Free Republic

A Republican political hopeful interested in serving as governor of Massachusetts announced Monday he has chosen Richard R. Tisei, an openly gay state legislator, to be his running mate in the 2010 gubernatorial election. "Want you to be the first to know: I've chosen State Senator Richard Tisei as my running mate," Republican Charles Baker wrote on his Twitter account. "Excited about this team." In the photo at left, Baker stands to the left of Tisei outside the civic center in Wakefield, Mass. Baker is the former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and a former adviser to two Republican...

November 23, 2009 G.O.P. Considers ‘Purity’ Resolution for Candidates By ADAM NAGOURNEY The battle among Republicans over what the party should stand for — and how much it should accommodate dissenting views on important issues — is probably going to move from the states to the Republican National Committee when it holds its winter meeting this January in Honolulu. Republican leaders are circulating a resolution listing 10 positions Republican candidates should support to demonstrate that they “espouse conservative principles and public policies” that are in opposition to “Obama’s socialist agenda.” According to the resolution, any Republican candidate who broke with...

Could Illinois Senate candidate Patrick Hughes be the next insurgent Republican candidate to get the backing of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)? Hughes is slated for his second meeting with DeMint on Thursday (the two also met in September), and DeMint’s Senate Conservative Fund website is currently polling visitors on whom they support in Hughes’s primary with Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). DeMint has backed former Rep. Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, Marco Rubio in Florida and Chuck DeVore in California, all in the face of establishment favorites. Toomey, of course, soon assumed that mantle when Sen. Arlen Specter switch to the Democratic...

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Campbell announced today he's passed the $1 million mark in fundraising, nearly doubling what he had raised by the end of June. The former congressman has largely been seen as an experienced but poorly funded challenger to his two GOP opponents, wealthy former Silicon Valley CEOs Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner, who are spending much of their own wealth on their candidacies. Whitman has already given $19 million to her own campaign.

Trouble for McCain in 2010? By Tony Romm - 11/20/09 09:21 AM ET A new poll perhaps foretells of a tough primary fight for Arizona Sen. John McCain (R). In a hypothetical match-up against former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who is reportedly considering a 2010 bid, McCain holds only a two-point lead, besting his potential opponent 45 percent to his 43 percent, according to Rasmussen. That means Hayworth is already polling within the margin of error -- a tough spot for any incumbent to be in, especially one who formerly won his party's presidential nomination. Nevertheless, Rasmussen is quick to point...

State Rep. Beth Coulson, one of the most moderate Republican candidates running for Congress, will be meeting with Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele tomorrow in Illinois to discuss her campaign – and the need for Republicans to have a big-tent party so it can compete in Democratic-minded districts.

John McCain's problems inside his own party were hardly overcome by his place as its nominee, Rasmussen reports. The new poll shows McCain up just two points, 45% to 43%, in a hypothetical contest with former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, now a popular local radio talker, who's mulling a bid.

Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has decided not to run for governor of New York next year after months of mulling a candidacy, according to people who have been told of the decision. .. It remains unclear whether the former mayor is considering any other political race in 2010. Some have urged him to take on the newly installed Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who has never run statewide and is still introducing herself to voters in parts of the state. The decision will be a boon to other Republican contenders. So far, Rick Lazio, a former congressman from Long Island,...

“After 2010 you can have a polite conversation about who should be president in 2012,” Norquist continued. “But until then the only thing you’re doing is sucking oxygen out of the room. And you’re not being helpful. If you’re the governor of Indiana and you want to be presidential, don’t send me a press release about how you didn’t raise taxes. Beat [Sen.] Evan Bayh [D-Ind.]. Then I’d say, ‘Hey, there’s a guy to talk to.’” But Norquist also had an equally strong message for conservative activists — warning that they should not look to enforce ideological purity tests on...

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s public support is collapsing in South Carolina – driven by a wholesale revolt among the GOP electorate and a steady erosion of his support amongst independents. Already consistently loathed by a solid third of GOP voters, Graham’s recent leftward bent – including his co-authoring of a controversia"Cap & Tax" proposal supported by President Barack Obama and liberal Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) – has him locked in a "terminal free fall," according one prominent Republican consultant. "A chunk of the GOP has always detested him but in the last month a dam has broken," said the consultant,...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted disaster for his party if the conservative wing of the GOP continues to field independent candidates to the right of the party’s nominee. “If we get into a cycle where there are tea parties and there are conservative third-party candidates, we will make [Nancy] Pelosi speaker for life,” Gingrich told POLITICO in an interview Thursday, calling the practice “totally destructive.” But Gingrich, who broke with many fellow conservatives by getting behind the liberal Republican who was nominated but ultimately dropped out and backed the Democrat in a New York special congressional election, admitted that...

