WataugaWatch

In an e-mail to supporters this a.m., N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper says he won't run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Dick Burr.

Bad for us.

Labels: Richard Burr, Roy Cooper

A quite knowledgeable political insider using the name "Gosh" has posted an astute assessment of Sen. Dick Burr's prospects for reelection at "Under the Dome" (under a thread about the probability that Roy Cooper will run):

Every state has and needs a Star Senator and a Wonk Senator. The Star's job is to raise money, win, and protect the wonk that actually does stuff. Our Star [Liddy] Dole lost, and in the minority aftermath, Burr not only didn't shine as a star but said no a lot to wonk stuff that would make him more effective in order to fill Dole's void. Burr trying to be it all, is equivalent to Burr doing nothing, or everything half-bottomed.

Burr was still learning to be a Junior Senator when his safety net Dole got tossed by 10 points.

Now he's less than nothing, and bad at even that. Burr's neither a star nor a wonk and solidly outclassed by even more Junior members now that he's in the minority.

All partisanship aside, Burr contributes nothing to North Carolina now, and it's not his fault entirely. He just can't. He's already lost. Blame Dole, McCain, Palin, whomever you like. The guy just has no independent presence to break free from the stigma of his own party's failures. He simply can't please the wingnuts and mainstream constituents at the same time, and he's trying to do both.

What the DC Republicans need to determine is if Burr's worth spending $20, $30, $40 million or more to prop up and even make it a close race even though he's still a goner. For the history books, they passed on [Robin] Hayes and were right.

Still, it's a hard decision to make since the GOP has scant places left to go or spend money. So I still predict NC to be the hottest, most expensive Senate race in America in 2010. But only because the GOP giving up and going home is no longer an option. Homeless parties have no place to go.

Labels: Elizabeth Dole, Richard Burr, Roy Cooper, Under the Dome

Senate Guru puts two and two together and comes up with heavy odds that N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper will announce his candidacy by the end of this month for Dick Burr's Senate seat.

That Senate race will be at the head of our N.C. ballots in 2010, and we could not do better than have Roy Cooper leading the slate.

Labels: Richard Burr, Roy Cooper, Senate Guru

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, led by New Jersey's Robert Menendez, is targeting NC's Dick Burr for defeat in 2010. No surprise that, with the powerful mojo of Kay Hagan's "impossible" defeat of super-celeb Liddy Dole last November still percolating.

There's going to be heavy pressure on Attorney General Roy Cooper to step up. Heath Shuler's prospects seem far less bright ever since he joined House Republicans in opposing the Obama stimulus bill.

Labels: Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Elizabeth Dole, Heath Shuler, Kay Hagan, Richard Burr, Roy Cooper

It's way early to be talking about stuff like this, but hey! it's a slow week. Public Policy Polling has obliged us all by polling NC Attorney General Roy Cooper's name against incumbent NC Senator Richard Burr in a hypothetical campaign match-up in 2010, when Burr must run for reelection.

This far out, Cooper is leading Burr by four points and has far better favorables than Burr.

For whatever reason, Dick Burr has an unusually low profile in the state, perhaps even lower than Liddy Dole's, who never even lived in the state and only visited when she absolutely, positively couldn't avoid it. We remember when Burr was first elected to Congress from the 5th Dist. in 1994. He came strutting into Boone for a town hall meeting with the people, blanched at a few aggressive questions, and never held another town hall meeting in Watauga that we were aware of (shades of She Who Must Not Be Named!).

The folks at PPP also point us toward a brand-new "Draft Coop" blog that is looking to sign people up and beat the tom-toms. With the filing period for the 2010 elections just 13 months away, now's the time for the Dems to be seriously shopping.

Labels: Richard Burr, Roy Cooper

Wal-Mart Corp., which has heretofore been content to concentrate on national politics, warning its store managers to warn its workers that Obama is the Antichrist, has evidently decided that it needs also to buy favor among a few state legislators too, just to be on the safe side.

The company's PAC has given some $54,000 so far this election cycle to N.C. politicians. A partial list:

* Hugh Holliman, D, Lexington, $1,000
* Nelson Cole, D, Reidsville, $500
* Harold Brubaker, R, Asheboro, $250
* Jerry Tillman, R, Archdale, $1,000
* Kay Hagan, D, Greensboro, $250
* Phil Berger, R, Eden, $500
* Roy Cooper, D, attorney general candidate, $1,000
* Janey Cowell, D, state treasurer candidate, $500
* Pat McCrory, R, candidate for governor, $3,500

Labels: Hugh Holliman, Janet Cowell, Kay Hagan, Roy Cooper, Wal-Mart Corp.