Free Republic

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Comedian Al Franken grabbed the Democratic nomination Tuesday for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, setting up a showdown with Republican Sen. Norm Coleman that had been years in the making. Franken, who gained fame as a "Saturday Night Live" cast member, easily beat six other candidates chasing the Democratic nod. Coleman trounced his only opponent, an expatriate living in Italy. Minnesota voters joined those in six other states and the District of Columbia in deciding general election matchups. Nominations for House, Senate and governor were on the line, along with the fate of another TV celebrity: Kevin...

Western oil shale becomes issue in La. Senate race By MELINDA DESLATTE A supply of oil sealed in rock out West is becoming a flash-point in Louisiana's U.S. Senate race, in a bid to gain the attention of drivers feeling the pinch of gasoline prices. Republican candidate John Kennedy said unlocking the energy source from oil shale - as much as 800 billion barrels of oil locked in underground rock in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah - could shrink the nation's dependence on foreign oil and could help ease prices at the pump. Kennedy, the state treasurer, said his Democratic opponent,...

Republican Jon Bruning ended his U.S. Senate campaign on Tuesday night, deferring to and endorsing the candidate many consider a prohibitive front-runner, former governor and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. Nebraska’s attorney general ended his five-month campaign after raising more than $1 million for his bid to succeed outgoing Republican Chuck Hagel, money Bruning said he will sit on to possibly use in a future run. “If I do my job, political opportunities will come,’’ said Bruning, who is serving his second term as attorney general. “The timing wasn’t with me this time, but I’m confident the time will come...

Bill Nelson unveils new Florida Senatorial Elections Commercials Florida Senator Bill Nelson, seeking reelection against Congresswoman Katherine Harris, unveiled his new TV commercials this morning. In doing so, he has set his initial tone for his campaign. Nelson’s :30 spot was very soft. Tone was not combative at all. Message was “I get things done for all Floridians.” He specifically says that he does not see his job as one where he is supposed to be combative, but rather to work, along with Republicans and Democrats, for everyone in Florida. Yada yada yada. Ad scrolls many newspaper headlines saying what...

katherine harris supports the fair tax

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Sen. Jim Talent is not responsible for $3-a-gallon gas or the Iraq war, but many voters here are linking him to an unpopular commander in chief and say they will punish him at the polls because he is a Republican. Mr. Talent faces a significant re-election challenge in November, with Democratic state Auditor Claire McCaskill essentially running even with him in the polls. Voters in the increasingly frustrated electorate here, especially in economically challenged rural Missouri, say they likely will seek a change, even though they may disagree with the Democrats. Most voters interviewed said life "could...

JANESVILLE, Pa.--Until recently, Bob Casey Jr.'s strategy for unseating Republican Sen. Rick Santorum had been working so well that Mr. Casey could behave like the incumbent. Taking advantage of a double-digit lead in the polls, this son of a popular former two-term governor was coasting toward November on the heralded family name. He could remain mum or studiously vague about his actual positions. He could refuse to debate. And he could hide behind handlers who carefully stage-managed his appearances (before friendly audiences) and even more carefully shielded him from media outlets (like this one). It was a smart strategy for...

Hip-hopper sings Steele praise August 21, 2006 Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons will be the host of a campaign fundraiser Thursday for Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele's run for U.S. Senate.     The fundraiser for Mr. Steele, a Republican who would be the state's first black U.S. senator if elected... [snip]     Also scheduled to participate in the event are Cathy Hughes, founder and chairman of Radio One, a black-run broadcasting company specializing in urban markets... [snip]     Ms. Hughes and Mr. Simmons, the man behind the Def Jam Recordings music label and the platinum-plated careers of acts including the Beastie Boys, LL...

In the U.S. Senate primary, Rep. Katherine Harris has been touting key political endorsements from fellow Republican lawmakers. The problem is, some of them never endorsed her. Several members of the U.S. House called the Harris campaign to complain Wednesday after the St. Petersburg Times notified them of the endorsements listed on Harris' Web site. Minutes later, their names were removed. The list of politicians whose names came down includes Reps. Ginny Brown-Waite of Brooksville, Cliff Stearns of Ocala, Mark Foley of West Palm Beach and Jeff Miller of the Panhandle. "The congressman has not made an endorsement in the...