Rand Paul, a candidate in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Kentucky revealed in an interview Thursday for the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog that his campaign has asked 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to campaign for him: Washington Wire: Do you want Sarah Palin to campaign for you?Paul: We’d love to have her come. We’ve made some overtures to her.But the son of Texas congressman Ron Paul did not seem too excited about two other potential Republican presidential candidates: Washington Wire: What about Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney?Paul: I don’t know much about Tim Pawlenty....

A GOP 'clarifying moment' in Calif. primary The conservative challenging GOP establishment-backed candidate Carly Fiorina in the 2010 Republican U.S. Senate primary in California says his campaign is putting the lie to the notion that the Party needs a moderate, self-funded businesswoman to defeat incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. California Assemblyman Chuck DeVore says he is not surprised or bothered that Carly Fiorina gained the backing of eight Republican U.S. senators last week in Washington. DeVore notes that he has been endorsed by 60 percent of California's elected Republican officials, including Congressman Tom McClintock -- people that can actually vote for...

Decorated Marine veteran Nick Popaditch on Tuesday announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 51st Congressional District seat held by Democrat Bob Filner. Nicknamed “Gunny Pop,” Popaditch served two separate stints in the Marines. He was a tank commander during the Persian Gulf war and honorably discharged in 1992 after six years. Tiring of civilian life, he rejoined the Marines in 1995. A widely circulated photograph after the fall of Baghdad in 2003 shows the tank commander and platoon sergeant smoking a cigar in front of the statue of Saddam Hussein just before his unit helped tear it...

Many thanks to Jim Robinson and Hildy who encouraged me to post here. I don't do much blogging or posting other than Facebook so you can go over there to learn more about me and my platform. I am running for the U.S. Senate in Arizona. I will be a primary challenger to John McCain. I am a Constitutional conservative. I need your support in our effort to right the wrongs of how our federal government operates and repeal bad laws, regulations and protect states. Thanks for taking the time to read all this and yes I look forward to...

Jack Spillane column: A cup of joe with a guy named Steve (Pagliuca, that is)By Jack Spillane November 08, 2009 12:00 AM He's actually better in person than his ads. I'm talking about Steve Pagliuca, the venture capitalist and Celtics co-owner who's running for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. In the wake of my initial column about Pagliuca, I had the opportunity to sit down with him for a short interview this week. He had toured a New Bedford scallop company — which must have been in between his cutting TV ads. (I don't need to tell you, of course, that...

Carla Fiorina's been (officially) on the campaign trail for, what, three days and it's like she's already wearing the GOP Senate crown. Boxer, Boxer, Boxer, Boxer, Boxer. That's the only opponent she can talk about. Hey Carly, where's the respect for Chuck D from the OC, aka her GOP primary opponent Orange County Assemblyman Chuck DeVore? At her Pleasanton stop Friday, C-Fi was asked why she keeps talking about Boxer and not Chuck: "She is the opponent," Carly said and laughed. Uh, perhaps -- if you win the GOP primary in June. .. ... Carly's staff must have hid the...

Carly Fiorina (R) on Thursday announced the endorsements of eight Republican senators for her just-launched California Senate campaign. After primary opponent Chuck DeVore annonced the backing of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) this week, Fiorina fought back with Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), John McCain (Ariz.), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Olympia Snowe (Maine).

We are proud to endorse Chuck DeVore for U.S. Senate in California. Chuck DeVore is a proven, tested conservative who is gaining momentum. He’s the kind of leader we can count on to stand up for common sense conservative principles in the United States Senate. The Senate Conservatives Fund recently conducted an online poll of our members to see which candidate in California they supported. With 2,688 total votes cast, Chuck DeVore was the clear winner with 90% of the vote. We’ve examined DeVore’s record and interviewed him in person. We are confident that Chuck DeVore is ready to come...

With Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman running neck and neck with the Democrat in Tuesday’s special election in New York, some other disaffected Republicans are seeing the third-party route as more viable. And it could hurt the Republicans in those races. In Virginia’s 5th district, state Sen. Robert Hurt’s entry into the GOP primary has spurred little-known candidate Bradley Rees to switch to the Virginia Conservative Party. And in Ohio, another GOP primary contender said this week that he’ll run as a Constitution Party candidate. Both will go at the GOP nominees from their right flanks and try to expose...

After months of thinking it over, Sen. Paula Dockery is poised to kick-off her candidacy for governor, party insiders told the News Service of Florida on Friday. The Lakeland Republican is expected to open a campaign account early next week – as a prelude to a formal campaign announcement the following Tuesday in her hometown. It would set the stage for a potentially combative Republican primary contest with Attorney General Bill McCollum, who had seemed on an unimpeded path to the nomination. Democrat Alex Sink, the state’s chief financial officer, doesn’t appear likely to face a serious primary challenge. For...

With Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman running neck and neck with the Democrat in Tuesday’s special election in New York, some other disaffected Republicans are seeing the third-party route as more viable. And it could hurt the Republicans in those races. In Virginia’s 5th district, state Sen. Robert Hurt’s entry into the GOP primary has spurred little-known candidate Bradley Rees to switch to the Virginia Conservative Party. And in Ohio, another GOP primary contender said this week that he’ll run as a Constitution Party candidate. Both will go at the GOP nominees from their right flanks and try to expose...

Marco Rubio capitalizes on a photo of Charlie Crist hugging Barack Obama. BY CARLOS MILLER Marco Rubio has less political experience than Charlie Crist. And he hasn’t raised nearly as much money in his run against the governor for U.S. Senate. And he still lags behind the governor in polls leading up the November race. But he hasn’t hugged Barack Obama. And that just may be his ace in the hole. The former republican House Speaker has seized on a February photo that shows Crist hugging Obama as to why he is the better candidate. And it appears to be...

Senate Republican campaign chief John Cornyn (Texas) turned his eye toward New York this week, and on Thursday he expressed confidence the GOP could go after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in 2010. New York has emerged as perhaps the next big recruiting target for Cornyn. Candidates have flooded primaries in other races, but all eyes in New York are on Gov. George Pataki, who could decide as early as the next two weeks.

Scandal-magnet Republican Jack E. Robinson is making a last-minute bid for the U.S. Senate, filing 10,900 signatures with the Duxbury town clerk just before the Tuesday deadline, according to a source close to the campaign. Robinson, who coughed up $100,000 to collect the signatures, will challenge Wrentham state Sen. Scott Brown in the Dec. 8 GOP primary. The winner will move on to the special election in January. “He’s been trying to stay under the radar,” said the campaign source who asked to remain anonymous because Robinson hasn’t officially announced he is running. The state’s Republican party shunned Robinson after...

George F. Will: One long shot to watch The most ominous domestic event of the 1970s was the collapse of self-government in New York City, which before being put into receivership by the state was liberalism’s laboratory. Since then, California has been the slate on which liberalism boldly writes its recipe for decline — high taxes, heavy regulation, subservience to public employees unions and environmentalism that is simultaneously apocalyptic and chiliastic. Because California’s calamitous present — creative accounting as a rickety bridge to the next budget crisis, coming soon — might prefigure the nation’s future, next year’s gubernatorial election is...

There is a new Rasmussen poll out today with very striking data. It polls hypothetical general election match ups between Democrat Senatorial candidate Kendrick Meek vs Republican Marco Rubio or Charlie Crist. The results are as follows: Charlie Crist- 46% Kendrick Meek-34% Marco Rubio-46% Kendrick Meek-31% These results are profound and striking for one simple reason. In light of the current conflict with the RINO GOP establishment in the special election of NY-CD-23, these results must be disseminated to debunk a common misconception. There is a narrative that has been promulgated by the RINO cesspool that the more liberal the...

A three-way special election in upstate New York is fast becoming ground zero for the intra-Republican war over the party's future. Dede Scozzafava, the official Republican nominee, has come under fire from movement conservatives and so-called "tea bag protesters" for her moderate stances. (Liberal blogger Markos Moulitsas endorsed as "actually the most liberal candidate in the race.") They have rallied behind third-party nominee Doug Hoffman of the Conservative Party, who is rapidly gaining on Scozzafava in polls. The district, in Republican hands since 1871, is unlikely to go Democratic. But which conservative comes out on top in this increasingly national...

