Starting Lineup: Start Your Engines
Good Friday morning and welcome to the Starting Lineup. On the radar today: The Iowa GOP sets the date for its presidential straw poll and a coinciding debate; Haley Barbour heading to CPAC; a potentially potent "Draft Sarah Palin" group registers with the FEC; Baron Hill passes on the Indiana governor's race and Jay Nixon lays the groundwork for his 2012 re-election bid in Missouri.
A quick scheduling note: The Starting Lineup will be going dark for the holidays starting next Monday. We wish you all a happy holiday season and we'll be back after the New Year.
Be sure to stay tuned to Hotline On Call, though, as we'll be rolling out several "Year In Review" features.
Mark Your Calendars...and Start Your Engines: The Iowa Republican Party announced late Thursday that the Iowa Straw Poll will be held on August 13, 2011. It will take place at Iowa State Univ. in Ames.
The straw poll will be paired with a debate that the Iowa GOP will host with Fox News two days earlier at the university.
The straw poll officially marks the beginning of the GOP contest, and with many of the potential contenders saying they won't decide whether they will running until the spring, it'll likely be a sprint to the straw poll. Per the Des Moines Register: "Tying the party fundraiser in Ames with the debate on Fox, an influential outlet for conservatives, will give incentive to candidates campaigning for Iowa's leadoff nominating caucuses to participate in the straw poll, state party Chairman Matt Strawn said.
'I think the opportunity to address not just Iowa caucus goers and straw poll attendees but to address the nation in a debate from Ames would be something that would be very difficult for a candidate to pass up,' Strawn said.
The Iowa Caucuses are scheduled for Feb. 6. http://bit.ly/gO5yEu, http://wapo.st/eddGvY, http://bit.ly/ie6uO6
Barbour To CPAC: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) is scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the organization announced Thursday. CPAC is a mandatory stop for presidential contenders and the move will stoke speculation that Barbour, at the very least, is keeping his 2012 options open. http://bit.ly/h8OpjT
Palin Rivals -- Prepare To Duck And Cover: A "Draft Sarah Palin" committee has registered with the FEC and the group behind the committee has a history of raising chunks of cash and airing hard hitting ads. Open Secrets found the filing by the California-based Republican Majority Campaign.
Here's the kicker: The group is registered as an independent expenditure group, which means it can raise unlimited sums of money and air as many attack ads as it wants. Open Secrets notes that the Republican Majority Campaign raised $3.6 million in the 2010 cycle, and has aired controversial commercials targeting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Florida Gov. and 2010 Senate contender Charlie Crist (I).
Something tells me we're going to be hearing more from this group. The group's treasurer, Randy Goodwin, told Open Secrets that they are already considering television their main communication tool. "Television would be a much better media for this campaign and we will use it if we are successful in our other fund-raising efforts," he said.
The group has launched a website at www.DraftSarahPalin.us. It is currently pretty barebones, but it features an op-ed from veteran conservative strategist and chairman of ConservativeHQ.com Richard Viguerie (though they misspell his name in the byline).
Open Secrets: http://bit.ly/hqzXus
Website: http://www.draftsarahpalin.us/
Hill Passes On Gubernatorial Bid, For Now: Outgoing Rep. Baron Hill (D) won't run for Indiana governor in 2012, denying Democrats a potential top tier contender. Hill told The Republican newspaper that he is 99 percent sure he won't run for office in 2012 but that -- according to the paper -- the governorship "remains the one job that has great appeal to him."
Democrats are searching for a gubernatorial candidate in Indiana. Outgoing Sen. and former Gov. Evan Bayh (D) announced last week that he wouldn't run for the post -- causing the Cook Political Report to move the 2012 race from "toss-up" to "likely Republican." The Democrat who has taken the most steps toward running is Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, according to Democratic sources in the state. After him, Democrats will look to outgoing Rep. and 2010 Senate contender Brad Ellsworth, Rep. Joe Donnelly and former state House Speaker John Gregg.
http://bit.ly/g4NmAw, http://bit.ly/hLTonf
Nixon Preps For 2012: Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon confirmed to the AP Thursday that he will run for re-election in 2012. And he did so with remarkable brevity: "Asked Thursday whether he will seek re-election, Nixon told the Associated Press: 'Yea.'"
The Missouri gubernatorial race starts the 2012 cycle firmly in the "toss-up" column of the Cook Political Report. Nixon has been laying the ground work for what will undoubtedly be a tough race -- raising $1 million in five weeks following the 2010 midterms. LG Peter Kinder (R) is his likely general election foe.
Nixon benefited from a bloody Republican primary in 2008 when former Treasurer Sarah Steelman (R), who is now running for the Senate, landed several blows on eventual Republican nominee Kenny Hulshof. http://bit.ly/e8MkQx, http://bit.ly/dTjkcW
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