Great: Mark Pryor to run unopposed for Senate after Republicans fail to field challenger
posted at 9:43 pm on March 10, 2008 by Allahpundit
That would be Mark Pryor, first-term Democratic incumbent, running in a reliably red state.
[T]he Republicans’ inability to field any Senate candidate in a Southern state that twice favored Republican George W. Bush for president this decade is yet another blow for a party that lost six seats and its Senate majority in 2006, and is mainly playing defense against further Democratic gains this year.
Having missed the filing deadline, any Republican who might belatedly decide to run against Pryor would have to do so as a write-in candidate…
Pryor becomes the first senator to draw no opponent from the other major party since 2006, when Indiana Republican Richard G. Lugar enjoyed a free ride in his campaign for a sixth term.
Be sure to take a moment to send an e-mail to the NRSC to thank them for the bang-up job they did here in making the Democrats work for their majority. Exit question: You-know-who got the last laugh after all, didn’t he? Heart-ache.
Update (Ed): Beyond the disappointment of the story’s subject matter, I have to marvel at the writing. Pryor’s the first Senator to run unopposed … since 2006? How many elections is that? Answer: none. When Lugar ran unopposed in 2006, did people write that he was the first since 2004?
Blowback
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The GOP better win the presidency because the Dems are going to win big in congress, especially the Senate.
dedalus on March 10, 2008 at 9:46 PM
Hey, don’t chide the GOP.
You were part of the crowd that told conservatives to go f**k themselves. Pryor and McCain are ideological equals. You, my friend, are the one who reset the bar to exclude social conservatives and evangelicals. You only have yourself to blame.
highhopes on March 10, 2008 at 9:47 PM
What’s funny is that the top of the site says “2 seats to capture the senate”
in small print, it should add “but no candidates willing to run”
lorien1973 on March 10, 2008 at 9:48 PM
heck I would have run, But I live in the wrong state.
As the great comedian Curly Howard put it:
WayWard Fundamentalist Christian on March 10, 2008 at 9:51 PM
Allah, you powerful dog, you.
Slublog on March 10, 2008 at 9:55 PM
is Dole still running this?
jp on March 10, 2008 at 9:55 PM
The RNC is so slack. You don’t see the chairman anywhere. I don’t even know his name, do you? Plus no enthusiasm from the base, the conservatives are heading to a long dark and depressing years ahead. God help us.
mariloubaker on March 10, 2008 at 9:58 PM
I never said something like that. Also, I didn’t support McCain until he was the nominee. If Mitt had won I’d have supported him over either Dem.
Any problems the GOP has in congress began long before this round of presidential primaries.
dedalus on March 10, 2008 at 9:59 PM
this should be a firing offense for whoever is responsible for not finding someone to run against him. geez
jp on March 10, 2008 at 9:59 PM
Well, now. What a craptastic way to end the day!
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on March 10, 2008 at 10:00 PM
If that was at AP, not me, then my bad.
dedalus on March 10, 2008 at 10:02 PM
All I know from the RNC is that I am supposed to blindly vote for whatever candidate they field–even if that candidate calls me a racist, a nativist, or whatever.
And if I still insist on the silly notion of voting per my beliefs and values–and don’t vote for their boy, then I am an unpatriotic American to boot.
Oh joy.
Montana on March 10, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Dittos!
petefrt on March 10, 2008 at 10:04 PM
If that was directed at me, as an anti-Huckster:
If evangelicals were dumb enough to fall for Huckleberry’s nonsense, then they deserve to be ostracized. There were better candidates running; no one told them to go for the jovial Santa of the South. As a “social conservative,” and a Christian (which might translate to evangelical), I’m repulsed by the phony Huckabisms that were suddenly “all the rage” amongst “evangelicals” (P.S. Who did they ask?). So do I care that a half-bag Republican won’t be challenging a Democrat? Only because of headcount and the party-loyalty factor.
emailnuevo on March 10, 2008 at 10:07 PM
P.S. That should have said “If that was directed at me (and the anti-Hucksters”
emailnuevo on March 10, 2008 at 10:08 PM
I keep getting these anoying e-mails from the RNC asking for money.
