Things may be looking up for the GOP in a few Senate races:

Today Bob Kerrey announced he will not seek the Nebraska U.S. Senate seat that is up for grabs in 2008…….

Meanwhile, according to the Evans-Novak Political Report, Democratic state representative Grier Mier, an Iraq war veteran, says he won’t challenge Senator Elizabeth Dole next year in North Carolina……..

And in Texas, where U.S. Senator John Cornyn appeared slightly vulnerable in recent months, Cornyn’s opponent Mikal Watts has quit the race……

Add all this to the news that the antiwar campaign against Mitch McConnell seems to have stalled in Kentucky,………

2008 sets up to be a volitile year in politics on both sides of the aisle I believe, but the above news is certainly welcome for Republicans.

New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici is expected to announce on Thursday that he intends to retire at the end of this term, which expires next November.

I believe reader David M has told us his popularity has dropped like a rock with New Mexico voters, and if he didn’t tell us he went around everywhere with an aide to help him move, I read that bit of information someplace else. I’m just not sure if David told us that or if I read it.

Expected to make a run for his seat: Rep. Heather Wilson, whom David told us is less popular than she was last year when she won re-election, Rep. Steve Pearce on the Republican side and Rep. Tom Udall on the Democratic side. (Those Udalls are all over the west, aren’t they?)

Other possible Democratic contenders could be Albuquerque Mayor Martin J. Chavez and state Lt. Gov. Diane Denish.

The Senator is retiring for health reasons, but did say he went through hell this year when the Senate Ethics panel investigated whether he and Wilson had influenced a corruption probe against Democrats by contacting later fired US Attorney Iglesias.

By the way, have you noticed we haven’t heard anymore about the “scandal” of firing US Attorneys since Gonzales resigned? Think it was all show and no action for the sake of politics? Hmmm.

This is a good read, enjoy.

Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) isn’t giving an inch on revealing his plans.

No matter that he hasn’t raised much money for a 2008 reelection bid (fueling speculation that he will not run for a sixth term). Or that this influential legislator on defense matters is challenging the White House’s policy on Iraq (suggesting perhaps that he’ll stick around to finish business
Right now, he will say only that he remains focused on passing the proposal he introduced last week with Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) to revisit what he calls the “obsolete” war authorization and require the administration to begin drawing up nonbinding troop redeployment plans. Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday postponed votes on the defense authorization bill and any war-related amendments, including Warner’s, because Republicans demanded a 60-vote margin for passage. But Warner was undaunted.

“We can’t have any more loss of life. We need to restore the loss of credibility in some measure of the country and remain a respected source of authority in that region,” said Warner, 80. “We want to bring a measure of stability to Iraq, but at the same time, this needs to be brought to a conclusion.”

As a longtime senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Warner is a highly respected voice on the conflict. The World War II veteran and former Navy secretary startled Republicans last year when he returned from a trip to Iraq and said that the country seemed to be “drifting sideways.” And as the Armed Services Committee’s chairman during the Abu Ghraib scandal, he raised eyebrows when he insisted in 2004 that Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary at the time, testify under oath.

Story