(Bumped from the user diaries. - promoted by Thomas)
With all this activity in the 2008 elections recently there has been a rather noticeable hole in the discussions which I mean to shine a light onto with this post. There are a number of campaigns which have announced their formation recently or are anticipated to launch in the near future for several Congressional races around Indiana. Noticeably absent from these discussions is the fact that Julia Carson has not made clear what her plans are for 2008 in the key Democratic stronghold of the 7th District.
There have been rumors of health issues preventing her from running since before her reelection last year and those rumors have persisted. Today, the Swing State Project released its 2008 House Open Seat Watch and Carson's 7th district seat was included on that list with health issues cited as the reasoning for inclusion on the list. A quick Google search of news about Julia Carson results in very few links, mostly quick quotes from her regarding how she voted or intends to vote on a handful of issues, but no substantive discussions of the 08 campaign or her plans for the future.
So what gives? Will she run one more time? Fundraising reports for the last two quarters show anemic fundraising efforts on her part which would seem to indicate that she is not taking the idea of running too seriously. Even if she didn't intend to run shouldn't she, as the incumbent in the seat, take advantage of the fundraising environment in DC to build up a nest egg to donate to her designated successor? Or is this the issue no one wants to discuss that is causing the deafening silence on who is running next year?
Carson's supporters in the district have been under fire from all sides this year. There is a rather noticeable fault line between the supporters of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and Carson's backers. The blogs have been detailing splits between Peterson and Indianapolis City-County Council President Monroe Grey, a key Carson ally rumored to have his eye on her seat should she announce her retirement. Julia's grandson Andre Carson has also been mentioned as a possible successor, though he has not held elected office before.
So our most speculated upon possible candidates should Carson retire include an embattled CCC member and a political neophyte with family ties. A resurgent GOP operation in Marion County is gathering steam on the back of the property tax reform movement and have had surprising results at the ballot box against Carson the last couple of election cycles. A strong GOP candidate in 08 could conceivably create a problem for the Dem nominee in what has been a Democratic stronghold for 35 years dating back to when Andy Jacobs, Jr. first captured the seat.
So where do we go from here? We have got to find a potential candidate that could run a strong campaign against an unknown challenger. It's time to begin the process of weeding out who will run for the nomination. A candidate must begin fundraising in earnest in the near future if they expect to win in November 08. These issues need to be settled ASAP and Ms. Carson should do her constituents a final act of service by providing us with a definitive answer about her plans for next year. We need to know the district is going to remain safely in Democratic hands.
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