(MT GOP Chair) Keenan may oppose Burns

[swag]

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2006/03/17/montana/a01031706_01.txt

By JENNIFER McKEE - IR State Bureau - 03/17/06

HELENA — Bob Keenan, the top Republican leader in the Montana Senate, said Thursday he is considering challenging Sen. Conrad Burns in the primary election because he is “concerned’’ about Burns’ re-election chances because of a lobbying scandal.

“First, Republican voters need to make a decision about their gut-level support for Conrad,’’ Keenan wrote in an e-mail from Costa Rica, where he is visiting his oldest daughter who is on a college exchange there. “If they are for Conrad, then vote for him in June and fight for him to win the November election. If they want an alternate, viable option they can be proud of, then for a high-quality, clean candidate named Bob Keenan.’’

After the primary, Keenan urged Republicans “to unite for the winner.’’

Keenan wrote later that he’s not yet sure he’s going to jump into the race. He, like others the Bigfork Republican has spoken with, is worried about Burns’ race.

Keenan’s statement came the day after the former Senate president and current Senate minority leader, confirmed he is not running for a seat in the state House of Representatives.

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[swag]

1. Two notes: if this were not LBN, I'd flag the subject as Abramoff,

since Burns is neck-deep in the Abramoff scandal.

Burns has some strong Democratic challengers.

To me, State Auditor John Morrison seems to have the best chance at this point (he's way ahead in polling and fundraising):

http://www.johnmorrison.us

Others favor State Senator Jon Tester:

http://www.jontester.us

[Tempest]

2. The GOP is in trouble in Montana

And it doesn't matter who in the GOP runs for office.

In 2004, Montana elected a Democrat governor and a Democrat majority legislature.

The GOP is a dying dinosaur in Montana. They'll be dug up in 10,000 years and placed in a museum.