Interesting new developments in the Arizona Senate race

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There are some interesting new developments in the Arizona Senate race.

The GOP primary between Sen. John McCain and former congressman J.D. Hayworth appears to be a dogfight. Poll: McCain-Hayworth primary race tightening. McCain now leads Hayworth 48 percent to 41 percent, a much narrower margin than the previous Rasmussen poll in January. (Rasmussen is a GOP pollster).

The latest results, released Thursday, are another statistical tie because the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Slipping below 50 percent again could be a danger sign for McCain in his re-election bid. Pollsters and political analysts generally consider incumbents with less than 50 percent support as possibly vulnerable. Rasmussen surveyed 541 likely Arizona Republican voters by telephone on Tuesday.

Neither one of these embarrassments should represent the state of Arizona.

Democratic first-term Tucson City Councilman Rodney Glassman continues to dither with an exploratory committee playing the role of the reluctant candidate. "If enough people ask me to run, I will." Uh, Rodney, the reluctant candidate act only works for well-known experienced politicians, not some little-known first-term city councilman (whose family happens to have deep-pockets).

We may have a credible Democratic candidate who is ready to step into the fray. Politico reported yesterday that Arizona exec. eyes McCain challenge:

Arizona businesswoman Nan Stockholm Walden is taking a look at entering the Senate race on the Democratic side, according to Democrats in Arizona and in Washington.

Walden, [Vice President and General Counsel at Farmers Investment Co. (FICO) and Farmers Water Co. (FWC), and The Green Valley Pecan Company in Sahuarita] who served as a staffer for former Democratic Sens. Bill Bradley and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, could provide her party with a credible, well financed candidate in the event that McCain loses or is severely wounded in his nomination fight with former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, Democrats said.

"She could be quite formidable. She has a national network. She's been very plugged in with women donors – particularly, I think, in Senate races," one Arizona Democrat told POLITICO.

"Where this thing becomes a real live wire, obviously, is the point at which McCain loses the primary," the Democrat continued. "At that point it's just, who is the person who's there with the right profile, who can reach the kind of Arizona independents with a libertarian streak that runs hard in voters here?"

Walden's company owns a large pecan farm with several hundred employees, and she could be in a position to run as an outsider with private sector experience in an anti-Washington year.

* * *

Several lower-profile Democrats, including Tucson City Councilman Rodney Glassman, are already in the race [incorrect]. But Walden's financial resources – she has donated nearly $50,000 to other Democrats since the 2002 cycle, according to OpenSecrets.org – and policy background could make her immediately competitive.

Walden [formerly was] an Assistant Vice President for Federal Relations at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Here is what is available online about her previous position. Nan Stockholm, JD:

Nan Stockholm Walden is currently Assistant Vice President for Federal Relations at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She serves as the primary liaison between the Administration and Faculty and the Congressional delegation. Nan works with the President, Provost, Senior Vice Presidents, and Deans in developing federal priorities for research and funding. She also works with the University of Arizona Foundation and a number of national education organizations on joint efforts with foundations, Congress and agencies.

Prior to coming to the University, Nan Stockholm spent more than fifteen years as an environmental attorney and consultant. Nan worked at the local, state and national levels with government, non-profits, and companies on public benefit projects. From 1993-94 she served as Chief of Staff to Senator Bill Bradley. Before that she was Director of the Presidio Council, a group of distinguished Americans who advised the National Park Service on the future of the former Army base in San Francisco. She has also served as Counsel to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, as Director of the Conference of Western Attorneys General, and as Counsel to the Western Conference of State Legislators.

Nan received a B.A. in environmental studies with honors and distinction from Stanford University, and a J.D. from Stanford Law School where she was President of the Stanford Environmental Law Society. She is a member of the Bars of California and the District of Columbia.

She resides on a pecan farm in Sahuarita, Arizona with her husband, Richard S. Walden, who is Chairman and President of Farmers Investment Company.

Nan Stockhom, JD – Curriculum Vitae

UPDATE: This post has been corrected. Ms. Walden is no longer employed by the University of Arizona. The error was inadvertent.