Bob Kerrey opts out of Nebraska Senate run
By Josh Lederman - 02/07/12 10:01 AM ET

Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) won’t make a comeback bid for Senate in Nebraska, a Democratic source confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.

Kerrey’s decision leaves Democrats with no obvious viable candidate to run for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.).

Without Kerrey in the race, Republicans are in a strong position to pick up the seat, complicating Democratic efforts to keep the GOP from netting the four seats it needs to regain control of the Senate, if President Obama is reelected.

Democrats had aggressively urged Nelson to run for reelection, seeing him as their best option to hold on to the seat in a conservative state where Obama is underwater. When Nelson announced he wouldn’t run again, recruiting efforts turned to Kerrey, the popular former governor and presidential candidate.

Attempting to downplay the setback, Democrats pointed to a GOP primary where they said Republicans had been "at each other's throats" and said the proxy war between the GOP establishment and the Tea Party being waged in Nebraska would allow them to remain competitive.

“We continue to play offense this election cycle in Massachusetts, Nevada, Arizona and Indiana, and remain fully confident that we will hold the majority next year," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Matt Canter.

Nebraska Republicans and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) had pre-empted speculation that Kerrey would enter the race by pointing out that he had moved to New York City, presaging future attacks that would dub him a carpetbagger.

"Even Kerrey knew that Obama’s reckless tax-and-spend agenda made it an uphill battle, just as it will be for many Democrats running in key battleground states," said NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh. "Kerrey’s decision to stay in New York is a blow to the Democrats’ hopes of holding their Senate majority and reiterates why we believe Nebraskans will elect a fiscally responsible, conservative Republican senator next fall.”

On the Republican side, a crowded field has so far failed to produce a standout star. Nebraska state Attorney General Jon Bruning has been running ahead of state Treasurer Don Stenberg and state Sen. Deb Fischer. But Stenberg has been endorsed and aggressively supported by conservative kingmaker and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

Republicans were also reportedly recruiting Gov. Dave Heineman (R-Neb.) to run, perhaps as a warning sign to keep Kerrey out of the race. Kerrey’s decision not to run makes it less likely that Heineman will jump into the GOP primary.

Potential Democratic candidates could include state Sen. Steve Lathrop and Chuck Hassebrook, who heads the Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Neb. But without heavy name recognition or a major fundraising network, neither would start the race in a position to pose a major challenge to the winner of the Republican primary.



Bob Kerrey opts out of Nebraska Senate run - The Hill's Ballot Box