Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Lewis Out in the 2nd District
« Patronage Politics | Main | Northup Running Again »Congressman Ron Lewis is retiring. Unfortunately, he picked the filing day to make it public. His last minute decision effectively closed the nomination process for Republicans. Lewis's former chief of staff Daniel London filed for the race while submitting Lewis's withdrawal paper work.
State Senator Breth Guthrie got wind Lewis's possible retirement and was there to file for the race on Tuesday. At least the Republicans will have a choice in the primary and not just Lewis's hand chosen replacement.
I am sure the late withdrawal was done by design. It served two purposes. First it created a small Republican primary field. Secondly, it kept bigger name Democrats from running for the seat. On the negative side, the Republicans are now behind in fund raising due of the late start.
Personally, I am sad to see Lewis go. He has been consistently the most conservative representative in Kentucky with a life time ACU rating of 92.4. His presence in Washington will be sorely missed. I wish him the best of luck with his future endeavors.
With Lewis out, the 2nd district moves into the toss up category. Even so, I still think Republicans have a good chance of retaining this seat.
First off, the district has moved decidedly more Republican during Lewis's tenure. Secondly, Ron Lewis will be working with the Republican candidate to help them get elected. In addition, I believe McConnell will have coat tails in this years election. Especially in the second district. On top of that, the Democratic presidential candidate will likely perform poorly in the second. Their weak performance will be a drag on whoever the Democratic candidate is.