Even with a Green Party candidate now in the race, Democratic challenger Bob Casey leads Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, according to a poll released today. In a three-way matchup, Casey leads Santorum 45 percent to 39 percent, with Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli picking up 5 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters. Eleven percent were undecided or did not plan to vote. Mr. Romanelli, a railroad industry consultant from Wilkes-Barre and a former family-court support officer, qualified with enough signatures Aug. 1 to get on the Nov. 7 general election ballot. He has said that most...

Forget the war in Iraq, the war on terror, or any other war against which Connecticut citizens are said to have voted by defeating Joe Lieberman and nominating Ned Lamont for the U.S. Senate. The operative war for American citizens is something closer to home -- a war of independence from the bickering partisans who have made political life in America a childish and tedious exercise.

In the latest pre-primary straw poll, Will McBride beat Katherine Harris, his primary opponent for the Republican nomination, and incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson. The outcome of the ballots cast at the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce Hob Nob was 72 votes for McBride and 51 for both Harris and Nelson. Two other candidates for the GOP nomination, LeRoy Collins Jr. and Peter Monroe, received 12 and 2 votes respectively. “This is the sixth significant straw poll in a row, in which we have virtually equaled or run ahead of Katherine Harris, making it very clear that a strong trend is...

WASHINGTON - Antiwar critics running against Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., lost one of their candidates this month when the Washington Democrat hired him to work in her campaign for $8,000 a month. In a contest that was always one of the Republicans' better opportunities to beat an incumbent, the big story of the summer was Cantwell's decision to hire (and silence) anti-Iraq War candidate Mark Wilson, one of several war critics whose candidacies threatened her bid for a second term. With polls showing Republican business executive Mike McGavick in a near dead-heat with the liberal lawmaker, as antiwar Democrats attacked...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Jennifer Marks July 31, 2006 Letter not applicable today Tampa, FL— Florida GOP Chairman Carole Jean Jordan informed Congresswoman Katherine Harris this afternoon that a previous letter unethically leaked in today’s news is not applicable to current party beliefs. Further, Jordan stated that the Florida Republican Party does not officially endorse or take positions in a primary. Representative Harris commented “this confidential letter was old news and Chairman Carole Jean Jordan has stated repeatedly this letter is not applicable today; further, Chairman Jordan said that she never expressed concerns about my campaign but rather the race...

KATHERINE HARRIS RALLIES IN WEST CHARLOTTE COUNTY FRIDAY, JULY 28TH We want to be sure that all county Republicans know that Katherine Harris will be in town on Friday the 28th and will arrive between 4:30 to 5 PM at the first event. THE GRAND OPENING OF THE ENGLEWOOD REPUBLICAN HEADQUARTERS. The headquarters office is located at 2400 S. Mc Call Rd. (776) inside of the Gasparilla Properties Real Estate Office. Coming from Port Charlotte area on 776 it will be on the right hand side and you will see plenty of signs both for Harris and for the West...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jennifer Marks July 27, 2006 (813) 288-8400 Friends of Harris demand apology from Dean (TAMPA, FL) – Friends of Katherine Harris for U.S. Senate demand an apology from the Democratic Party’s National Chairman, Howard Dean, who compared Congresswoman Katherine Harris, a leader of humanitarian causes, to Joseph Stalin, who is best known for the genocidal slaughter of millions of his own countrymen. The remarks by Dean call into question the fear Harris instills in the Democratic Party as the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. “Howard Dean’s extreme comments reflect a lack of understanding and basic decency....

Excerpt: July 23, 2006 KISSIMMEE -- If she hadn't had surgery last week, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris said, she would have arrived at a GOP picnic on horseback Saturday. Instead, she made her entrance by helicopter, flown by a friend from the nearby city airport to the Kissimmee Sports Arena. "If I could have been Wendy on Peter Pan, I couldn't have had more fun," Harris said. "I am feeling great." The Republican congresswoman from Longboat Key underwent surgery to remove an ovarian mass on Monday. A day later, she was back on the floor of Congress, voting...