I always reply, “Not another $0.10 until the borders are secure.”
Maybe the Repulican Party in Arkansas, and most other states, are feeling the effects of in-action, no true conservative leadership, and seeing the party lead by the nose by RINO’s wanting to appease the Liberal Democrats.
Until that changes, I see more of this happening across the nation.
We are unhappy with the current leadership, and we will not just replace one RINO with another.
Seven Percent Solution on March 10, 2008 at 10:10 PM
Golly, they could have at least advertised that they needed someone for the position. I’m sure there are plenty of conservatives who would do a great job, most of them not politicians.
kc8ukw on March 10, 2008 at 10:11 PM
Wait, here’s the good part, they want us to donate money so they can win… those idiots make the Keystone Cops look like geniuses.
Zorro on March 10, 2008 at 10:11 PM
Congratulations, Allah.
Sorry, I had to do it.
amerpundit on March 10, 2008 at 10:12 PM
I don’t see it as the fault of the national or even state party that no individual wanted to run for the office. Running against an incumbent is pretty much loser territory.
crosspatch on March 10, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Amen.
Allah, it really is tasteless of you to try to blame this on Huckabee and post that picture of him in this thread. Huckabee made it clear (just like Obama) that he was running for President, *not* Vice-President. Huckabee made it clear that he has no interest in being a Senator. It’s not Huckabee’s fault that no one else stepped up to the plate to run against Mark Pryor, and it’s fairly offensive that you try to portray that it is his fault, or that he is somehow having the last laugh about it.
Red Pill on March 10, 2008 at 10:16 PM
First they have to actually find a Republican.
Anyone seen one lately?
Limerick on March 10, 2008 at 10:19 PM
Didnt stop Alan Keyes or Hillary Clinton :0
Squid Shark on March 10, 2008 at 10:19 PM
gomer freaking pyle
custer on March 10, 2008 at 10:19 PM
Made even more true by…..you guessed it: John “Maverick” McCain with his campaign finance reform bill (aka free love for incumbents bill)
Gads I love the GOP. …spit…
Montana on March 10, 2008 at 10:20 PM
Ha, we moderates didnt need to be tolkd to suck it up and vote because we knew to do the right thing for America, I guess having “principles” makes you a crybaby who would rather let the country go into the toilet because the Republicans failed to kiss you ass this time around.
Squid Shark on March 10, 2008 at 10:22 PM
At least AP didn’t find yet another way to bash Fred Thompson or cowboy hats (two things that go “bump” in the night for Northeasterners).
Montana on March 10, 2008 at 10:22 PM
Hell, even the the RepubicRATs in Wisconsin found sacrificial lambs to run against Nobody’s Senator and McCain’s best buddy last time around. Guess the RNC, the NRSC and the Arkansas RepubicRATs are serious about remaining in the minority.
steveegg on March 10, 2008 at 10:24 PM
One flush is as good as another chumley. Curiously, you don’t see me demanding you vote my way…yet here you are doing just that. Did you always follow the crowd, or is this a new phase?
Montana on March 10, 2008 at 10:24 PM
Another reason to hate huckabee
Lance Murdock on March 10, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Nice catch, Ed. One would think that Congressional Quarterly would hire competent writers, but I guess that’s why only ‘Rats consider the LeftStreamMedia more-reliable than bloggers.
steveegg on March 10, 2008 at 10:34 PM
My point exactly, we didnt need to be told to vote for Bush, we knew it was the right thing, facing the alternative.
I am most concerned because both of these assclowns (Hillobama) can do plenty of damage to the military in 4 years, likely 8 if the defeatism of the RNC holds.
I dont want to be party to Vietnam Part Deux.
I dont want to explain to my grandkids why I was part of a military that lost for only the third time in history…
Squid Shark on March 10, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Sorry if I left the impression that I consider Huckabee an “evangelical.” Huckabee quotes scripture to back up his socially liberal ideology. That doesn’t make him an evangelical by my definition. Evangelicals, IMO, are those who legitimately base their positions on issues based on their faith and the values that come from that faith.
