Posted in Election 2012, National Politics, News, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Politics

Herb Kohl to retire!

   May 13, 2011

JSonline is reporting that Senator Herb Kohl will not run for re-election.

A Democratic source said Friday that U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) has decided not to run for re-election after serving in the U.S. Senate since 1989.

Who runs for his seat?

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40 thoughts on “Herb Kohl to retire!”

  2. Let’s see….hmmmmmm, who’s got experience, name recognition, fundraising capability, a proven winner, hmmmmmm, let me think about it for a bit!:-)

  3. He can run the campaign “A chance to right a wrong”

    Then he can sit behind ROJO and slap him on the head everytime he says something stupid!

  5. I was really looking forward to Sen. Feingold taking on Gov. Walker. Would there be time to go that route and still run for the open seat should the recall fail? And if successful, would it not be preferable to retain the seat spending as little political capitol as possible, saving the big guns for a run at Johnson later on? Or is that too far ahead to think about.

  6. The timing on any recall would likely preclude him for running for Senate (just math).

    I’m not a huge feingold fan, so I leave that to you folk.

    This, However, is a sad day for the largest fitz. He was going to take on Herb Kohl, and now… he’s gonna have to fight through a primary with the golden boy Paul Ryan.

  7. To be honest, despite all the talk of Sen. Feingold running against Gov. Walker in a possible recall election next year, I just don’t see that happening. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has already made it clear he’d like to take another crack at Walker if a recall election did come to pass, and logically it would make sense for Feingold to then run for Sen. Kohl’s seat.

  8. Oh, and no doubt Kohl’s announcement will likely mean Dave “10%” Westlake will jump into the race, despite the fact that Westlake’s only shot at winning a Republican primary would be if Stephen Finn was his only opponent.

    1. Popping in again to set the record straight: Westlake is NOT running. Ask Ed, he reads (stalks) my Facebook 🙂 I’m behind Neumann all the way.

      1. Ashley is correct…when she told Dave I was considering a run he politely declined…this afternoon if it warms up I intend to buy a Powerball ticket so that I can fund my campaign…

      1. No way. I’m much better served by having Ed here. 🙂 The heck everyone else, Ed’s one of the best posters here & when he runs for office, this place is not quite as good.

  10. Yes I think Russ would have to pick one or the other. The thing is now the Senate seat if for sure up for grabs. While I personally THINK that there will be a recall, there is no guarantee.

    Russ if very politically in tune so I am sure he has numbers on all of the scenarios that no one else is privy to. If he wants back in, he will pick the race where he thinks he has the best chance of winning.

    As for waiting for ROJO, we have 4 1/2 more years of Rojo(sickening isnt it), Imaging how much the political landscape will change between now and then. Look at how the political landscape changed between October 2010 and March 2011. Plus an old baseball analogy, always pitch your #1, because tomorrow it might rain.

    As for Westlake, after listening to ROJO speak I would much rather have westlake there. That being said, id rather have Ed there than westlake and rojo combined!

    1. I wouldn’t rather have Dave Westlake, because he’s even further to the right than RoJo, and that would be bad news for Wisconsin.

  11. One less millionaire in DC who does not listen to the people. He seems like a nice guy, for a rich white guy, but he was a far left ideology who had little respect for the taxpayers in this state.

    1. Sen. Kohl is far more moderate than you are giving him credit for…as for white millionaires in DC who don’t listen, our Sen Johnson is holding to that tradition with flying colors!

    2. “…for a rich, white guy…”

      That’s “rich”…(*laughing*)…

      Where the hell did THAT come from?!

      You’re white, right, Nota? So, why use that term?

      1. I think what Nota is trying to say is that rich white guys are okay if their politics match up with his, but if they don’t then they need to go.

        1. Pretty sure he’s going the other way with it. It’s more of a lefty thing to bitch about rich old white guys. Form who the contempt magically disappears when you add the adjective liberal to rich, old, and white.

          Personally, I never minded Kohl much. Once upon a time, he was a really sharp guy. But Kohl’s time has certainly passed and sharp is just not a word that comes to mind any more. One of his quotes really got me:

          “I’ve always believed it is better to leave a job a little too early than a little too late,”

          Seriously Herb, you’ve been a perfect example of this, just not in the way you think. He’s been the most ineffectual Senator for some time now. I listened to him talk a couple of years ago – he manged to go for an hour, but I’m pretty sure he took a nap immediately thereafter.

            1. this time last year I was thinking that Sen. Kohl would retire at the end of his term…and then he came into the state Democratic convention with both guns blazing and I’ve gotten more emails from him on federal issues this past year than I can remember…so I just assumed he was running. This totally surprised me.

  12. So I guess the question is guys what seat do you want more? The Governorship or the Senate? Pick carfully because it’s only going to be one, IF THAT. If I were you I would go with the Senate because Feingold is not an executive type. A poll finds that at best as of a month ago already that Feingold would tie Walker. In a year that picture will probably be much different after all the anger has calmed down. Of course the summer recall elections will determine a lot. If democrats don’t take back full control of the senate it won’t be good for them. I think we can all agree on that.

  13. I will agree that it is important to take back the Senate.

    I will not agree that “its only going to be one” nor will I agree that Feingold is “not the executive type”….After Walkers mess. any local Barista looks like more of the “executive type” than Scott does/

  16. Would like: Kind or Baldwin for Dems, who would defeat Ryan. This would have Feingold becoming guv in the recall election. Purty Paulie’s near toxic now, and will be a pathetic joke by November 2012, especially with Obama at the top of the Dem ticket.

    My prediction of what will happen: Feingold over Van Hollen, with Falk or Kind as guv. Ryan stays in House only through gerrymandering district.

  18. I don’t know if Tammy can win, to be honest. She’s doesn’t really drive motivation for me.

    I think a likely scenario will be one of the fitz’s v. Ron Kind or Tammy Baldwin.
    JBVH isn’t interested in DC.

    Frankly, our best statewide candidate continues to be Tom Nelson from Outagamie County, but I’m a broken record on that point.

  19. This DJ- I’ll go with Nelson to either take out RoJo in 2016, or be the guv nominee in 2018 to replace Feingold or whoever it is that beats Walker in the recall election. Let’s have Nelson get a term under his belt in Outgamie County, and he’ll be even tougher to beat.

    I also have severe questions about Tammy as a statewide candidate, and think it’s much better for her to move up in the House and maybe parlay that into Dane County Exec or replacing Soglin as Mayor of Madison over the next 8-10 years if she wants.

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