[Theodore R.]

I had forgotten about the demise of Osborne, but again NE stuck with the incumbent. They did turn out a GOP incumbent in 1982 in favor of the popular Bob KERREY.

[George W. Bush]

I had forgotten about the demise of Osborne, but again NE stuck with the incumbent. They did turn out a GOP incumbent in 1982 in favor of the popular Bob KERREY.

Mentioning Kerrey's name is enough to make many middle-aged Republicans groan, recalling that they had ever voted for him. My brother, for instance.

Incumbency isn't everything here. But the state political machine (and there's only one, not two) getting behind a candidate makes him difficult to defeat, just as Bruning indicated to Levin.