US Representative Katherine Harris visited a small gathering of local people at the H&F Restaurant in Jasper on Saturday, June 17. "Small groups are more intimate - almost like family," she noted. Rep. Harris is running against Senator Bill Nelson for a seat in the Senate. She addressed several key issues during the meeting, such as the need for tax reform and legislation to help small businesses and farms. "Ninety percent of businesses in Florida are small businesses and we need to focus on them. I worry about farms and other agricultural aspects of business, too," Rep. Harris said. Florida...

One Democrat calls his rival the "anti-Christ of outsourcing" U.S. jobs and argues that he's trying to buy a win in the Virginia primary. The other fires back, labeling his opponent a sexist who is hostile to affirmative action and is, at heart, a Republican. Accusations fly freely in the Democratic primary between decorated Vietnam veteran and Reagan-era Navy secretary Jim Webb and former Internet industry lobbyist Harris Miller. The winner Tuesday will face first-term Sen. George Allen, a potential 2008 presidential candidate. Virginia is unaccustomed to primaries, especially bitter ones; the last Democratic Senate primary was in 1994. The...

Harris Campaign Calls on Nelson to Defend Sanctity of Marriage For Immediate Release June 6, 2006 Contact:  Chris Ingram   (813) 288-8400 (Tampa, Fla.) - The Katherine Harris for U.S. Senate campaign called on Senator Bill Nelson to support the Marriage Protection Amendment today. "I believe the majority of Americans strongly support the preservation of traditional marriage. We must never undermine the uniqueness of an institution that continues to serve as an essential thread in the fabric of our society. I support the passage of the Marriage Protection amendment being debated in the Senate," Congresswoman Harris said. Campaign spokesman Chris Ingram...

Responding to Republican claims that she may be too angry to win national office, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told an audience Monday to wear such criticism as "a badge of honor" and suggested that gender played a role in the attacks. "When you run as a Democrat, and in particular, when you run as a Democratic woman, whether you're running at the local, state or national level, it's likely you're going to draw some unfriendly fire," Clinton said at a breakfast fund-raiser hosted by black and Hispanic women supporters. "People will be attacking you instead of your ideas; they may...

Florida Senate: Republicans Supporting Harris Survey of 500 Likely Voters February 6, 2006 Election 2006 Florida Senator Bill Nelson (D) 49% Katherine Harris (R) 40% RasmussenReports.com February 14, 2006--In recent weeks, several Republican political leaders in Florida have stopped trying to push Katherine Harris out of the U.S. Senate campaign and decided to support her efforts. Governor Jeb Bush, Lt. Governor Toni Jennings, and members of the state's Congressional delegation have indicated that they will campaign for Harris. Rank-and-file Republicans have made the adjustment as well. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of GOP voters now plan to vote for Harris in November....

Casey risks angering base, joins Rendell in backing Alito Wednesday, January 25, 2006 BY BRETT LIEBERMAN Of Our Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Robert P. Casey Jr. might have turned the Democratic base against him when he announced yesterday that he supports confirming Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. After refusing to say whether he would support Alito, Casey's decision puts him at odds with abortion-rights advocates, a group whose support is seen as critical to his campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. "It's very disturbing and should worry, I think, Pennsylvania women and civil rights advocates...

PoliticsPA has learned that several influential members of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO have clashed with local, state and national leadership regarding the endorsement of Bob Casey Jr. over Rick Santorum for United States Senate. The divergence has become so great that the Philadelphia Building Trades, led by Pat Gillespie, threatened to split from the Philadelphia AFL-CIO at the endorsement meeting Tuesday night. Leaders representing unions including the Sprinklerfitters, Cement Masons and Longshoremen strongly opposed the endorsement of Casey.

WASHINGTON - Republicans say open races in states where a Democrat is retiring offer them the best chance to increase their Senate majority. ADVERTISEMENT Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, offered an upbeat perspective on the 2006 races Monday. The GOP holds a 55-44 advantage in the chamber, with one Democratic-leaning independent. Dole cited Minnesota, where the party has a single candidate, Rep. Mark Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), running against a number of Democrats hoping to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Mark Dayton (news, bio, voting record). The same is true in Maryland, where the...