The House GOP conference is bitterly divided over a centrist New York Republican’s run for the House seat vacated by Army Secretary John McHugh. Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who backs abortion rights and has voiced support for gay rights, has drawn a challenger from the right who is running on the Conservative Party line. And though House leaders have urged conference members to donate, many have pointedly refused to back Scozzafava. The Club for Growth, Concerned Women of America, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) and evangelical leader Gary Bauer have all endorsed Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate. The divide could...

Cary Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and probable candidate for U.S. Senate from California, is starting to look like a viable choice for conservative voters in the Golden State, giving the GOP two conservatives from whom to chose. Fiorina's bona fides have been a question to many California Republicans because she is a relative newcomer to politics and many are not familiar with her political philosophy or what her campaign will stand for. But her recent hard hitting editorial in the Fresno Bee helps bring her ideals better into focus for the voters. Firoina's editorial in the Bee focuses on the...

Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson beats Lieutenant Governor Daniel Mongiardo by seven points 44% to 37%. Four percent (4%) of Kentucky voters like some other candidate, and 14% are undecided. Both men have announced their candidacies. Mongiardo was the unsuccessful Democratic challenger to Bunning in 2004. Grayson runs dead-even 40% to 40% against another announced Democratic candidate, state Attorney General Jack Conway, with just three percent (3%) opting for some other candidate. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided. Rand Paul, an opthamologist and the son of Congressman Ron Paul, also has announced his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in...

Conservative radio commentator and former Scottsdale congressman J.D. Hayworth is consider a run against U.S. Sen. John McCain in next year’s Republican primary. A source in Arizona who asked not to be identified said Hayworth is pondering the move. The possible challenge also was reported Monday in the Washington Post.

Over the past few weeks, Florida GOP Gov. Charlie Crist has found himself being put on the defensive more and more in the primary thanks to the challenge by ex-state House Speaker Marco Rubio. While Crist has financially overwhelmed Rubio to date, there are many Republicans -- particularly those in Flordia that are close to former GOP Gov. Jeb Bush -- who have publicly become more comfortable airing their skepticism about Crist in public. One of those Republicans with close ties to the Bush family, Karl Rove, has signaled his preference with his wallet. Rove confirms to NBC News that...

The Rocky Balboa fight of politics is occurring right before our eyes here in the Sunshine State. Charlie Crist, the ever-popular governor of Florida with approval ratings in the 60's is getting more than he ever bargained for in his race for the United States Senate from Marco Rubio, the former speaker of the house in the Florida state legislature. The pundits predicted an early landslide. The Republican establishment in Florida offered Rubio an easier office to win. Maybe Attorney General? Rubio declined. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) even threw their hat behind Crist the...

NASHVILLE — Republican congressional hopeful Robin Smith says that, when she was state GOP chairman last year, then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama labeled her as “everything from racist to terrorist to extremist” after the state party posted a video criticizing Michelle Obama. Mrs. Smith, who is running in the 3rd Congressional District primary, made the assertion in a recently videotaped interview with Helen Smith, a commentator for the conservative Internet Web site Pajamas TV. Dr. Smith, no relation to the candidate, asked why more women do not run for office. “From personal experience I can tell you ... I was...

Democrats aren't the only ones worried about the 2010 midterms. Conservatives have been watching RINO's from on high and don't like what they have seen. Cross-hairs have been brought to bear.

The Yankee Republican became an endangered species in Washington, D.C., last fall with the defeat of U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, the lone survivor of the breed in Connecticut's congressional delegation. Although the state still had a popular Republican governor, the party's national aspirations seemed to have taken flight for more hospitable territory. A scant 10 months later, the GOP in Connecticut is back with what promises to be a raucous and costly fight to unseat a politically vulnerable U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd. The party, which hasn't mounted a credible challenge to the Democratic incumbent in years, now has a field...

...It’s a strategy that could land the party with a roster of highly electable candidates who could go a long way toward shrinking the party’s current deficit in the Senate. But it’s also an approach that is infuriating many activists who don’t like the idea of the national party stepping in and playing favorites — especially when it means picking a moderate over a conservative...

