Sen. Byrd

Well, whaddya know, Sen. Robert Byrd is actually going to have a race on his hands this November:

There will be a Republican candidate on the ballot this year in the race against U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.

Morgantown businessman John Raese, a former state Republican party chairman, has filed the necessary paperwork to formally launch his campaign. Raese, 55, previously ran for the Senate in 1984 against incumbent U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and also sought the office of West Virginia governor in 1988.

In totally unrelated news:

Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito picked up two new Democratic supporters alongside liberal critics Thursday, and Republicans began calling for the Senate to end its debate and vote to confirm him."

Senate Democrats should stop their foot-dragging on the vote for Judge Alito to become Justice Alito," said Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee. Democrats Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Tim Johnson of South Dakota announced their support for the conservative judge.

It's always funny to me watching Democrats from red states suddenly act like Republicans in an election year. We'll see if this will be enough to fool the voters. I think Byrd, his record-pork barreling aside, is vulnerable as the state has become increasingly Republican in recent elections. Also, he turns 89 this year.

HT: Vince.