NV-Sen: Jack Carter Looks To Challenge Ensign

Hello. The son of Jimmy Carter looks like he is going to challenge Ensign:
Jack Carter, the son of former President Carter, said Tuesday he plans to run against John Ensign for the U.S. Senate next year.

Carter, 58, and his wife, Elizabeth, have lived in Las Vegas since 2003, operating the investment consulting firm Carter Global.

"I'm very seriously exploring it," Carter said in an interview Tuesday. "I had not planned to run for office. I have no infrastructure and this is new to me."

Carter said he decided to run in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He said he was offended by the federal government's response to the disaster.

"I'm more concerned than ever with the way that the country is headed," Carter said.

Sources told the Review-Journal that Carter will meet next week with Sen. Harry Reid's staff to discuss the race. Reid, the Senate minority leader, has had a good working relationship with Ensign, the Republican completing his first term in office. Not only do the two senators' staffs work closely on Nevada issues, the two have forged a solid and collegial relationship.

I have to admit I am more than a little nervous about Carter meeting with Reid after previous reports of Ensign-coddling on his part. Considering that the netroots were looking for a candidate to challenge the potentially vulnerable Ensign, Jack Carter seems like a very good option that we could get behind. Perhaps a show of support on our part could go a long way toward helping edge him into this race.

Once again, I leave the question to you. In the extended entry, I have created a simple poll. Would you like to see Jack Carter challenge Ensign in 2006, or would you like to see the Democrats nominate someone else?


Poll
Who would you like to see challenge Ensign for NV-Sen in 2006?
Jack Carter
Someone else

Votes: 817
Results : Vote Link : Polls

Display:


I met Jack Carter (none / 0)

30 years ago in NH and liked him very much. Not much to go on, but I hope he runs. His son, Jason Carter,  is a peace corps volunteer.
by Alice Marshall on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 11:54:13 AM EST

considering right now... (none / 0)

it's Jack Carter or nobody. I'll go with Carter.
by johnny longtorso on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 11:55:19 AM EST

Yeah (none / 0)

I was afraid that this was going to go uncontested.  At least we have a canidate with a recoginzable family name, and from all reports so far, a good man with good Democratic principles.  The only other possible canidate I could think of would be Oscar Goodman, mayor of Las Vegas.
by Geotpf on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 04:08:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

A good development... (none / 0)

Why the heck not?  We love political families in this country--Kennedys, Bushes, Clintons, Gores, Doles, etc.  The fact that Carter was not an extremely popular president might hurt, but JC has become much more respected in his post-presidency years.  Plus, recall that Bush Sr. was also a 1-termer who was not popular with the general public OR the Republican base before Jeb and W started their meteoric rises in politics.

He says he's socially liberal, but also a religious Southern Baptist.  Could be a good combination!

by Southpaw on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 12:01:45 PM EST

gift horse/mouth (none / 0)

i'm all for it!
-C.
by neutron on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 12:14:33 PM EST

I analyzed a possible Ensign/Carter matchup (3.00 / 1)

at http://www.oursenate.com
by raginillinoian on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 12:29:10 PM EST

I don't know Nevada, but (none / 0)

I'll support any Dem willing to challenge.

How about adding an option to the poll for "will support an opponent to Ensign"?

by benchcoat on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 12:38:57 PM EST

Who else? (none / 0)

Living in Nevada, I don't really see any strong candidates comming out of the Democratic woodwork, especially with Reid's apparent lack of interest in finding a challenger for Ensign.  With all state constitutional offices up in 2006, and a potentially competitive race in NV-3, I don't see any major Nevada Democrat politican who's looking for a promotion running for Senate this time. I don't know if Carter can win, but it would be nice if he can at least make it a race and keep Ensign from funneling his campaign contributions to embattled R's in Pennsylvania, Montana, Ohio, and other battlegrounds for the Senate.
by Satori on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 12:39:57 PM EST

Do you have any evidence (none / 0)

of Reid's "lack of interest"?

Of course you don't, because it isn't true.

Reid is fully behind Carter.  Don't buy the garbage Reid doesn't want to upset his "relationship" with Ensign by supporting Carter.