Al Franken has moved his radio show from New York City to his home state of Minnesota, in anticipation of a U.S. Senate run for 2008. The host of "The Al Franken Show" on Air America radio says he made the move to meet the residency requirement. "For some stupid reason, the Constitution requires senators to be residents of the states from which they are elected," complained Franken. Franken acknowledges that he may be a long shot. "I mean, I'm way out of shape for a race," said Franken. "I don't have running shoes. I'm not even sure of the...

U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy, the lone Republican candidate for Minnesota's open U.S. Senate seat next year, trails two DFL candidates and leads two others in a new poll from Rasmussen Reports. In the poll conducted Dec. 14, 500 likely Minnesota voters were asked to state their preferences between Kennedy and each of the four DFLers. Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar and children's safety advocate Patty Wetterling narrowly topped Kennedy within the poll's 4.5 percentage-point margin of sampling error. Meanwhile, Kennedy beat veterinarian Ford Bell by 10 points and attorney Mike Ciresi by three. Ciresi, who unsuccessfully sought the seat won...

IS DICK MORRIS AN IDIOT? OR IS HE STILL ON THE CLINTON PAYROLL? by Mia T, 12.12.05 Pirro, he said, also fell into the trap of making a central issue of her campaign that Clinton harbors presidential ambitions and won't finish a second term, a claim that, even if true, doesn't seem to matter much to most New Yorkers. Jeanine to disa-Pirro from race vs. Hil ( Pirro Dropping Out of Race Against Hillary )NY Daily News | 12/12/05 | JOE MAHONEY   Former President Bill Clinton's thesis, articulated on "Meet the Press," is that "large" figures in their...

One thing you're going to hear a lot of, with Samuel Alito the next nominee for the Supreme Court, is Judge Alito's dissent in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the big 1992 abortion case that passed through the Third Circuit on its way to the Supreme Court. Patterico takes a close look at that dissent, and you should go check that out. But what's even more interesting about potentially staging a big fight over Alito's ruling in the Casey decision is the identity of the defendant in that case, the governor who signed into law and defended in court the abortion...

Son of former president may run for Senate seat RENO -- The son of former President Jimmy Carter who is considering a U.S. Senate run in Nevada admits he was discharged from the Navy 35 years ago for smoking marijuana and claiming other drug use. "They came around and asked people if they had ever done drugs before, and I told them I had," Jack Carter told the Reno Gazette-Journal in a story published Friday. "I didn't lie about it. I told the truth." Carter's discharge garnered little attention at the time. He talked about it in a June 2003...

Last week, GOP Rep. Katherine Harris of Florida kicked off her campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. While this should be a much-ballyhooed quest in Republican circles, too few GOP insiders seem to be excited by Harris’s launch. This is a mistake. Katherine Harris is going to win this election for reasons that I’ll outline in this column. But before making the case that needs to be made, let me make a few disclosures. Yes, I did poll for Harris’s successful bids for secretary of state and Congress. But since 2003, I have not served Harris, providing me an...

HILLARY CLINTON'S reelection campaign for the United States Senate in 2006 may be tougher than expected. On Monday, May 2, the New York Observer reported that Clinton might face a challenge from Richard Nixon's son-in-law Ed Cox. Cox, who has declined to make a statement on his intentions, has made steps toward running for Clinton's New York Senate seat, including launching an exploratory committee. Associates to Cox believe that he will win the endorsement of New York Governor George Pataki. By the time Hillary Rodham married future president Bill Clinton in 1975, Ed Cox had been married to the daughter...

Departing Ambassador weighs U.S. Senate bid By STEVE KORNACKI PoliticsNJ.com MAY 11 - Clifford M. Sobel, a businessman and major Republican fund-raiser who will step down as the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands this summer, has told Republicans in New Jersey that he is considering launching a bid for the party's 2006 U.S. Senate nomination when he returns to the Garden State. In the last month, two top state Republicans, state GOP Chairman Tom Wilson and Lewis M. Eisenberg, the former finance chairman for the Republican national chairman, met with Sobel in separate visits to The Hague. Neither Eisenberg...

