No big surprise, but Representative Brad Ellsworth officially became the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Indiana today. The former sheriff elected to the House twice from Indiana's "bloody eighth" district will face former Senator Dan Coats.

Early polling of this match-up gives a clear advantage to Coats, but the Republican has an enormous amount of baggage:

"The only thing he's an outsider to in this race is Indiana, since he didn't even have a residence in Indiana until he decided he would run for the U.S. Senate," said Adam Elkington, a spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party.

"Hoosiers have a clear choice in this race for Senate: a Washington, D.C., lobbyist who represents Wall Street banks, foreign nations and corporations that ship Hoosier jobs overseas, or a former sheriff from Evansville, Indiana, who will represent Hoosier families."

Democrats have hammered Coats over his lobbying for, among other clients, major Wall Street interests. His firm has done work for Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and the New York Stock Exchange.

 

There's also a chance that gun advocates including the National Rifle Association will endorse Ellsworth over Coats. Any comments or speculation about this race are welcome in this thread.

When the two out of three are two of Indiana's freshman Congressmen, and they do not want to end the occupation in Iraq.

The story from Maureen Groppe in The Indianapolis Star.
Some of the article is below the fold.

My friend The Honorable Congressman Joe Donnelly and my friend the Honorable Congressman Brad Ellsworth, are not sure if they will support the Iraq war spending bill because it has a timetable attached and specific goals with it.

My friend The Honorable Baron Hill and former Congressman Lee Hamilton both support this measure as do I.

There's more...

Once again, here's the list of the Blue Dogs (plus Sestak) who are against the supplemental because of the conditions it imposes. I removed Kirsten Gillibrand, because she signaled she'd vote for the bill after internal deliberations and public pressure from her supporters.

Here's the list, with three new members (Lincoln Davis (TN-04), Joe Donnelly (IN-02), and Bob Ethridge (NC-02)). Lots of Indiana reps on the list, which is nice because it's Evan Bayh whose wavering in the Senate (along with the Nelsons, of course).

Michael Arcuri (NY-24)
John Barrow (GA-12)
Melissa Bean (IL-08)
Dan Boren (OK-02)
Jim Cooper (TN-05)
Bud Cramer (AL-02)
Lincoln Davis (TN-04)
Joe Donnelly (IN-02)
Brad Ellsworth (IN-08)
Bob Ethridge (NC-02)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-20) ???
Baron Hill (IN-09)
Tim Mahoney (FL-16)
Jim Marshall (GA-08)
Mike McIntyre (NC-07)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
John Salazar (CO-03)
Joe Sestak (PA-07)
Heath Shuler (NC-11)
Gene Taylor (MS-04)

Today's big win in the Appropriations Committee is good for momentum. Win or lose, Pelosi is an amazing Speaker.

From a source close to the House Democratic caucus, here's a list of Blue Dogs that don't want to vote for this bill because it has a certain date for withdrawal.  

Michael Arcuri (NY-24)
John Barrow (GA-12)
Melissa Bean (IL-08)
Dan Boren (OK-02)
Jim Cooper (TN-05)
Bud Cramer (AL-02)
Brad Ellsworth (IN-08)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-20)
Baron Hill (IN-09)
Tim Mahoney (FL-16)
Jim Marshall (GA-08)
Mike McIntyre (NC-07)
Collin Peterson (MN-07)
John Salazar (CO-03)
Joe Sestak (PA-07)
Heath Shuler (NC-11)
Gene Taylor (MS-04)

It's sad to see some freshmen we supported on the list.  Joe Sestak, Kirsten Gillibrand and Michael Arcuri had some online support from the progressive netroots.  Tim Mahoney, Heath Shuler, Brad Ellsworth, and Baron Hill were mostly to nearly all Rahm recruits.

These people are the Democrats that held Pelosi and the progressive hostage on the language for a firm withdrawal.  They are keeping the war going.  They need to be brought over.

UPDATE: Sestak isn't a Blue Dog, and I'm told that Kirsten Gillibrand just wants to see the bill first. Mmmkay. Color me skeptical. A simple public statement would do wonders.

UPDATE AGAIN: Kirsten Gillibrand has publicly stated she will vote for the supplemental.

There's more...

There were no real surprises in the Indiana congressional primary races, but I thought I'd give an update to the pre-primary story from April 6th. My biggest disappointment, of course-- though not exactly unexpected-- is that instead of a clear choice between a proud progressive (Gretchen Clearwater) and an unabashed neo-fascist, 9th CD incumbent Mike Sodrel will have to face ex-Congressman Baron Hill, a moderate former congressman. Hill isn't my kind of Democrat but he'd definitely be a HUGE improvement over Sodrel. Interestingly, Hill seems to have drawn significantly more voters than Sodrel today, something that bodes well for November. Similarly in the 8th CD, Democrat Brad Ellsworth is drawing a similarly lopsided turnout compared to hysterical right-wing maniac John Hostettler.

There's more...