We've
lost Byrd's vote:
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, whose confirmation seems certain in the Republican-run Senate, padded his modest Democratic support Thursday with endorsements by Sens. Robert Byrd and Tim Johnson.
So why did we lose it?
A multimillionaire businessman entered the GOP race to challenge Sen. Robert C. Byrd on Wednesday, hoping to deny the 88-year-old incumbent Democrat a record ninth term.
John Raese, 55, said he would campaign on a platform touting free enterprise and reduced regulation, among other issues. "What I'm going to run on is a rebirth of capitalism," he said.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee heralded the filing by Raese, a former state GOP chairman who has sought office before.
Though four other Republicans are running in the party primary, the GOP committee called Raese "the first financially credible opponent Byrd has faced since 1982."
Raese's last major foray into election politics came nearly 18 years ago. With narrow losses each time, he ran against Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in 1984 and challenged then Gov.-Arch Moore in the 1988 GOP primary.
Good timing for the GOP on that announcement.