Thursday, March 30th, 2006...8:47 pm
Ed Ableser Swearing In
Arizona’s newest senator, Ed Ableser, was sworn in today. For those that have been following this story, Ableser was picked for the seat over Meg Burton Cahill, the Democratic candidate for that seat. Ableser is a candidate for the House seat that Cahill is abandoning to run for the Senate.
Come on, it really isn’t that confusing.
There have been worries, not particularly well founded, that Ableser is trying to edge out Cahill. I have no reason to think this is true. Cahill is still the candidate for Senate, Ableser is still running for House, and there is no indication that that is going to change.
To demonstrate this, Ableser let Cahill sit in his seat before he was sworn in. Ableser wanted to show that he is just keeping it warm for Cahill.
I understand that the Democrats laughed, but did anyone happen to see Laura Knaperek’s face when that happened?
NB - According to the alphabet, Ableser is on the top of the Senate roster, knocking recent appointee Paula Aboud to second place.
2 Comments
March 30th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
My take is that the Board of Supervisors decided Cahill already had all the name rec she needs to win the seat on her own, and that by making Ableser a Senator they potentially gave HIM the legitimacy he needs to win the House seat. So, according to this logic, Cahill wins the Senate seat anyway, Ableser does better for the House seat than he would have before (potentially winning in a landslide this time), plus Ableser brings in all those students who will also vote for Cahill and, more importantly, Mitchell. It’s actually a brilliant piece of campaign strategy — and one that makes me seriously reconsider Mitchell’s chances against Hayworth.
March 31st, 2006 at 12:27 am
Well, that would work, except there are 4 Republican Supervisors and 1 Democrat. So, they may be brilliant strategists, but for the wrong side? I think not. What they did was choose the option that would be the most confusing and weird, hoping that the local dems will implode. They were also doing damage control. Thing is, Meg coming in as an incumbent is horrible for whatever sacrificial lamb they run against her. And remember, they need TWO seats in the Senate and only one in the House.
That being said, this is still a really good opportunity.
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