Pryor, Huckabee, and McCain all come from a different viewpoint that has essentially told social conservatives and evangelicals (by my definition) to f**k off. The values and positions of this group has been the mainstay of the GOP for decades now but there is no room in the GOP tent for this crowd with the re-emergence of the Rudy/McCain wing of the party.
Those of us who feel disenfranchised have been told to shut up and support McCain in the name of party unity when the man offers nothing in return to show he even wants my type in the party. McCain’s people talk openly of taking California in the general election. I would suggest that there is absolutely no way McCain can do that and respect even one of the values I care about.
I’ll close with this thought. I heard McCain’s speech down here in New Orleans over the weekend. He was utterly uninspiring, acted as if he wanted to be somewhere else, and generated zero enthusiasm from a crowd in a state that should be an easy win for McCain in November. There was no energy and all the same claims (lies IMO) that McCain is a conservative. This man was foisted on the party so if the GOP has difficulties finding Republicans to run in Senate races they have no one to blame but all the voices that deliberately forced social liberals on a base that is now demoralized and disenfranchised. They may vote for McCain in November but they will not go out there and do all the groundwork necessary to ensure victory. The fault for this lies expressly in the way real conservative voices were choked out early by the way the primaries were engineered.
highhopes on March 10, 2008 at 10:41 PM
This must be how the Dems felt in 2002.
Squid Shark on March 10, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Fact of the matter is, unless the Congressman who holds the one GOP seat in Arkansas wants to give it up for a risky run at the Senate, there’s absolutely no Republican in the State besides Huckabee and the Hutchison bothers that anyone has ever heard of. Tim Hutchison pissed away the seat in the first place with his philandering (with plenty of help from Religious conservatives who then backed the dem despite his liberal positions), and Asa Hutchison just got beat pretty badly in the governor’s race (I’m not 100% sure on that). Arkansas may be red in the pres race but it’s pretty darn blue in most other elections (atty general, state house and senate, 3 of 4 House seats).
If there’s a strong candiate waiting in the weeds, they are much better off running against the other senator when she’s up again, as she is considerably more liberal than Pryor.
BuzzCrutcher on March 10, 2008 at 10:54 PM
Does a write in candidate have to be a citizen of Arkansas or can anyone become Governor if they get the write in majority?
Buddahpundit on March 10, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Senate, I meant.
Buddahpundit on March 10, 2008 at 11:01 PM
You can’t win if you don’t play.
SoulGlo on March 10, 2008 at 11:10 PM
Thank God the Democrats are almost equally inept right now.
Perhaps we’re heading for governing gridlock, with both parties to stupid to do anything at all.
Now that I’d support.
lodestonejames on March 10, 2008 at 11:11 PM
Pickin’ and grinnin’….
thank you Rev. Huck for pied-pipering many social-cons away from viability. You done good squirrel eater– we now have a super-duper candidate cross-over candidate in John McCain. Lucky for us the Hillary-Obama deathmatch marches on. It’s keeping the MSM busy for a while.
Cold Steel on March 10, 2008 at 11:17 PM
Maybe we can get Denny Hasert to run against him?
2Tru2Tru on March 10, 2008 at 11:26 PM
The Arkansas GOP is a joke.
someguy on March 10, 2008 at 11:31 PM
The Libertarian Party recently gained ballot access in Arkansas after a long-fought battle.
Does anyone know if they are able to run a candidate against Pryor, and if so, are there any rumblings of an LP challenger to the Dem?
When the GOP fails to run candidates, we should always look to the Libertarian Party as a fallback.
ericdondero on March 10, 2008 at 11:35 PM
Quick! Find an Alan Keyes like you did in Chicago.
Boy, unlike those idiots like Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Sean Hanitty et. al, you Washington Republicans are soooo “relevant”. What, with most of you writing for the “brilliant” New York Times and all. Go you Washington boys! Show them what!
