Bowers is a little depressed about the state of our Senate recruitment efforts. I don’t blame him. We have some serious holes. But, at the same time, we have some exciting candidates that are in the considering phase. And we should start pushing some of them. Most of the Senate seats that are up for reelection are from the south, plains, and mountain states…in short, Bush country.
I’m just going to highlight two possible candidates and the vulnerabilities of the incumbents.
OKLAHOMA: James Inhofe has a 46%-41% approval rating. That’s not very good. We are not going to be putting up a well known candidate against him (unless Dan Boren or Brad Carson change their minds). But we do have an exciting prospect in Andrew Rice. Rice’s biography is very interesting. Here’s a sample:
He attended Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Rice graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies and a minor in African American Studies. He was one of 12 “Senior Scholars” to complete an undergraduate dissertation in a specialized area. Andrew’s dissertation was on the relationship between American Jews and African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement.
Rice was accepted to Harvard University Divinity School and deferred his admission for one year to work and travel in Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. In Sri Lanka he worked with the largest Buddhist Grassroots NGO in Asia, helping with rural development in Village life and in the conflict zone. In Thailand, Rice worked for the country’s largest private AIDS Hospice. In India, Rice studied local addiction problems and treatment.
In 1997, Rice enrolled in Harvard University Divinity School and pursued a Masters in Theological Studies. His area of focus was the role of religion in social justice movements, and the origination of anti-Semitism in the early Christian Church. He graduated from Harvard in 1999.
While in graduate School Rice returned to India with his sister Amy Rice to shoot a documentary about the AIDS pandemic there. In 1999 he completed the film, From Ashes, which centered around an ex-convict who runs a hospice for rejected HIV+ people near Bangalore, India. From Ashes screened at film festivals in the United States, Canada, and India.
In 1999 Rice moved to New York City to work as a freelance documentary producer and editor. He worked on programs for the BBC and PBS, including segments for The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.
On September 11th, Andrew’s older brother, David Rice, was killed in the World Trade Center, where he worked for the investment firm Sandler O’Neill. David was a graduate of Bishop McGuiness Highschool and former Fullbright Scholar in South Africa. He was 31-years-old when he was killed.
Due to this tragedy, Andrew decided to re-dedicate his career to social justice work and moved to Austin, Texas in February 2002 to work for the advocacy organization the Texas Freedom Network, which counters the influence of religious extremism in politics.
Rice is young, idealistic, and energetic. Inhofe would have a real race on his hands, and we could get excited about a man that is dedicated to fighting religious extremism in all its many guises.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: John Sununu has a 47%-44% approval rating. That’s just lame. The mayor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Steve Marchand, is also a compelling candidate. From his bio:
He received a B.S. in International Relations, and a B.A. in Public Relations, from Syracuse University in 1996. Marchand received his Masters of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University in 1998…
In 2000, Marchand was named the Northeast Regional Director of the Concord Coalition, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization advocating fiscal responsibility while ensuring that Social Security, Medicare, and the American economy are secure for all generations. He oversaw all of New England, as well as the State of New York.
Marchand’s political consulting includes acting as Campaign Director for former Executive Councilor Jim Normand’s 2002 New Hampshire gubernatorial primary campaign in 2002. Marchand also served as Deputy Campaign Manager, overseeing policy and communications, for State Sen. Mark Fernald’s 2002 gubernatorial campaign. Marchand acted as campaign director for 2004 1st Congressional District nominee Justin Nadeau.
Following the 2002 campaign season, Marchand was named New Hampshire’s political “Rising Star” of the year by the influential political web site politicsnh.com, as well as one of the 105 people with the greatest influence on the 2004 New Hampshire Presidential Primary.
Marchand’s firm, Pembroke Strategies, quickly developed a list of clientele that includes some of the most influential groups in public policy, including AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) and SEIU (Service Employees International Union). He also has consulted for political campaigns at the federal, state and local levels. Pembroke Strategies also worked with international delegations in promoting democracy and emergency management systems for such developing nations as Tajikistan, Georgia, Belarus and Macedonia.
During his first term on the City Council in 2004-2005, Marchand received attention for his efforts to reform the city’s budget process into an “outcome-based” model, emphasizing transparency, public input, and results-based policy-making to deliver Portsmouth’s highest-priority goals efficiently.
Rice is 34 years old, Marchand is 33. We need more candidates like these fine young men to infuse the Senate with a new sensibility from a new generation. Other candidate to keep your eyes on: Alan Bates in Oregon, Robert Barber Jr. in South Carolina, Ron Sparks in Alabama, Larry LaRocco in Idaho, and Mayors Mark Bedich of Alaska and Mark Fahey of Nebraska. I’d also like to see Debbie Hammons step up and make a run against Mike Enzi in Wyoming. We don’t have many heavyweights to run in Wyoming, but it would help raise Hammons’ profile. We need candidates in every race, no matter how difficult. And we need some women candidates.