The Ensign people are worried about this race, and they should be.


by Susan Nunes on Wed Mar 15, 2006 at 12:58:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ready to Work (none / 0)

Given that our Senate race looks pretty tepid next year in California (Di-Fi -- meh . . .) and our entrenched incumbents give us few races of interest in No Cal (except maybe for Pombo's district in Central Valley) I for one, like many Californians, would relish the opportunity to go next door to Nevada and work for a Democrat. I think Jack Carter has a lot in the plus column, not least of which are a well-respected father and mother, elder statesman, down-to-earth, smart, humanists.

Let the blue seep into Nevada and Arizona I say -- just keep working from the edges of the country on in. Viral politicking.

by johnlarca on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 12:48:50 PM EST

I think he's our Best Shot in NV! (none / 0)

I agree with you Chris 100%! We should immediately put both Carter & Reid on notice prior to their meeting next week.

The netroots should immediately let Sen. Reid know that Carter has the netroots behind him if he decides to run.

Just in case Reid forgets that Ensign still has an R next to his name. He should know, the GOP NEVER allows friendship to interfer with their agenda.

Just as many years of friendship between John McCain & John Kerry DID not Stop McCain from GOING ALL THE WAY in supporting Dubya. ( even if he hates Dubya)

by labanman on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 12:51:29 PM EST

What ever (none / 0)

His grandfather J. Earl Carter, Sr was a fixture in  local Democratic Party politcs, he served as a member of the local school board and the in the Georgia state House of Reprsenatives and may well have been speaker had he not died young, His father we know what he did, but I know almost nothing of Jack Carter.  His father has been out of office for 25 years and he has not done anyting to advance himself push programs, work for the party or candidates.  I doubt Sen Reid will do much if anything to help him and the state party seems to put resources in the Governors race.  If the tide turns big anyting could happen, but I doubt it turns that big.  
by THE MODERATE on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 01:11:10 PM EST

Re: What ever (none / 0)

It's a little unfair to say that Jimmy Carter "has not done anyting to advance himself, push programs, work for the party or candidates." Carter was persona non grata in the Democratic party for at least 15 years after his defeat and there weren't a lot of candidates that were seeking his endorsement or his help.

Or are you saying that JACK Carter "has not done anything to advance himself, push programs, work for the party or candidates." Because if that's the case, it's probably a big PLUS for him. A sory of "I've never wanted to do this, but shitty Republican leadership has left me no choice."

by MrExcitement on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 02:31:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: What ever (none / 0)

It is Jack I am speaking of, you are correct when you say Jimmy is persona non grata I am sorry he is but it happened.  I ma just not all that thrilled on this one and it would not surprise me if the party mechanics is not either.
by THE MODERATE on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 09:46:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The notion Harry Reid is not behind Jack Carter is (none / 0)

a falsehood pushed by the media; I know this for a fact.

People are spouting things about things they know NOTHING about.

Ensign is a lousy senator with a mediocre record.  If Bob Miller had run against him in 2000, he'd have slaughtered the lightweight.  Instead, we got stuck with Ed Bernstein, a nothing ambulance chaser.

This time it's different.  Few people in the country have the connections Carter's got, and that goes a long way in getting elected.


by Susan Nunes on Wed Mar 15, 2006 at 12:53:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

My naive, wild-eyed upset hopes, (3.00 / 2)

along with numerous expressions of disgust with the Great and Powerful Harry Reid for harboring a known Republican senator in his own state, can be gleaned at http://www.lasvegasgleaner.com
by lv gleaner on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 01:22:52 PM EST

Re: My naive, wild-eyed upset hopes, (none / 0)

Oooo, good blog.

I'm interested in western politics, so I'll be a return visitor.

Any good New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado blogs you can recommend?

by texas dem on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 03:54:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Let's go, Jack (none / 0)

This is great news. And
because Jack Carter looks
like a legitimate self-starter,
and not anybody's recruit,
it should let Reid off the hook.
He can say to his colleague,
"Hey, I didn't ask him to run
and I can't stop him from
running." So Reid keeps his
deal and the Democrats get
a candidate. That works for me.

