More Election News

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• CO: Tancredo Enters Race as American Constitution Party Candidate
• WA: GOP Puts Murray on Defensive Over Federal Projects
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• NV: Rory Reid Hampered by Last Name
• IL-10: Seals, Dold Running Close in Fundraising
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• NV: Uncertain Future for Reid Despite Rebound
• MO: Families Are Liabilities in Senate Race
• TX: Can a Democrat Win the Texas Governor's Race?
• TX-17: DCCC to Aid Chet Edwards
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Three Democrats have now filed for the special election for West Virginia's vacant Senate seat, including Gov. Joe Manchin, who signed his candidacy papers at a press conference Tuesday in the state Capitol. John Raese, a businessman and former Senate candidate who lost to Robert Byrd in 2006, announced his candidacy today.

Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito announced yesterday she would not enter the race, taking the GOP's top contender out of the running.

"We were pinning our hopes on Shelley, and while we respect her decision, we are very disappointed," state Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney told the Charleston Gazette.

Byrd's death and the state legislature's decision to hold a special election this year -- rather than have an appointed senator through 2012 -- opened another potential pick-up seat for Republicans in what's expected to be a strong year for the party. National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn has promised a tough challenge, even with Capito out.

Raese has run for the Senate twice already and is wealthy enough to self-fund his candidacy, McKinney said. There are no other prominent Republicans known at this time to be considering a bid.

Filing yesterday were Ken Hechler and Sheirl Fletcher, who are considered longshots for the Democratic nomination against the popular Manchin.

Hechler is a 95-year-old former member of Congress, four-time secretary of state and speech writer to Harry Truman. Hechler was first elected to the House in 1958 -- the same year Byrd, who passed away in late June, entered the Senate.

Fletcher is a former state representative who challenged Sen. Jay Rockefeller in the 2008 Democratic primary. Rockefeller easily won, 77 percent to 14 percent for Fletcher, and went on to win a fifth term in the Senate.

The primary is set for Aug. 28, with the special election being held on Nov. 2.