Dino Rossi on Wednesday said he will not run for the U.S. Senate, citing his desire to have an impact on the political culture of Washington state and the impact that serving in the other Washington would have on his young family. Rossi, a Sammamish real estate investor, narrowly lost the race for governor last year to Christine Gregoire by 129 votes after a third recount of ballots. Since then, Republicans have challenged that outcome and trial is set to begin May 23 in Chelan County Superior Court. It's been widely speculated that if Rossi loses his bid for a...

My dear friend swears this is true: Awaiting the birth of his first child, he calmed himself with the notion that all would be well as long as the kid was born with 10 fingers and 10 toes. It was his self-appointed task to count them. The child arrived. The obstetrician told the proud parents they had a healthy, beautiful child. My friend began the count: one to five, one to five, one to five and one to ... four? Like an incredulous incumbent politician who cannot accept that he lost by the narrowest of margins, dad recounted several times...

....... Murkowski Knowles Murkowski % Knowles % Alaska.. 179,821 173,925 48.8% 47.2% GOP HOLD ........ Coors Salazar. Coors % Salazar % Colo. 1,037,992 1,065,929 48.3% 49.6% DEM PICKUP Martinez Castor Martinez % Castor % Florida 3,433,420 3,270,247 50.5% 48.1% GOP PICKUP Bunning Mongiardo Bunning % Mongiardo % Kent. 989,425 853,658 54.2% 44.9% GOP HOLD Vitter John Vitter % John % Louis. 944,235 559,622 46.4% 27.2% RUN-OFF Burr Bowles Burr % Bowles % N Car 1,721,258 1,606,739 49.6% 46.3% GOP PICKUP Coburn Carson Coburn % Carson % Okla. 665,464 577,572 47.7% 41.4% GOP HOLD DeMint Tenenbaum DeMint % Tenenbaum %...

Candidate for Senate seat has fresh outlook Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach, has represented northern Horry County and several Pee Dee counties in the Senate since the early 1990s and served in the S.C. House for several terms before that. This time around, he has a smart young opponent in Republican Katherine Jenerette, who shows the potential to become a good senator while bringing a fresh outlook to representing the district. She deserves the chance to develop that potential - not least because she shows greater interest than Elliott in working with the Horry County delegation on the issues,...

Arthur A. Small, Jr., is the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa. As challenger to the incumbent Senator Charles Grassley, he stands poised to take back Iowa for everyday Iowans--the very people who have been most ignored by his opponent's policies. Central campaign themes include fiscal responsibility, tax fairness, and the creation of opportunities for ordinary people. Art believes that there is such a thing as "society", and that government can and in some circumstances should play an affirmative role in creating opportunities for the less privileged in the legitimate pursuit of social justice. In personal style, anti-slick is...

CARPENTERSVILLE — Using the fiery oratory that is his trademark, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes stirred up a crowd of supporters Saturday night at an outdoor fund-raiser at Otto Engineering. At times gesticulating, raising his palms in the air and pacing back and forth, Keyes launched into an attack on his opponent moments after he arrived. During his 40-minute speech, Keyes accused Democratic candidate Barack Obama of presenting himself as more conservative than his voting record in the state senate shows. He also encouraged the crowd to shout "Obama been lyin'" in response, a not-too-subtle reference to terrorist Osama...

Make no mistake about it: GOP Senate candidate Alan Keyes' idea for reparations, which he outlined at the City Club of Chicago, is radical and free-market -- radical because it is free-market. Were President Bush to accept his plan, all blacks who can date their ancestry to slavery would be exempt from paying federal income taxes for several generations. The result: a massive infusion of economic power to a group historically disadvantaged, and in particular to black neighborhoods. Imagine it: Industries would fight to locate in areas that are now not exactly prime for economic development. Employees would get to...

Obama isn't only afraid to debate Keyes; he was afraid to debate Steve Rauschenberger. Do you wonder why when Obama is under political fire the response usually comes from Rahm Emanuel or Don Rose? Or Axelrod? He's protected like a hothouse plant.

