I guess the legacy of Todd Akin really is haunting this cycle for Republicans. Aside from the fact that no blatant yahoo (with the possible exception of Joni Ernst) has won a Senate GOP primary. you’ve got one, today in Alaska, where the big issue seems to be alleged Democratic “meddling” with the Republican choice. No, said “meddling” isn’t Mississippi-style “crossover” voting, but a heavy Democratic ad campaign going after the candidate national GOPers have united around, former Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan.
The claim is that like Claire McCaskill in 2012, Mark Begich is trying to choose a weaker opponent. But McCaskill bought positive ads for Todd Akin, while Democrats are bashing Sullivan, which, of course, makes sense in terms of softening him up for a relatively short general election period. A win by underfunded Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, much less demon-haunted 2010 Senate nominee Joe Miller, would be a surprise to everybody. But credit Sullivan’s backers for turning paranoia to their benefit.
