So with less than half a year to go, it's time for another look at all the 2008 Senate races. There are 35 seats up for election because of a scenario in Wyoming and Mississippi where both seats are up, due to the passing of Craig Thomas and the resignation of Trent Lott, respectively. Now obviously, quite a few of the races are considered "safe" for the incumbent. So I'll rank these in terms of tiers. The top tier will be the races where the party holding the seat has a real shot of switching. The second tier are races that could become top tier races, but are not at this point. Tier III are ones where a major event would need to happen for the seat to come into play. And the safe seats? Well, Mike Gravel has a better shot at winning the presidency than those incumbents have of losing their races.
Follow me below the fold for all the races. This is meant to be a primer for both newcomers and political junkies alike, so some of the information may seem repetitive for you junkies out there. Also see my previous March diary to see what things have changed since my last update.
Many will remember that there was a time when Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) looked vulnerable. His SUSA numbers were dipping, internal polling showed he was beatable, and a majoirty of Alabamians disapproved of his unwavering support for President Bush and the Iraq War. Not only was Sessions vulnerable, but there was also a viable challenger in Alabama Ag Commissioner Ron Sparks.
However we all know how the rest of this story goes. Sparks considered and declined a challenge to Sessions, explaining his decision as a logical one since he had been told that he could expect substantial primary opposition from State Senator Vivian Figures of Mobile. Sparks believed that it would be impossible for a Democrat to emerge from a divisive primary and then, bloodied and broke, have a decent shot at defeating Sessions.
Since Sparks' announcement in late June, Figures has been seen as dragging her heels in launching a campaign. Figures had planned a campaign announcement for July 14th, but that date came and past without any word from her. However, Figues has now made it official that she plans to challenge Sessions. Considering that she's never held (nor run for) statewide office and is absolutely unknown outside of her district, Figures will have a tough time of it. Most likely, she'll be best remembered as a politician who let her own personal ambition get in the way of Democratic chances of picking up a US Senate seat in the Deep South.
Democrat Ron Sparks announced Tuesday that he will not challenge Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008.
Sparks, the state agriculture commissioner, said he decided not to run after talking with state Sen. Vivian Figures of Mobile, who is running.
"I believe that the best chance Democrats have to win that seat is if we are unified and avoid a primary battle," Sparks said in a released statement.
Sparks is the second Democrat to publicly consider a campaign before opting out; U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham, announced in January he would not run for the Senate next year.
Democratic primaries in Alabama have had a history of being nasty, divisive affairs in the past two decades, and it's understandable that Sparks wouldn't want to face Sessions with a mortal wound delivered by an opponent--or by meddlesome Republicans. Still, this is a profoundly disappointing development. Sparks could have made this a real race.
Alabama's Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks has been pretty busy in recent weeks. He recently returned from a trip to Washington, DC to press for disaster relief for Alabama's farmers. He also managed to squeeze some time in to meet with media guru Karl Struble, who helped put together a winning media plan for Lt. Governor Jim Folsom, Jr. last year, as well as meet with DSCC staff and freshmen Senators Webb and Tester for inspiration on a possible Senate bid against Jeff Sessions. So when can we expect a decision from Sparks either way? According to the Huntsville Times, the answer is early July:
Sparks, a two-term Democrat from Fort Payne, also confirmed that he is considering a 2008 run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile. He said he has received significant encouragement in Alabama and across the country to make the run and is evaluating his chances.
Sparks, 54, said that decision-making process will be completed by early July. He said he is happy in his current job, but there is a two-term limit as commissioner and he needs to seriously consider an opportunity that may come just once in a lifetime. If he does run, the reasons include his concern about the country's budget deficit; that 48 million Americans don't have health insurance; high gas prices; the handling and financing of the war in Iraq; poor veterans health care; and a basic unfairness in tax policy and worker pay, Sparks said.
Now that's what I'd call a campaign of progressive populism.
Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Ron Sparks, who is seriously mulling a challenge to Bush rubber stamp Jeff Sessions in 2008, will make his second appearance on Daily Kos today. Ron will post at approximately 6-630PM EDT this evening, and will be available for Q&A after posting.
This will be the Commissioner's second liveblogging session on DailyKos. You can see his first diary here. I'd keep an eye out on Mr. Sparks' profile in order to catch him live. Unfortunately, I won't be able to join in tonight, but I hope that you drop by and leave a question or comment for the man who just might paint Alabama a bluer shade in 2008.
Drop everything! Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture Ron Sparks, a potential challenger to Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, is liveblogging on DailyKos right now. Drop by and ask him a question while you can!
The Associated Press picks up on what could be a surprisingly lively Senate race in Alabama next year, profiling the potential candidacies of three Democrats: state Sen. Vivian Figures, retired Jefferson County District Judge Pete Johnson, and state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks.
Of all the potential candidates, though, it's Ron Sparks who seems like the most fearless campaigner:
Sparks, who's serving his second term as agriculture commissioner and can't run again, said he's received lots of encouragement to seek the office and is giving it serious thought.
Sparks said a review of Sessions' voting record indicates there would be plenty for a Democrat to talk about, including Sessions' push for a repeal of the estate tax.
"Only 1 percent of Americans would have benefited; 99 percent would not have," Sparks said.
