Go for it Jim! Kerry’s negatives are in the 40s in Massachusetts. He lost a lot of popularity after losing the Presidential race. He could be vulnerable and Ogonowski has already proven himself to be a strong and credible challenger in a Democratic area. He scared the pants off of Niki Tsongas last year when he came close to beating her in a district she should have easily won.

A day after announcing he is mulling a run for the US Senate this year, Republican Jim Ogonowski criticized incumbent Democratic Senator John F. Kerry as a Washington insider who is out of touch with average Massachusetts residents.

“We need someone who represents the working-class people of Massachusetts,” Ogonowski said in a phone interview yesterday. “Kerry doesn’t live here. You don’t see him on the streets of Boston, of Worcester, of Lowell, of Pittsfield.”

Ogonowski, a Dracut farmer and retired military officer who lost a close race for Congress last fall in his political debut, said party leaders and activists in Massachusetts have urged him to challenge the Democratic incumbent and 2004 presidential nominee. Ogonowski said he is “strongly considering” entering the race and will decide on his candidacy in the next two weeks.

The Boston Globe

“No matter what Wayne Gilchrest and E.J. Pipkin say on the campaign trail, their records demonstrate that they are not conservative, and they will not fight for taxpayers in Congress,” Mr. Toomey added. “In Congress, Gilchrest has a long record of voting for pork, voting for tax hikes, and voting against political free speech. In the Maryland State Legislature, Pipkin has demonstrated a similar tendency, voting for massive increases in government spending and eminent domain abuse.”The Club for Growth

Pat is correct. Both of these guys suck. Here is the ad they are running in MD-01

Andy Harris is running against Gilchrest in the GOP primary.

Looks as if we may have a competitive race in New Hampshire.

Horn described herself as a conservative Republican but said she is more moderate in supporting civil unions for same-sex couples and favoring “common-sense restrictions to protect kids from guns.”

National Republicans have been attempting to recruit her into the race for several months. She currently faces a nominal primary challenge from attorney Jim Steiner, though other candidates could emerge before the June filing deadline.

Horn hosts a daily talk show on a statewide talk-radio station and writes a weekly column for the Nashua Telegraph. In the run-up to the presidential primary in New Hampshire, she interviewed many of the Republican and Democratic candidates on her show.

She said she entered the race because “it’s time we stop electing lawyers and politicians and people who have spent their entire lives setting themselves up for the next office.”

Hodes, who upset former GOP Rep. Charlie Bass in the last election, was a practicing attorney before winning election in 2006. He starts off with a solid financial head start, with more than $550,000 in his campaign coffers at the end of September.

National Republicans haven’t viewed the western New Hampshire district as a top pickup opportunity but are optimistic that Horn is well-qualified to mount a serious challenge. The district, which gave John F. Kerry 52 percent of the presidential vote in 2004, leans Democratic.

The Politico

She has a Web site here

Lindsey Graham’s first serious opponent in the South Carolina Senate race is on the air targeting the incumbent on immigration.

Honestly, I think this ad goes way over the top and plays very nicely into Graham’s accusation that many opponents of the McCain immigration plan were driven by racism.  The McCain plan, which Graham supported, was a disaster for several reasons, and Graham left himself open to plenty of legitimate means of attack.  Personally, though, I don’t think this was one of them.  Fortunately former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride is also in the race.

Your thoughts?