chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party. Why? Well, because Capehart is considering running for U.S. Senate, and darnit, that's what Hiram wants to do. Apparently, Capehart is not allowed to even think about it. That alone is reason to resign, according to the Logic that is Hiram....

Hiram Lewis - Candidate for U.S. Senate, 2006 DEFEAT BYRD! On November 7, 2006, I intend to defeat Robert Byrd and win another seat for the Republicans in the United States Senate. In order to send the ultra-liberal Democrat Byrd into retirement and to protect the American values that we believe in , I need YOUR help. In the November 2004 election for State Attorney General in West Virginia, I received 49.6% of the vote in a VERY CLOSE ELECTION. Now, the Democrats -- with the help of Moveon.org -- have mobilized to try and save this vulnerable liberal Senate...

So Long, Shelley; Hello, Hiram? Story by Chris Stirewalt Since Gen. Allen Tackett, the head of the West Virginia National Guard, endorsed Sen. Robert C. Byrd for re-election and a National Guard plane flew the senator's campaign manager to a fundraiser, we're left to wonder what the other branches of the military can do to show their support for Byrd's ninth term. If the USS West Virginia surfaces at Sistersville with a "Byrd '06" banner flying from its periscope or if a B-52 carpet bombs the Potomac Highlands with pamphlets, the U.S. Navy and Air Force may be able to...

West Virginians know why Democrats brought in Barack Obama to raise money for Bob Byrd's bid for a ninth term. Byrd is acting scared. He is a legend. He never won a Senate race by less than 30 points. West Virginians put him right up there with Sears and Carter's liver pills. But times change, and whatever my disagreements with Byrd may be, he is a masterful politician. Byrd taught Ted Kennedy how to count votes in a 1971 upset over the No. 2 post in the Senate. Kennedy miscalculated. Byrd continues counting. He might see himself falling a few...

State Republican Party Treasurer Hiram Lewis IV announced over the weekend that he planned to seek his party's nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd in 2006. Lewis, an Army National Guard captain who served in Iraq, picked the second anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to announce his plans. The Morgantown lawyer made his announcement near the base of a statue of West Virginia's senior Democratic senator at the state Capitol in Charleston. "My candidacy is not a personal vendetta against the senior senator; rather it is simply time for a change," said Lewis, who lost the GOP...

April 10, 2005 Hiram Lewis Announces Candidacy for U.S. Senate Against Byrd   by HNN Staff Charleston (HNN) — On the second anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to American forces, Hiram Lewis IV, an Army National Guard Captain, Iraq War Veteran, lawyer and 2004 Attorney General candidate announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate from the base of the Robert C. Byrd statute inside the State Capitol rotunda Saturday afternoon, April 9, 2005.   Stated Lewis: "My candidacy is not a personal vendetta against the senior Senator; rather it is simply time for a change. I am offering up...

Senator Byrd (D-WV) has gotten a GOP challenger to his re-election efforts in 2006. We, of course, wish all success to Hiram Lewis and any other Republican who decides to challenge the Senator...but a nugget of information in the story makes me wish all success to anyone who challenges the Senator. I am extremely infuriated to find out about this: "The Morgantown lawyer made his announcement near the base of a statue of West Virginia's senior Democratic senator at the state Capitol in Charleston." I could not, at first, believe that a United States Senator would agree to have a...

Hiram Lewis to run for Senate nomination CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- State Republican Party Treasurer Hiram Lewis IV announced Saturday he planned to seek his party's nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd in 2006. Lewis, an Army National Guard captain who served in Iraq, picked the second anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to announce his plans. The Morgantown lawyer made his announcement near the base of a statue of West Virginia's senior Democratic senator at the state Capitol in Charleston. "My candidacy is not a personal vendetta against the senior senator; rather it is simply time for...