From Politics1...
Candidate filing closed on Saturday. Multimillionaire media mogul and former State GOP Chairman John Raese filed to run against US Senator Robert C. Byrd (D). Five other Republicans -- including 2004 Attorney General nominee Hiram Lewis -- also filed for the primary. Raese, who was the 1984 GOP nominee for US Senate and a 1988 candidate for Governor, has the ability to self-finance his campaign. "The biggest issue I'm going to run on is a rebirth of capitalism in this country," said Raese. He also added he did not plan to make any attacks on Byrd but had "no control" over "outside coalitions" like the National Republican Senatorial Committee that may run attack ads. The aging incumbent still remains a strong favorite, but Raese could make it competitive. CD-2 incumbent Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R) will yet again face a competitive challenge. South Charleston Richie Robb was a late entrant into the race. Robb was a 2004 GOP candidate for Governor and chosen as a Republican Electoral College member for President Bush. By November 2004, however, Robb -- a Vietnam War veteran who did not like the tone of the Swift Boat ads attacking John Kerry -- made it clear he was disillusioned with Bush and thought the Iraq war was a mistake. Three months ago he completed his political transformation, switching to the Democratic Party. On Friday, Robb announced his candidacy as a Democrat against Capito. However, before Robb gets to face Capito, he first needs to get past a Dem primary against former State Democratic Chair Mike Callaghan and State Delegate Mark Hunt. Robb -- who supports a fixed date for a withdrawal from Iraq -- says that Capito is "part of the Washington establishment that’s hooked into special interests." Capito remains the frontrunner in this race, but these Dems both help keep this seat in play as a competitive race in 2006. The other two Congressional incumbents also drew challengers. State Delegate Chris Wakim (R) filed against Congressman Alan Mollohan (D) in CD-1 and Cabell County Sheriff Kim Wolfe (R) filed against Congressman Nick Rahall (D) in CD-3 -- but neither of these races are viewed as very competitive.
http://www.politics1.com/