RMR on March 10, 2008 at 11:35 PM
The AR GOP is incredibly lame. I live in Little Rock and sent several e-mails to the party asking who they were going to run against my Dem Congressman Vic Snyder and they had no one. I said that I’d be happy to run against him and we exchanged a few e-mails, I sent them my resume and a brief bio of myself, they responded positively to my background and then…nothing. I’ve attempted to follow up and…nothing. I don’t think the party is interested in winning here. I also suspect that Wal-Mart and Tyson may have something to do with it since AR Conservatives are opponents of illegal immigration, something both WM and Tyson support. I’m going to start up a Conservative org here soon to try to get more Conservatives elected in this stupid state. I’m originally from PA.
DerKrieger on March 10, 2008 at 11:45 PM
Again, but another example of why I think the GOP is f00ked in November.
Big dem primary turnout.
Weak rep primary turnout (even when we had choices).
Hastert’s seat goes to a dem.
And now this? The GOP can’t even field a friggin’ candidate?
Good grief, w.t.f.
Midas on March 10, 2008 at 11:46 PM
the gop establishment is seriously a bunch of dumb
old
white
men
blatantblue on March 10, 2008 at 11:50 PM
the term gop looks gross to me as of late
note: nothing wrong with being white, idk why i threw that in there.
bunch of old country clubbers!!!
blatantblue on March 10, 2008 at 11:51 PM
Ah, don’t worry. It’s not like we Republicans could have used that Senate seat this year. We kinda enjoy this minority thing. Takes off all the pressure of having to “lead.”
Sugar Land on March 10, 2008 at 11:55 PM
Lugar had a Libertarian opponet, which, in many parts of Indiana, qualifies as the “other major party”
jones on March 11, 2008 at 12:59 AM
If my memory serves, Lugar’s Libertarian opponet got over 30% of the vote. I believe that is comperable or better than his last Democrat opponet did.
jones on March 11, 2008 at 1:01 AM
This is the McCain effect kicking in big. El Jorge and his amigos, Mel Martinez, Juan Hernandez, McNasty, Lindsey Gramnesty, etc, etc, engineered this primary to get a liberal in the door for the one big thing they want to accomplish, flooding this country with tens of millions of mexicans. Who was in charge of the RNC when they decided to jury rig the schedule, why it was ole’ Mel Martinez, propbably the most ardent backer of the amnesty bill. The GOP needs to clean house and do some RINO hunting! These so-called moderates, (a word when you blend a moron and an idiot), were too stupid to see that the candidate that they wanted was so hated by his own party that he would cause most of them to walk away. Have any of you noticed that blog articles about McCain are getting less and less comments now? It isn’t because conservatives are just giving in, they are walking away from the whole mess and leaving the conversation. I don’t read as much or write as much anymore simply because I am done with the GOP. I don’t f**cking care, I’m going to go into that booth and vote a straight dem ticket just to punish ALL of them. And don’t give me that crap about how much worse the dems will be than McCain, HE IS ONE! He isn’t getting my vote. I’m gonna stick a flame to the GOP’s ass until it learns to dump the RINO’s.
Bikerken on March 11, 2008 at 1:05 AM
The GOP shot themselves in the foot long ago and apprently they continue.
As I said back in January, RIP GOP
LewWaters on March 11, 2008 at 1:55 AM
The wording is a bit odd, especially since I don’t recall there being that many special elections called in the past two years, re: the U.S. Senate.
Gerard on March 11, 2008 at 2:52 AM
is Dole still running this?
jp on March 10, 2008 at 9:55 PM
Ensign, IIRC.
Trust me, by November you’ll be pining for the days of Liddy Dole as NRSC chairman.
Gerard on March 11, 2008 at 2:57 AM
I can only assume that the Republican Party has no aspirations this November of retaking any Senate or House seats.
Can we stop pretending that this is a serious political party?
And can the RNC please stop calling and asking for money?
seanrobins on March 11, 2008 at 7:16 AM
I’m still trying to figure out why this should annoy me.
