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E-mailSenators: Appointed & anointed
Salena Zito covers politics for the Trib. She can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7879.
Thanks to vacancies created by last fall's election, then-president-elect Barack Obama faced the drama of finding credible, re-electable bodies to fill those seats.
Remember the good old days of whether Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich could legally appoint someone to replace Sen. Obama? And the near-anointment of Caroline Kennedy to replace New York's Sen. Hillary Clinton?
After much controversy, Roland Burris took Obama's Senate seat; New York Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand replaced Hillary; Vice President Joe Biden's former chief of staff, Ted Kaufman, took his Delaware seat in the Senate; and Michael Bennet of Colorado took Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's Senate chair.
The 17th Amendment established direct election of U.S. senators, empowering each state legislature to create a system in which a governor appoints a replacement to complete a Senate term or to serve until the next special election.
Only Oregon, Massachusetts and Wisconsin do not allow their governors to appoint, thus requiring special elections. Oklahoma requires a special election, with a limited exception.
Alaska, Arizona and Hawaii require their governors to appoint a replacement from the same party as the departing senator. Utah and Wyoming governors must choose an interim senator from three names provided by the departing senator's party.
Since the 17th Amendment's adoption in 1913, 184 Senate vacancies have occurred due to deaths, expulsions or resignations. Of the 184 replacements, 64 chose not to run in the next election, 34 lost the subsequent election and 22 lost their party's nomination; only 60 went on to win the voters' support.
Of the four latest appointees, Kaufman has said he will not run; Gillibrand and Bennet will run. Burris has not announced plans.
The Senate seats of West Virginia's Robert Byrd and Massachusetts' Ted Kennedy could become vacant before 2010. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick can't appoint a replacement, but West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin can -- and likely would appoint himself, or resign and be appointed in a political deal.
Although not appointed, Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's five-term senator who switched parties this spring, has been anointed by Obama and Gov. Ed Rendell, who are demanding that fellow Democrats fall in behind him.
Here's the outlook for four of these anointed senators:
Specter: Making it through the Democrats' 2010 primary is a big "if." Beltway Dems worry about an aggressive challenge from U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak of Delaware County, who will be well-funded and, unlike Specter, doesn't have a lot of party-primary vulnerabilities. Specter needs to assure Dems that he switched parties on principle, not calculation. And he needs to show that his seniority and White House support will help Pennsylvanians. The economy will not weigh heavily; this will be all about Arlen Specter.
Burris: A disaster. His only hope is a primary so crowded that, as the lone black candidate, he consolidates black support -- but the Dems will make sure that doesn't happen. For them, Burris as the nominee means the seat is as good as gone.
Gillibrand: Had a shaky start but is talented, tough and likely to steady herself and improve her position; she also has a first-rate team. She's close to Rep. Carol Maloney in polls largely because she is unknown. A fundraising machine, she will swamp Maloney with money she'll use to polish her image. Maloney will run an aggressive campaign and hit her where it hurts -- on guns and tobacco -- but Gillibrand will prevail. The economy won't be a factor.
Bennet: Doesn't seem in danger of a primary challenge, but a tough general election is likely because Colorado is a swing state. He needs to build up his image, introduce himself to voters who don't know him and show he can get things done for Colorado. If the economy hasn't improved, voters may punish the party in power; if they think it's turning around, he'll have a much easier time.
Kaufman: Always a placeholder, he will pass on running in favor of Biden's son Beau. Yet Republican Rep. Michael Castle, running to cap a career and avoid a tough re-election fight, looks strong to win the seat -- and the tide may be with him.
