He’s baaaaack! Joe “Cuff Him!” Miller has filed papers for another Senate run in Alaska next year, where he’ll take on incumbent Democrat Mark Begich. In 2010, Miller became a unique example of the Tea Party activist who knocked off an establishment Republican in the primaries but then lost to that same Republican in the general election (Lisa Murkowski launched a successful write-in campaign to retain her seat). Begich is considered extremely vulnerable this cycle; he won the seat in 2008 after an very close race with Ted “Series of Tubes” Stevens. (Photo credit: AP) source
Another Democrat retiring: Michigan Senator Carl Levin has announced that he won’t seek reelection in 2014. In theory, this places what would have been a safe Democratic seat up for grabs. In reality, the seat will be up for grabs until after the Republican primary, at which point it will revert back to being a safe Democratic seat. Okay, in all seriousness, Levin’s retirement is indeed a blow to Democrats hoping to retain control of the Senate, but considering that Michigan is generally a pretty blue state, it’s not as big a deal as, say Jay Rockefeller’s retirement in West Virginia (Photo credit: AP). source
We are doing a lot of reaching out to some of the tea party folks across the state. What we’re finding — at least in this stage of the race — we’re finding that our interests align. It’s unusual.Keith Rouda, a field organizer with the liberal PACS MoveOn.org and Progress Kentucky, on the shared interests of Democratic donors and tea partiers in Kentucky. Both groups want Mitch McConnell out of the Senate, albiet for different reasons, and so they’ve struck up somewhat of an alliance. Apparently, Democratic donors have told state tea party groups that they’ll help bankroll the primary campaign of a credible right-wing challenger to McConnell, and one state Democratic group has already circulated petitions urging potential candidates to challenge McConnell in the primary. This is the exact same tactic Democrats used in Missouri last year, and it worked out pretty well for Claire McCaskill. source
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