Coburn Retiring?
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has refused to say whether or not he will seek re-election in 2010. The first-term senator, and former three-term House Member, raised just $17,000 in the first quarter of 2009 and has just $57,000 cash on hand, far behind the pace of what's necessary for a statewide run.
By comparison, Coburn spent more than $5 million in 2004 during his first Senate campaign, and fellow Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe (R) also spent more than $5 million for his successful 2008 campaign. While Coburn likely wouldn't face a major primary challenger and certainly has the connections to raise money quickly, the fact that he hasn't announced his decision yet has led to plenty of speculation that he's calling it quits.
Coburn, who's made it his mission in the Senate to get federal spending under control, told The Oklahoman last month that he thought it "unethical to ask people to give you money for an election you're not sure you're going to run in."
The Oklahoma City paper also reported that Coburn told the Republican state convention crowd Saturday that he was not running for governor next year, but was still unsure of a second run for Senate.



