Our Potential Candidates: Andrew Horne
Matt Gunterman July 10th, 2007
As the vulnerability of Senator Mitch McConnell (R) becomes a growing theme across the nation and since so many people out there are interested in knowing who the potential Democratic candidates are who can defeat the Dark Lord of Kentucky politics, I thought I’d revisit that subject today.
We’ve taken pretty close looks previous at DitchMitchKY of two potential Democratic candidates against Mitch McConnell: Louisville business mogul Charlie Owen and Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo.
To remind you of the strengths of those two candidates, Owen brings statewide name recognition and millions of dollars to the race, while Greg Stumbo’s name recognition likely exceeds Owen and he’s a ferocious campaigner.
We’ve mentioned Andrew Horne here before, but it’s been a while, and circumstances have changed and it’s time to take a closer look at Horne.
We’ve all been hearing that it will likely be after the November elections before we know who is getting into the Democratic field for this 2008 Senate race. Now, don’t get discouraged about that. As Joe Sonka pointed out yesterday, Jim Webb didn’t jump into the race against Senator George Allen until December.
Also, I think there is going to be a tremendous GOTV infrastructure developed in Kentucky with immense resources pumped into the commonwealth from above, and this will be done all for preparation for a November thumping of Governor Ernie Fletcher in November, but the machine will be well-oiled and ready to grind up Mitch McConnell in 2008.
I tell you these thoughts because there’s no need for us Democrats to get impatient. The resources will be there: we just need to worry about having a field of viable candidates and selected the best to run against Mitch.
So, let’s take a look at Lt. Col. Andrew Horne, who’s a 44-y.o. retired Marine. Presently, he’s a spokesperson for Iraq Summer, the group that led the protest that Joe reported on recently, and is a senior adviser for Vote Vets. In march, he delivered the Democratic response to one of George W. Bush’s radio addresses (you can listen here).
And while Horne has never held elected office before, he’s certainly not a newcomer to Kentucky politics. His classy handling of himself and his campaign in the 2006 Democratic primary against eventual winner John Yarmuth endeared him to many and also proved that he’s a team player: he’s about advancing a progressive, Democratic agenda. That’s good.
Also, I’ve heard from several of my contacts in western Kentucky that he’s attended some party and political events down that way. That’s also a good sign, and shows that he’s making a concerted effort to introduce himself to the party faithful outside of his base of Louisville. Word of mouth is a powerful and cheap tool for him at this stage.
I have never met Horne, but my gut tells me, as a candidate, he’d be a fighter on par with a Stumbo. To have Horne on stage with McConnell would be a nice juxtaposition, I believe. And, Horne is a fresh face to Kentuckians, and that might be the very sort of face Kentuckians will be looking for in 2008.
There’s a growing “Draft Horne” movement out there. There’s already a Facebook group behind the effort, and it’s bigger than the similar “Draft Stumbo” and “Draft Owen” groups combined. It’s good to see young people getting behind all these candidates, quite frankly, and I know that, should there be a competitive primary, all these candidates and their supporters will united behind the nominee.
The Democratic party in Kentucky is growing up like that in recent years; we’ve seen what happens when we fight amongst ourselves and Mitch McConnell has his way because of it: utter disaster is what happens.
- 2008 KY U.S. Senate Race , Andrew Horne
- Comments(17)
Hey, Matt! You didn’t mention Mark Nickolas’ favorite candidate for this race: Bruce Lunsford!
Hey, don’t be mean. Bruce Lunsford took it like a champ and in the end he stood with all the other Democrats and with zero Republicans.
I’d be willing to consider Bruce Lunsford against McConnell. After all, he did come in 2nd in the Democratic primary in May. I did have some problems with his Fletcher endorsement, but the guy showed some class when he conceded to Beshear.
Count me a Horne fan. When you meet Andrew, you’ll be convinced that he’s the real thing. And he’s a hard worker who inspires others to work just as hard.
What about Ben Chandler? With the DSCC going after Mitch, will Ben budge? What about Jonathan Miller?
Andrew, Jonathan, or Ben. My choices for 2008 to Ditch Mitch.
I really really really really want Horne to enter the race.
Chandler’s probably going for Bunning’s seat in ‘10. Miller for either Chandler’s “old” seat or maybe Gov. in ‘11. My guesses, anyway.
The Horne / Webb similarities are striking too, especially considering the similar demographics of VA and KY.
While I’ll have to look into Horne’s policy positions more carefully if he decides to run for statewide office, at the very least he seems to be a very classy guy who campaigns hard for the issues he believes in. Very respectable.
I like the idea of Horne as a candidate. A good many people I know were backing him in the primary vs. John Y. But they united behind John and now we have a great representative in Washington. He is doing very well and I think Andrew could do the same in the Senate. I would be excited about him on our ticket.
I would like to grow the already strong draft movement of Andrew Horne to run for senate and if he gets in, we will have the support of the national groups he is involved with. He will bring respect and integrity back to Kentucky.
I have to say though that the Draft Andrew Horne group has been in existence since before the 2006 General Election. Whereas, the Greg Stumbo Group has been around for about a month.
I would say that Bruce Lunsford would be a solid candidate aginst McConnell and I think that him endorsing Beshear has created him some good will in Democratic circles.
I think we need to take a look at CRIT LUALLEN. If she wins big in November, she should be drafted to run against McConnell. She’s smart, charismatic, articulate, and doesn’t carry the baggage that a couple of other people mentioned here do. She would be a real winner for Kentucky! I’d love to see her in a debate against the ole dissembler and obfuscator, Mitch.
Crit would be a solid candidate.
It is going to take a lot of money to beat McConnell…that is the challenge Horne, Stumbo or Crit would have. There would be a good chunk of change to be raised from outside the state because of the attention the race would get, but Mitch has a $5 million headstart and beat Beshear in ‘96 because he overwhelmed Steve with money.