And with Nevada's rampant
growth in recent decades,
I'm hoping that its voters
may be more accepting of
"newcomers" running for office.

Anyway, Jack Carter's name
makes him automatically
a celebrity and that's a jump
start in American politics.
His celebrity is not of the
Governator class, more
like a Sonny Bono, but
ever so much better than
a nameless candidate or
no candidate at all.

by Woody on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 04:13:41 PM EST

Re: Let's go, Jack (1.00 / 1)

How can it hurt? We are to the point right now where people actually now this his father was a genious
by orin76 on Thu Nov 03, 2005 at 12:04:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

The criticism of Harry Reid is preposterous (3.00 / 1)

This is not a winnable race. Not without Oscar Goodman as our nominee. You get a big league legit challlenger in there and I guarantee Harry Reid will do everything in his power to oust John Ensign.

As someone else posted, all the big statewide offices are up in 2006. Retiring Republicans have held them and now there will be pickup opportunities. Those are the logical destinations for our top Democratic newcomers. They are short in number after the statewide flops of the last few cycles. John Ensign is an extremely formidable candidate here, regardless of his national reputation or senatorial resume. He came within 400 votes and a lengthy statewide recount of toppling Reid in '98. I'm convinced Richard Bryan retired rather than face Ensign in 2000.

My ongoing frustration: Nevada is hysterically overstated as tilting our way on liberal blogs. I've tried to emphasize that for years on Democratic Underground and elsewhere. If you live here, you know it. Outsiders must be digesting phony baloney, numbers or premises.

This state was winnable in 2000. Gore blew it. The Yucca Mountain issue was top drawer and not not been officially decided. Bush was petrified of the issue and wouldn't even set foot in the state, other than one brief tiptoe in friendly northern Nevada. Bush put out a very carefully worded statement that was clearly deceiving, that no decision had been made on Yucca Mountain as a temporary site. That essentially meant Yucca Mountain HAD BEEN isolated as a PERMANENT site. Gore could have pounced but he forfeited instead, another 35 visits to Florida or Pennsylvania instead of a few here.

This state changed dramatically post 2000. You have huge high income housing developments in Las Vegas, particularly north and west of the city. Those are transplanted westerners from nearby states, and they vote Republican. The new district 3 was intentionally designed by the GOP controlled legislature to start close to 50/50 then drift steadily toward the Republicans.

Most importantly, 9/11 and terrorism fear have trumped the influx of Hispanics. Those Emerging Democratic Majority dynamics have been derailed or at least delayed. I work statistics for casino sportsbooks and have to deal with literally dozens of different casinos and their personnel, in person and via phone. When the conversation is politics the mood is conservative, slightly moreso than before and I'be neen here since the late '80s. The 9/11 hijackers including Atta met in Las Vegas and that's been highly publicized. People who don't follow politics closely but clutch specific themes for their voting tendencies inevitably mention terrorism and national security to me. I hear it in sportsbooks and restaurants and outside movie theatres and everywhere. Our percentages in Clark County have been slightly declining, in direct relationship to the political moodswing I've detected. For now, we need to prioritize elsewhere.    

by jagakid on Wed Oct 05, 2005 at 08:50:07 PM EST

Re: The criticism of Harry Reid is preposterous (none / 0)

You seem not to understand the simple fact Carter can raise TONS of cash outside of the state.  Oscar Goodman cannot, and he would be destroyed by Ensign and his well-heeled machine.

Goodman won't be the nominee for the Senate race.

We have an upset in the making here in this state if people would take Jack Carter seriously.


by Susan Nunes on Wed Mar 15, 2006 at 12:46:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: NV-Sen: Jack Carter Looks To Challenge Ensign (none / 0)

Hey Jack would be great!  He is very passionate, intelligent with lots of common sense, and is in many ways his father's son.  Hopefully it won't take as long to recognize worth as it did for his father!  

It's about time, Jack!
MBexFX


by mbexfx on Sat Feb 11, 2006 at 04:41:34 PM EST


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