In one breath, Sparks makes it clear why he's a Democrat, and lets it be known that while on the campaign trail, he won't be tempering his core Democratic principles of economic fairness and progressive populism. That's what a Democrat looks like, and that's the kind of scrappy, tough campaign that will be needed if Democrats hope to reconnect with Southern voters. Recall that Sessions attempted to exploit the deaths of Katrina victims in order to build support for repealing the estate tax, so a Democrat could be well-poised to expose Sessions' perverse values.
If Ron Sparks decides to run, the article also notes that he has a leg up on the competition:
As agriculture commissioner, he has been in the news more than some of his predecessors, including promoting agricultural trade with Cuba and showing he can cross party lines to work with Republicans on pushing alternative fuels and improving child nutrition.
Sparks said he will decide in a few months whether to enter the race. But if he does, he's not concerned about ending up like [2002 candidate Susan] Parker did with fundraising.
"From six years ago, the atmosphere has changed completely," he said.
Indeed, the atmosphere has changed dramatically in six years. Six years ago, there was no collaborative Sack Sessions blog, or a Facebook group with over 200 members dedicated to unseating the Senator. And while Dick Cheney recently stopped by the state to help fill Sessions' coffers with an extra $500,000, I bet there wouldn't have been this many negative letters to the editor had Cheney visited in 2002.
Good news travels fast. Ron Sparks, our potential challenger to Republican Senator Jeff Sessions next year, is already addressing questions in the local media about the recent blog buzz surrounding his rumored bid:
Sparks was elected to his second term as commissioner last year, winning 62 of the state's 67 counties. Recently, several political blogs have begun pointing to Sparks as the leading contender to challenge Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions in the 2008 elections. Sparks acknowledged he was aware of the speculation and said he was not ready to rule anything out regarding his future political ambitions.
"We're not taking out any possibilities," Sparks said. "The people of Alabama know my record ... and what I stand for versus the people in office now."
Sparks said he would discuss the possibility of a Senate run with his advisors and hopes to make a decision in a "few weeks or months."
Feisty. And speaking of blog buzz, let's take a moment to survey some of the Alabama netroots' takes on a Sparks for Senate bid.
Ron Sparks can serve up some genuine populism that would give him a serious shot in Alabama. If the damned consultants don't Dino him to death I really expect he could take old Jeffy out. Run Ron Run!
I think he can if we can show enough Alabama citizens how he is more progressive for the everyday concerns of Alabamians. For me this is a beginning for my support for Ron Sparks to run against Jeff Sessions and I want to emphasize that this is nothing more than a beginning with high hopes!
I do, however, plan to vote for Alabama's senator in 2008, and I would rather write in my cat, "Spook E. Cat" than vote for Sessions. I don't know a whole lot about Ron Sparks except that his name is on gas pumps, but if he's at all intelligent, I'll welcome a Democrat I can vote for.
Additionally, a site called Sack Sessions has just sprouted up, and they're looking to recruit local bloggers for "a collaborative effort of the Alabama netroots created to assist in the electoral defeat of Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III (R-AL)". Sounds like it could be fun to me!
On Monday, we profiled the potential Senate candidacy of Alabama Agriculture and Industry Commissioner Ron Sparks against Jeff Sessions in 2008. As you know, we feel that Sparks may be the one guy who can make the Alabama Senate race an interesting, and perhaps even competitive, race next year. The response so far has been very encouraging--both from the netroots and from state and national Democratic leaders.
The Swing State Project doesn't want to let up. I've asked Trent over at the Alabama Democratic Party to see if he could dig up any old Ron Sparks campaign commercials, and he kindly obliged with these two TV spots from his 2006 re-election campaign:
As you can tell, Ron Sparks has built up a record of results for the people of Alabama, something that will be an asset to him should he take on Sessions. There was one comment in the DailyKos discussion of a potential Sparks bid that caught my eye, from countrycat:
Another aspect of his grassroots support that many people aren't familiar with is this little newspaper that goes out from the Alabama Ag Department every month.
It's called the "Alabama Farmers & Consumers Bulletin." You can get free subscriptions if you live in a rural area (which we do)- and it's a hoot. People can place free ads for mules, farm equipment, swap heirloom seeds, etc.
The front page of each paper contains a personal letter from Sparks about what the department has been doing to help farmers and consumers. They're great and focus on food safety, new markets, the dangers of uncontrolled growth, etc.
This is just the kind of "under the radar" stuff that helps a candidate build a statewide organization. People know his name, know him, and like him.
The bulletin, which can be viewed online here, reaches 50,000 readers a month.
In a lot of states, Democrats running in statewide races have to overcome severe deficits in rural areas. While Sparks would still have his work cut out for him in a Senate campaign, he already has built up a relationship with the rural and agrarian constituencies in Alabama through his populist approach. That name recognition and positive association gives Sparks a leg up over virtually any other potential Democratic challenger to Sessions.
Will Sparks take the plunge and throw his hat in the ring against Sessions? I can't give you an answer there, but I can tell you that Monday's netroots buzz was warmly received by the Alabama Democratic Party, the DSCC, and even Sparks himself. Stay tuned.
Many will remember that there was a time when Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) looked vulnerable. His SUSA numbers were dipping, internal polling showed he was beatable, and a majoirty of Alabamians disapproved of his unwavering support for President Bush and the Iraq War. Not only was Sessions vulnerable, but there was also a viable challenger in Alabama Ag Commissioner 
Alabama's Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks has been pretty busy in recent weeks. He recently returned from 