Senate Smackdown: McMahon Running Against Dodd Chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. says she's seeking the Republican nomination to run against Dodd. AP Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Republican Andrew H. Card Jr., who was a chief of staff under former president George W. Bush, said last night that he would probably run for the seat left vacant by the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, prompting another prospective candidate, state Senator Scott Brown, to rule out a bid if Card entered. Card, who served four terms as a state representative for Holbrook before taking a succession of jobs in Washington, told the News Service the chances were “much better than 50 percent that I will find a way to say yes.’’ He said he would probably make a...

ST. PETERSBURG -- Former right-hander Curt Schilling -- who has always had an interest in politics -- confirmed Wednesday that he has been contacted about running for the seat vacated by late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died last week after a prolonged bout with brain cancer. While acknowledging how busy he is in his post-playing career, Schilling did not rule out the possibility of making a run at the Senate. Schilling retired from baseball in March and currently runs an online game-development company called 38 Studios. "While my family is obviously the priority, and 38 Studios is a priority,...

In a breaking story, The Louisiana Weekly and Bayoubuzz.com have learned that the hero of Hurricane recovery, General Russell Honore is seriously considering entering the Republican Primary for the U.S. Senate seat against incumbent David Vitter. Honore, a Republican since the Reagan Administration and a registered Louisiana voter from his Zachary home, has spoken to friends and supporters in the last two weeks signaling that he is, according to one, "more than 50% sure that he will run." The news comes mere hours after Third District Congressman Charlie Melancon announced his firm intention to be the Democratic challenger to David...

Retired Lt.General Russell Honore is considering running in a primary race against Senator David Vitter (R – Louisiana).

The Club says the effort is part of a $1.2 million campaign battling the current healthcare proposals. But the effort focuses on the Bennett-Wyden proposal, and the targets of the letters are notable because of the electoral situation Bennett finds himself in. Bennett is facing a primary challenge from state Attorney General Mark Shurtleff (R). Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) has also said he might challenge the longtime senator in the primary. Club Executive Director David Keating said in a statement that the organization is in the "preliminary stages" of looking at the Utah Senate race. “Sen. Bennett’s support for a...

It's the highest stakes ever for a Nevada election, and former boxer Sen. Harry Reid is on the ropes early. Either Republican Danny Tarkanian or Sue Lowden would knock out Reid in a general election, according to a recent poll of Nevada voters. The results suggest the Democratic Senate majority leader will have to punch hard and often in order to retain his position as the most accomplished politician in state history, in terms of job status.

Florida governor Charlie Crist is running for the Senate, and he isn’t supposed to lose — let alone lose in the Republican primary. He enjoys a high approval rating, has a history of success among voters, and raises campaign cash with the intensity of a Category 5 hurricane. His main opponent in the GOP primary is Marco Rubio, a 38-year-old Miami native who quotes Snoop Dogg lyrics on his Twitter account. On paper, it looks like a mismatch between an unbeatable juggernaut and a doomed also-ran. Yet Crist may be vulnerable: He warmly embraced President Obama’s stimulus spending and is...

Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett- Packard, took her first formal step Tuesday toward a campaign for Barbara Boxer's seat in the U.S. Senate. Fiorina, who would face Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Irvine in the Republican primary in June, announced that she had filed papers with the Internal Revenue Service to start exploring a candidacy. "The people of California have serious concerns about job creation, economic growth and the role of government in solving problems that touch each of our lives," Fiorina said in a written statement.

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore Comments on Carly Fiorina’s Pending Run for the U.S. Senate: “Democrats will attack Fiorina’s weaknesses from the start.” IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine), the only announced Republican candidate for California’s 2010 U.S. Senate race against Barbara Boxer, today commented on news that Carly Fiorina, the ousted former head of Hewlett-Packard, had formally created an exploratory committee. Assemblyman DeVore said, “She’s in, as we’ve expected for months, and already she’s showing her colors, hiring a Hollywood PR firm and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s chief moneyman.” Fiorina has already engaged Strategic Perception, Inc., the Hollywood, CA-based business that was the...

Aside from a pile of money, Tom Ganley has almost nothing in common with the late Howard Metzenbaum. Yet, in his quixotic quest to win the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate next year against favored Rob Portman, Ganley draws inspiration from Metzenbaum. "He showed that it can be done," Ganley said in a recent interview. Ganley, 66, is a conservative Republican from the Cleveland suburb of Brecksville who has never held elective office. Metzenbaum, who died in 2008, was a liberal Democrat from Cleveland who served in the Ohio House and Senate before being elected to the U.S. Senate in...