Posted on 01/31/2013 12:43:03 PM PST by cotton1706
Several years after defeating Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the 2010 GOP primary then losing to her in the general election (she successfully ran as a write in), tea party star Joe Miller is looking like he might be a Senate candidate again in 2014 when Democratic Sen. Mark Begich is up for re-election.
From Real Clear Politics:
Miller is expected to declare his Senate intentions in the coming weeks and would likely face a crowded field of GOP opponents.
Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell announced in December that he was forming an exploratory to consider a run. Treadwell was an early backer of Mitt Romneys in 2011 and would provide up a sharp contrast with Miller as a business-minded moderate, but he has indicated that he will stay out of the race if Gov. Sean Parnell throws his own hat into the ring.
Parnell is expected to make a decision on whether to run for the Senate or seek a second full term as governor after the close of the current 90-day legislative session, in which he is pushing for a tax cut for oil companies six years after his predecessor, Sarah Palin, helped engineer a sweeping tax increase on the states dominant industry.
Parnell has enjoyed general popularity during his tenure in Juneau but may soon have to contend with a budget deficit after nearly a decade of surpluses.
Other Republicans who have been mentioned as possible challengers to Begich include state Sen. Lesil McGuire, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan and a Department of Natural Resources commissioner (and former attorney general) also named Dan Sullivan.
With the polarizing Miller, a self-described constitutional conservative, considering another Senate run and an ongoing battle between Ron Paul forces and the Republican establishment for control of the state party, Alaska is one of the states to watch to as the GOP attempts to refashion itself in the wake of the 2012 elections.
Well, you can be sure Lisa Murky will oppose Miller.
If Miller wins the primary, the RINO establishment will go the extra mile to ensure the ultraleftist Begich wins again.
Sarah Palin raised taxes on the Grrrrrreeedy Eeeeeeeevil Oil Companies, and yet the Left treats her as if she were the second coming of Typhoid Mary.
Irony: The Mark of Quality Literature
What she did still pisses me off! Anything to keep power!
No thanks Joe. Miller has already proven himself to be an absolutely terrible general election candidate. The man actually managed to lose a Senate campaign to a write-in - something that hadn’t been done in 50 years. This would be like renominating Christine O’Donnell or Sharon Angle.
We have a golden opportunity to replace Democrat Sen. Mark Begich with a conservative, there has got to be far better alternatives than Miller in the state of Alaska.
He should run for the house seat. Don Young is getting long on tooth. Prove himself b4 moving up.
Joe Miller didn’t just shoot himself in the foot, he kept at it until both legs were gone.
What Lisa proved the seat is up for sale to the highest bidder.
Mark B is the Darling of the Unions - anyone that runs against him can count on a violently hostile press stabbing them in the back every chance they get
Add in a badly fractured (R) party that’s at war with itself right now and a host of really bad to terrible candidates - and maybe Magic Markie has a chance - the Unions are already paying for ads, two years out from the election.
The only conservative candidate I see that stands a ghost of a chance is the current Mayor Sullivan.
When Parnell tied himself to Palin, he cut his own throat.
I’m buying extra popcorn, the Unions will make this a dog and pony show for sure...
Is Palin still that unpopular up there? I know Miller's unfavorable ratings were astronomically bad - even worse than Palin's at one time, but I haven't seen anything recently. I guess Sarah's approval collapsed and never recovered after she bailed on her Governor's gig?
Shame what a mess the GOP is in in Alaska. I read the Ron Paul folks took over the party, and the Republicans are still trying to eject them or create a whole separate infrastructure that excludes the Paul people. What a disaster.
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