Elizabeth Warren's Senate Gamble: Grimes, Nunn and Tennant

[dsteve01]

Yesterday morning I received an email from the Warren Campaign. She's pushing hard for three new female candidates in the senate. It sounds like this is her plan to push for a liberal senate.

Warren, E. (2013, December 6). That's What Little Girls Do. (Personal Correspondence).

[. . .]

We need a lot more women to make the same decision I did - to run for office, to make thier voices heard, and to fight for what they believe in. We've got 20 women in the United States Senate. That's great - but we need a lot more.

That's why I'm happy to be supporting three smart, strong omen running for the Senate in 2013: Alison Grimes in Kentucky, Michelle Nunn in Georgia, and Natalie Tennant in West Virginia. They are in tough fights, and they need strong grassroots support.

Alright, Warren, I'll do my part and do a quick write up--for you. Also, because I have no idea who any of these people are.

Alison Grimes



Fullname: Alison Lundergan Grimes. She used to be a practicing defense attorney from Lexington, Kentucky. She claims that her victory in a domestic abuse case is what inspired her to run for the Senate.

An in-depth poll from November puts her in a "dead heat" with Mitch McConnell. An upset here would spell disaster for the Republican party.

Lake Research Partners. (2013, November 8). New Poll Reveals McConnell Vulnerabilities. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/183332001/New-Poll-Reveals-McConnell-Vulnerabilities?secret_password=1jhymfgobsfsd8do93tf

The data reveals a dead heat between Alison Lundergan Grimes and Mitch McConnell among likely voters. the sitting Senator attracts just 37% of the vote, putting him on equal footing with Grimes' 37%. Not only that, he lags slightly behind Grimes (27% to 29%) in strong support. Meanwhile, 19% of the voters are undecided, and the third party candidates absorb the rest of the vote (2% for Patterson, 4% for Marksberry).

For more context please consult the following article:

Horn, R. (2012, November 2). This Woman's Work: Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes Goes to Frankfort. Retrieved from http://ctkschool.net/files/7113/5965/7643/Grimes_30-34.pdf

Michelle Nunn



Fullname: Mary Michelle Nunn. She's a former non-profit CEO of Points of Light, an organization that, "bring[s] the power of people to bear where it matters most" as it's mission statement. She's been working as at least an executive of PoL since 1990. She is the daughter of former senator Sam Nunn.

Public Policy Polling. (2013, August 6). Georgia Senate Starts As Toss Up. Retrieved from http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/08/georgia-senate-starts-as-toss-up.html

Nunn herself is not all that well known- 61% of voters don't have an opinion about her and those who do have one are closely divided with 20% viewing her favorably and 19% unfavorably. But there's no doubt that the Nunn family brand remains very strong in the state- her father has a 56/12 favorability rating even after nearly 20 years out of office and his appeal cuts across party lines- he's at 64/7 with independents, 58/16 with Republicans, and 50/12 with Democrats.

Everyone seem to appreciate the work she does. See below citation:

Strauss, D. (2013, December 2). Conservative Georgia Newspaper Praises Senate Dem Candidate Michelle Nunn. Retrieved from http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/conservative-georgia-newspaper-praises-michelle-nunn

Natalie Tennant



Fullname: Natalie E. Tennant. She's the current Secretary of State for West Virginia. Before that she worked as a television news anchor for several affiliates.

She clearly faces an uphill battle with Shelly Capito, but could easily win an election against Pat McGeehan.

Public Policy Polling. (2013, September 23). West Virginia Survey Results. Retrieved from http://images.politico.com/global/2013/09/23/senateresults.html

[. . .]

Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Natalie Tennant?

Favorable ----- 39%
Unfavorable ----- 32%
Not Sure ----- 20%

[. . .]

Q7 If the candidates for Senate next year were Republican Shelley Moore Capito and Democrat Natalie Tennant, who would you vote for?

Shelly Moore Capito ----- 50%
Natalie Tennant ----- 36%
Not Sure ----- 14%

[. . .]

Q9 If the candidates for Senate next year were Republican Pat McGeehan and Democrat Natalie tennant, who would you vote for?

Pat McGeehan ----- 32%
Natalie Tennant ----- 42%
Not Sure ----- 26%

Tennant will have to sell herself to a more conservative audience then Nunn and Grimes. She faces an uphill battle from the get-go there. However, her current Secretary of State roll let's her start the campaign cycle with the additional funding required for such an uphill battle--I hope.

No citation there. If she doesn't have campaign cash then she's probably screwed.

For the offical biography on Tennant, check her State-provided webpage below:

Harris, B. (2013). West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant. Retrieved from http://www.sos.wv.gov/secretary-desk/Pages/biography.aspx

[Tom Rinaldo]

1. K&R. Thanks for taking the time to put together some background for us n/t

[dsteve01]

3. No problem

It was a pleasure

[Joe Bacon]

7. Need to add the Act Blue links!

Important to add the Act Blue links for all three of these ladies!

[mountain grammy]

2. K & R Thanks!

[Politicub]

4. Michelle Nunn has been barnstorming the state

And there's a lot of excitement about her campaign.

[dsteve01]

5. Alison "Lundergan" Grimes

I messed up. I thought her middle/maiden? name was her last. Please forgive this. I'd edit it out if I could.

[A Little Weird]

13. It's her maiden name

I think she tacks it on for the name recognition. Her father was involved in politics for a long time.

[iandhr]

6. I went to the YDA conference in Charleston, WV.

Tennant was the keynote speaker.


I remember being very impressed.

[lancer78]

8. Ugh, being tied to Warren

will hurt these candidates more then it will help.

[Coyotl]

11. May I remind you, women are in the majority, and

the 1950s are over

[irisblue]

12. why are you stating that?

[lancer78]

15. Because if I was a dem

in a conservative state I would avoid being tied to a supposed rising liberal star. Just smart politics.

[DirtyDawg]

9. Whatever you...

...do, don't hang the 'liberal label' on Michelle Nunn. She's been positioning herself as the same kind of 'Blue Dog' that her daddy was (became) - which, I suppose, is better than an 'out-and-out' Republican (but not much). Frankly, woman or not, if you don't come across as an Obamacare-hatin, smaller guvment-lovin, pol, you ain't gettin anywhere down here - at least not in a state-wide race. But if she could become anything like Warren, then I don't care what she has to do to get elected, I'm for it.

[A Little Weird]

14. I think the same is true for Grimes

But even if she is not as liberal as I would like, she is worlds better than Mitch McConnell. I think she has a real chance to beat him so she has my full support! Plus Kentucky has never had a woman senator and I think it's high time we did.

[UCmeNdc]

17. Agree!

[Coyotl]

10. Thanks. Couldn't agree more with "We need more women in government."

[UCmeNdc]

16. Thanks for the information.

Publicity makes for awareness. Cannot donate money to good candidates one is not aware of.

Thanks!