Lunsford would be an interesting candidate because he has proven he will put his money where his mouth is and his two major challenges in the primary who both be off the table. The past Fletcher endorsement would help him with independent voters in the general election and Vencor attacks would be off the table because Elaine Chao was on the Vencor Board and supported Lunsford’s decision to split the company.
Plus he has already said he’d been opposed to the war and even produced a film that shows the human toll of it.
Charlie would have the money to be competitive too, though. Has he been consistent on the war?
I agree that it is going to take alot of money but 2008 is going to be a wave election with Iraq as the center piece. Andrew Horne can raise the money from inside the state and out side. Also I am hearing that 527 and other outside groups will put millions more into beating Mitch. Andrew Horne will keep Mitch on the defense the whole race and Iraq the focus.
I’d love for Kentucky to have a woman US Senator. I had never thought about Crit running for the Senate. She would be great and I love female politicians.
Almost any of the candidates mentioned above will be able to raise ample sums to run against McConnell. Lunsford and Owen would have the best fundraising abilities but none of them would have trouble raising what would be necessary to win.
McCaskill, Tester, Webb, and Casey didn’t raise as much money as incumbents they beat and look where their seats are now.
You might be right, but Mitch isn’t likely to have a Macaca moment and starts out with a bit higher approval rating than the other GOPers beaten by those good Dems…especially Santorum (thank God for him being back in the private sector!). If the race were against Bunning next year, even Gatewood could probably run and beat him…but Mitch is much tougher.
First thing is first though, Fletcher needs to go down because having Beshear as Gov will help make beating McConnell a reality.
It is sad to see some people who really don’t understand our ‘police station’ in Iraq. Many people are not informed of the Big Picture. Now is the time all parties (Demo/Rep) should come together and understand why we are there. It is easy for most Americans to think our leaders have lied about being in Iraq (you know, because of oil or because of getting as many terrorists as we can and preventing a
terror state to sabotage our energy resource (Saudi oil fields), so here’s the scoop (from reliable sources and oil executives):
This war is about oil, duh? Most oil fields are dried up or have reached peak production and are going downhill at a reduction of 5% crude pumped each year (and its costing more to pump whats remaining). The biggest oil fields in the Middle East (Saudi oil)are estimated to reach peak production by 2015, or they may have already done so and the Suads and all the stockholders won’t admit the truth (loss of $$). After 2015 crude reduction will be 5% a year, experts say crude will dry up in 37 years but within 15 years it won’t be feasible (cost a barrel to pump a barrel, etc.)And nobody (the Saudis especially will sell it to the last drop)If you are 40, you may not own a car by the time you retire. Gas in Europe is generally now 6 euro/gallon, or $8, soon to cost the same here in a ‘big surprise’ after admission of actual peak production comes out. Our armies are poised in Iraq, Afghanistan, east&west of Iran, adjacent to Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Persion gulf and the Arabian sea. We have evolved our armies to protect the contractual buying of crude thru Saudis and Europe (and prevent sabotage to the oil fields, etc), all along while we occupy Iraq. No, our Police station will not leave in Iraq as long as we buy oil or anything derived from crude. The next president (Demo most likely) will be informed of this after taking the oath and will have his hands tied. We use gas derived from 20 million barrels of oil each day in America. Our total alternative fuel sources equate to only 15% of our daily needs right now. Its too late as it will take crude to even research, develope, build, and maintain such alternative fuel sources (we cannot do all this in the next 10-15 years before its too late and gas is $8-$15/gallon). Life will change in America sooner than later as people rush to move to cities to buy a $10 gallon of milk and other astronomially expensinve goods provide thru river traffic, as the cruel devaluation of homes in suburbia makes history ($400k homes etc, will be worth less than a westend home or an apartment in the converted Marriots when the sht hits the fan. (the arena will be another piece of the puzzle to bankrupt Lousville and tax payers)This is all sad and doom and gloom but it is true and we will have to change our lives, all because of crude depletion, we are at the end of the industrial age, so many don’t even know or acknowledge this, let alone our presidents from the past 30years. Carter is the only one who mentioned this in the 70s, nobody listened. The only alternative source possible to fill the void is nuclear power (80% of France energy is nuclear), but that takes crude to build and put the system in place. It is incomprehensible for us to really understand what life will be like for us by 2020. Forget the predicted catastrophic events, Armegeddan or whatever. By 2015 most of us will realize cars are a thing in the past. If any of this info you just read seems extreme, I am asking you to do your research and become informed. After that you will realize the truth of our nearby future and realize that technology and all possible alternative fuel sources we comprehend will not come close to what we need to live life the way we know. Nobody will read crime reports in the future,; theft, assault and general mayhem w/everyone riding bikes will be prevalent. Before the gun makers are sued and stop making guns, everyone needs to prepare BEFORE hand (unfortunately means to buy lots of guns and ammo). Police will not be able to police w/o cars; jails, more jails, retail will fall, we will be growing our food in the back yard. We have to prepare our kids most of all. Life will consist of local factions/communities, state and federal Governemnt will have no say or apply to communities. Again, we are looking at a few years down the road, not 30, 50 or hundred years away. So, with respect to complaining about our Iraq police station, don’t waste time in protesting it. Think of the big picture. With our armies poised all over the Middle East, there will be many more wars (no sense protesting these either)beacause we are actually already fighting over the oil, but mostly in an administrative sense right now. We may actually have to thank our current political leaders (I know that would be hard to swallow)for our armies being where they are (the pressure), because its in the best interest of all Americans to live the way we know for as long as possible. One very good source of info to put all this in perspective is a book called The Long Emergency. And talk to the oil executives here and abroad.