|
Sen. Dole escapes challenge from Rep. Miller |
|
By Aaron Blake
|
|
Posted: 06/26/07 07:06 PM [ET] |
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) is a little safer today following Rep. Brad Miller’s (D-N.C.) announcement yesterday that he would not run against her in 2008.
The announcement is a blow to national Democrats, who had been touting Miller as a leading potential challenger. Miller delayed launching his House campaign while he weighed a Senate bid and talked to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee (DSCC).
In the end, he said he simply prefers the House and cited his wide margins of victory in recent elections.
“I am immensely grateful for that kind of support,” Miller said. “This decision was not just about me. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right one for my family, my friends and my state.”
Miller said the DSCC provided him with “generous offers of support.”
“I received numerous phone calls, e-mails of encouragement and support, causing a long and serious deliberation on my part,” he said.
The DSCC says Dole remains vulnerable. But it is the second seat where Democrats failed to recruit a publicly discussed House member.
Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio (D) heard the committee out earlier this year when it tried to woo him to challenge Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), but eventually he decided to stay in his House seat.
“Dole’s approval rating is consistently well below 50 percent, and that’s without an opponent having even joined the race,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “North Carolinians are hungry for new leadership, and we’ll have a strong nominee who can deliver it.”
Democrats have cited Dole’s sub-50 approval ratings and polls that show Democratic candidates, including Miller, within striking distance. But Dole’s name carries weight in North Carolina, and Democrats need a strong candidate to unseat her.
“This is no surprise to us, that another potential Democrat challenger has faced reality in North Carolina; Sen. Dole is as popular as ever,” said a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rebecca Fisher. “Once again, Republican senators have proven their strength in the states.”
Dole has $1.5 million in hand for her reelection bid. She was first elected in 2002, when she defeated Democrat Erskine Bowles 54-45.
|