Alan Keyes on Williams & Whisman (WJBC 1230 AM) ~~~ August 17, 2004 JIM WILLIAMS, HOST: WJBC. Jim Williams, Steve Fast. We're privileged to be joined by the Republican candidate for the Senate this afternoon, that is Dr. Alan Keyes. Dr. Keyes, thanks for being with us. ALAN KEYES: Glad to take the chance. Thank you very much. STEVE FAST, CO-HOST [SUBSTITUTING]: So, Dr. Keyes, I guess one of the big issues that of course has come up many times since your candidacy was announced was that whole carpetbagging issue. I know that on the news shows, on Meet...

I have read various threads about Keyes and the Senate Race. Seems like everyone wants him to run. So I ask you to use the power of the Freep and sign this petition. Get him to run.

WASHINGTON (AP) - California's Senate race is winnable for Republicans but at least 11 others are more competitive, according to the head of the GOP Senate campaign committee. Virginia Sen. George Allen, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, briefed reporters Thursday on the GOP's strategy for expanding its 51-seat majority in the Senate this year. He said the California contest between Republican Bill Jones and Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer was a race to watch, but did not put it on the list of the most competitive seats the party is targeting. Boxer leads in fund-raising and polls and is...

(Raleigh-AP) -- US Senate hopeful Erskine Bowles is among the North Carolina Democrats who are crossing into enemy territory, trying to woo veterans who typically vote Republican. In recent campaign stops, Bowles has called for reform in the way veterans benefits are administered to those who've fought for the United States and their families. Bowles touted his veterans plan in Greensboro today. He was joined by US Representative Mel Watt, a Democrat who was one of just three members of North Carolina's House delegation to vote against the 2002 resolution that authorized President Bush to use military force in Iraq....

I have not yet decided who I will support for U.S. Senate race... my FIRST choice was Dan Webster, who has pulled out of the race.... any suggestions from fellow Floridians...David C. Osborne - Autobiography

Betty Castor, Bill McCollum Come In Tops The results are in from NewsChannel 2's Orlando Sentinel Poll that focused on the U.S. Senate race. Thirty-three of state Democrats favor former education commissioner Betty Castor -- a wide margin over her nearest challenger, Rep. Peter Deutsch, who took in 16 percent of votes. Miami mayor Alex Penelas came in at 9 percent. Four percent were undecided. On the Republican side, former Rep. Bill McCollum leads former HUD secretary Mel Martinez 27 percent to 18 percent respectively. State Sen. Dan Webster raked in 8 percent. A whopping 34 percent were undecided.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer sent a letter Monday to her re-election opponent, Republican Bill Jones, asking him to debate. "With such clear differences between us on the issues, I believe that debates will be a good opportunity for Californians to better understand the clear choice that they have in this election," wrote Boxer, who criticizes Jones on the campaign trail as too conservative for California. "I hope you will respond favorably to this request and that we can begin the process of working out the specifics," she wrote. Jones spokeswoman Valerie Walston said the former California secretary...

Collins exiting from Ga. Senate race? Isakson leads pack; pizza king Cain running strong A leading Georgia Republican Party official has cast doubt on Rep. Mac Collins’s Senate prospects, raising the possibility that he could drop out of the July Republican Senate primary and run for a seventh term in the House. “When all is said and done, Isakson and Cain will be the last two standing,” said Kay Godwin, who oversees the state GOP in all Georgia counties with fewer than 80,000 people. Godwin was referring to three-term Rep. Johnny Isakson and pizza magnate Herman Cain, also running in...

Republican Cain joins U.S. Senate race facing east Cobb Rep. Isakson Tuesday, March 9, 2004 4:00 AM EST E-mail this story to a friend | Printable version By David Burch Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer MARIETTA - An African- American Republican with no prior political experience, U.S. Senate candidate Herman Cain said he sees his status as a Washington outsider as a virtue rather than a drawback headed into the July 20 Republican primary. "I'm in a position to challenge the status quo," Cain, who worked most recently as chairman and CEO of the national chain Godfather's Pizza, said Monday...