Beyond the generic complaint of the GOP throwing this election, the degradation of the GOP itself, and some of the subsidiary problems that accompany that, e.g. me-tooism, a greater ability of the Dems to cater to the unappeasable left, etc…
I mean, why is it bad that one of the more conservative members of the U.S. Senate is going to be re-elected? This isn’t Pryor pere, i.e. eighty percent ADA rating, not someone who you’d generally support as a registered Republican.
Granted, I dislike the idea of noncompetitive elections as much as the next person-based on general principle- but I don’t see why this particular story should rouse my ire.
Gerard on March 11, 2008 at 7:53 AM
Stick a fork in the RNC.
Wade on March 11, 2008 at 8:27 AM
I’m in Bentonville. Contact me, please. My crosshairs are set on Lincoln already.
shibumiglass on March 11, 2008 at 9:44 AM
shibumiglass on March 11, 2008 at 10:13 AM
Who do they think they are? Wisconsin?
Adamski on March 11, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Not to float a conspiracy theory, but — the RNC does in fact appear to be deliberately ignoring several opportunities to run candidates. Could it be that, since they were b**tch-slapped this past summer over the illegal immigration issue, they have decided to get back at conservatives by deliberately permitting the Dems to take Congress?
Now that sounds crazy but — fact is lots of Washington insiders might be just happy to be a minority party again, like they were back in the 70′s. Because — they get all the perks, but no blame and no responsibility, and they don’t actually have to do any work at all.
SunSword on March 11, 2008 at 11:18 AM
No way.
But then, I’m not an insider.
shibumiglass on March 11, 2008 at 11:34 AM
To elaborate, I don’t think GOP members rally around anything as a group. Do you? I think it’s pretty much every man for himself.
shibumiglass on March 11, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Please enlighten me as to what about Mike Huckabee’s stand on the issues is “socially liberal”. His stand is the most socially conservative I have seen from any candidate in my lifetime, including Reagan. You just don’t like him or trust him. You refuse to forgive anything he might have done wrong in your eyes while he was governor of a state that was 90% Democrat.
How very Christian of you.
Red Pill on March 11, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Could it be that George Soros is influencing not only John McCain but also the RNC?
Red Pill on March 11, 2008 at 12:11 PM
It sounds like you have as bad a case of HDS as Allahpundit has.
Red Pill on March 11, 2008 at 12:13 PM
shibumiglass and DerKrieger,
There is an interesting attempt to start exactly what you are talking about. Go to the following link and see if you like what you see. Complete with an opportunity to start State Chapters.
http://americanconservativeparty.org/
JP
JustPlainBill on March 11, 2008 at 1:42 PM
Thanks, Bill. I’ll check it out.
shibumiglass on March 11, 2008 at 2:23 PM
Senator Lugar, in my mind, was that consistent a conservative. He caused an up-roar that he had to retract two days later when he agreed with the Democrats on withdrawing troops from Iraq because they started using it to make political hay in pushing the troop to come home. That kind of political stupidity won’t be missed by me, frankly, and if the have nothing but Lugar to offer, dispite the ramifications, I’d prefer the seat go to a Democrat.
Look, the economy is tanking in a big way and government is proping it up at this moment. Russia’s going back to its Cold War ways, and China’s doing something with all those fly overs towards Japan and military defense increases regardless of whether it is defensive or offensive leads you scratching your head saying, “What are we in for?” Then there’s Iran and nuclear weapons which I see no Global Community seriously interested in deterring. Democrats whether in the Congress or White House, or State Legislatures are pumping for higher taxes in a BIG WAY. Oil pricings are beyond my comprehension. Things are gonna get ugly before they get better no matter what. I want that rested squarely on the “Cause” of this “Effect”, not pawned on US as it has been done so many times before.
Sultry Beauty on March 11, 2008 at 4:20 PM
This keeps me believing that the Republicraps have made a deal with the Demmican’ts.
Why did the NY GOP desert Jeanine Pirro hang out to dry against The Beast? They left Rick Lazio, (admittedly a lame candidate), to swing in the breeze. It reeks of collusion.
Christine on March 11, 2008 at 9:14 PM
Delete: “hang out to dry”.
Christine on March 11, 2008 at 9:15 PM