The news started to roll with the announcement from North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan stating he will not be running for re-election in 2010.  Things started rolling faster when embattled, embroiled, or just plain beat up, Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd said he to will be taking a pass on running for re-election in 2010.

In Connecticut there are already a number of Democrats and Republicans lining up to seek the Dodd seat, but his official move now may change things enough that a higher profile Democrat with a record of being elected statewide may step into the breach now for Connecticut Democrats – and if nobody who legitimately fits that profile does step in – what does that say about the overall national environment if blue Connecticut can’t bring in a ringer? UPDATE: Democrat A.G. Richard Blumenthal is scheduled to announce his candidacy for U.S. Senate today.  Finally – the man makes a decision.

On the North Dakota side of the ledger Dorgan’s announcement comes as a surprise to many.  Though there has been a decent amount of chatter as folks pondered a November contest between North Dakota’s sitting Republican governor John Hoeven and Senator Dorgan.  The next couple of days will be very interesting in North Dakota as those with an interest in serving in the United States Senate – both Democrat and Republican – gauge the cold political winds blowing across the state.  Republicans are doing well in North Dakota despite a flood of national Democrat money over the past couple election cycles.  If Democrats are only able to pull up a retread candidate from the past, this seat will flip over to the R column.  UPDATE:  Republican Governor John Hoeven has said he’ll have a decision on whether or not to run for the open seat in the next 2 weeks.

You can read more about Dodd’s and Dorgan’s decision here.

Lastly – in what could be a leading indicator of things to come in Colorado, Democrat Governor Bill Ritter is announcing (to a surprised Colorado Democrat establishment) that he too is not seeking re-election in 2010.  Ritter was elected by wide margins in 2006, but clearly things have changed – and are still changing – in Colorado.  We wonder if Ritter’s departure is another indication that the Colorado model is coming apart for Democrats.

Get more on Ritter’s decision here.

Team Obama got a strong backhand from Democratic legend Mudcat Sanders and they deserve every bit of it.

This is a strong tongue lashing from a guy who has been toiling in the fields of Rural Democrat politics since before most of the “administration experts” have been out of high school,  as a political hack I can relate to organizers on the D side fairly easily, the process is all the same no matter what side you are on and Mudcat is 100% right here.

This story further demonstrates the unfounded arrogance of the White House and the staff there who are attempting to run away from a guy they are appearing in commercials for, Creigh R. Deeds.  Yes, to be fair Creigh ran a very poor campaign but it was not exactly his fault.  The irony here is that if Obama was not governing so far to the left in DC, Deeds would have won the race handily.  The fault for Creigh Deeds upcoming loss in the VA governors race will rest squarely on the shoulders of Barack H. Obama and the administration and they cannot admit that even to themselves.

Oh, there’s much more to read on this one.

“Trillions in new spending.”

“Unprecedented government intervention.”

“Chipping away at your rights.”

“Chipping away at your freedom.”

The voice talent is several steps above what either Bob McDonnell’s or Creigh Deed’s campaign has on their spots, and the ad stands out from the normal flow campaign T.V. spots.  In short – it’s going to stand out amid the normal campaign clutter.

Who’s spot is it?  Watch and see.

He has a good point. Today’s politics is a lot different than it was in Branstad’s hey-day. Today, opposition research is pretty easy. Google makes it so. Even looking for the really embarrassing courthouse stuff is easier, thanks to the Internet and the increasing willingness of courts to post documents online.

But, as Rants pointed out, Branstad is shielded from some of this because the stories written about his four terms are all pre-Google.

Well, today it looks like Rants is trying to even the scales. He’s added a new feature to his web site — an archive in which he’s scanned “news from the 80s and 90s,” as he puts it.

Don’t expect a lot of stories about Duran Duran, Big Hair or the A-Team.

Man who couldn’t do with a dose of some B.A. Baracus! See all of Ed Tibbetts’ post here.

“I’m voting for the lesser of two evils,” Laurie Moss, 59, a secretary from Cherry Hill and a Republican, said in a follow-up interview, explaining that she favors the governor’s re-election though she thinks “he speaks with a forked tongue.” She added: “I’m not happy with our property taxes. I’m not happy with a lot of things. But Christie doesn’t offer anything better.”

Steven Schwartz, 55, a litigation consultant from Montvale and a Democrat, said Mr. Corzine has “mishandled the fiscal side” and done a poor job of working with legislators. But he said Mr. Christie has offered nothing but vague promises. “He’ll cut spending and taxes and restore the property tax rebate. How?” he said. “If ‘none of the above’ were an option, I would take it.”

“None of the above…”calling 1985.

Wow this is one of the most brutal flip flopping responses to a question by a candidate for Governor that I have ever seen.  What a total mess this guy and his campaign is:

Just watch him squirm and laugh, this video will be shown at candidate training schools for a long time as the best example of how NOT to deal with the media:

There’s so much more to this post than what’s above. Ride over to see the rest at DC Vaquero.

The volatile 2010 Republican Primary race for governor in Texas has become a toss-up, with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison currently inching ahead of incumbent Rick Perry by two points – 40% to 38%.

A new Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 telephone survey of Texas GOP Primary voters finds just three percent (3%) support Debra Medina, a tea party activist who joined the GOP race this month. But 19% are not sure who they favor.

Perry led Hutchison by 10 points in mid-July – 46% to 36%. In May, however, Perry led just 42% to 38%. This is the first survey that includes Medina.

Perry now leads among men, while Hutchison has the edge among likely women primary voters. The incumbent leads among those who identify themselves as conservatives, while Hutchison is ahead among party moderates and liberals.

Is Charlie Crist Indoctrinating Our Children With Bland Moderatism?

By Kyle Munzenrieder in Politicks, Twitter Mafia

Wednesday, Sep. 16 2009 @ 4:27PM

Normally politicians’ Twitters are horrendously boring things. Dan Gelber’s is no exception, except for about a minute ago when the state senator from Miami Beach and attorney general candidate roasted Charlie Crist, and in effect, RPOF chair Jim Greer.

Cool find, and thanks to Miami News Times.