A source has told me (and it’s already being reported) that State Senator Julie Lassa of Stevens Point is not only planning on running for the seat in 7th Congressional district, but that Sen. Lassa will be the Democratic nominee for that seat.
I’m assuming this means the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin have decided on Sen. Lassa as their “chosen one” to replace retiring Rep. Dave Obey, and if Lassa has been anointed by Democrats, it’ll be interesting to see how her being the chosen candidate plays out throughout the campaign.
That may be a little premature. There is at least one, and perhaps more, unannointed candidates consider the race. This might not be the best year to be the hand-picked candidate of the party bosses in Washington, which is how I’d describe it if I were challenging her.
What on earth is wrong with some competition? Democrats have been waiting 40 years for a chance to run for Congress in the 7th CD.
xoff, I have no doubts there will be at least one other Democrat in the race, but it’s pretty clear Lassa is the candidate preferred by the DPW and the DCCC.
What I meant was that saying she is the nominee may be a little premature. She may have to earn that in a primary.
I’m hoping she’ll have to earn it in a primary.
What do you think the odds are that Kevin Shibilski runs for the seat?
He’s always wanted to run, but Obey is leaning very hard on him to stay out. He’s still undecided, but could be a strong candidate if he does get in.
As I’ve written, I’d like to see him run. I think he’d be a solid candidate, and the voters deserve a chance to choose for themselves.
Credit to you both for being critical of the approach to anoint a candidate instead of leaving it to the voters. The parties certainly have every right to select their candidates however they see fit – and since I belong to neither, I don’t have a true say in their decisions, but I don’t particularly care for the approach the DPW seems to be taken in this regard. It may well prove to be a successful strategy – we’ll have to wait and see – but I think it’s pretty undemocratic.
I always prefer that the voters decide for themselves. Case in point would be here in the 4th CD, where Rep. Gwen Moore actually has a Democratic challenger for her seat. While I know the prevailing rule of thumb is that you don’t challenge an incumbent from your own party, I think that Democratic voters should have a chance to make their opinions known on whether they think Rep. Moore has done a good job.