(Incumbant) Lucas won't run (for Congress in Ky) ; (Nick) Clooney will

[Norbert]

{i}Kentucky U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas, a Boone County Democrat, will announce today that he will retire from Congress and not seek a fourth term next year, sources close to Lucas said Sunday.

Nick Clooney, a television personality, newspaper columnist, Democrat from Augusta and the father of actor George Clooney, will announce plans to run for Lucas' Fourth Congressional District in the 2004 election, the sources said.

Clooney did not return phone calls made to his home Sunday. It is not clear if he will continue to write a column for the Cincinnati Post once he begins raising money and campaigning for the race. Post editor Mike Philipps declined to comment Sunday night.

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/11/24/loc_loc1aky.html

In addition Nick is the brother of singers Rosemary and Betty Clooney. He has worked on TV in the Cincinnati area for many years in Entertainment and news and more recently on Radio and has written articles for the Cincinnati Post newspaper. He did work in the LA area news also (in the mid-1980s I think).

If he runs he will most likely face Goeff Davis who is somewhat to the right of Jim Bunning politically, if that is possible.

[Maccagirl]

1. To those in the know

Does Nick Clooney have a chance? I remember watching his show growing up in the 60's and 70's. He's handsome and articulate. Can you imagine the circus when George campaigns for him?

[Norbert]

3. Good News:Bad News

The bad news is Nick is running in a fairly conservative district (Jim Bunnings seat about eight years ago). The big reason Ken Lucas was able to stay on for eight years is because he is a borderline conservative himself.

The good news is Nick is still very well thought of in the tri-state area. In case you weren't around in the eighties, he became news anchor and he along with Ira Joe Fisher turned Channel 12 news from a bottom feeder into first place ratings consistantly. He comes accross as articulate, as you say, and quite intellegent. The Clooney family are very well thought of around the Greater Cincinnati area.

Goeff Davis, even in this conservative district, threw everything at Lucas in the last congressional election, constantly calling him a closet liberal strongly allied with Bill Clinton. Davis came off as somewhat of a jerk IMO and the congressional district voters didn't buy his line.

I think Nick Clooney stands a good chance of winning.

[Philostopher]

9. I'd have to agree.

He and Nina are very involved in their community and the Clooney family is from Maysville -- he's sort of a local institution. You seldom hear an unkind word about Nick and Nina in Augusta, where they've owned a house for nearly thirty years.

He also did many years on American Movie Classics as a 'bumper announcer,' so I'm guessing that will help with the older portion of the electorate in that district.

Having some familiarity with him, I'd have to say hammering him for being a 'closet liberal' probably won't work. He isn't all that far left, even by Northern Kentucky standards. Everybody around there already knows what he thinks.

There's a Dem serving in the Ohio district directly across the Ohio River from him (edit: Ted Strickland; couldn't shake it out of my brain for some reason!), and the people over there ain't all that much different -- there's a possibility of this working for Nick. I'm glad to hear it -- he's well-liked and well-known, he won't be running against that deficit, anyway.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. George was asked recently if he would run for office...

and said he would not. I'd like to see him run, too, in California. I think he's a smart, thoughtful guy, who knows and cares about what's going on -- and handsome, of course, like his dad --

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Not from Ky., but this sounds like good news....

We need more attractive, high-profile candidates, who are also intelligent and articulate.

[bluestateguy]

5. Sounds like he can raise $

Being George Clooney's father will open up a lot of checkbooks from Hollywood.

[goobergunch]

6. *groans*

MORE bad news for re-taking the House next year.

[TNOE]

7. This made my morning

when I saw it on the news this a.m. - Ken Lucas is impotent - and I mean that in the sense of governing. He has pretty much always towed the line with the Bush* agenda. Everytime I have written (often) especially over the IRaq war - I get the very same identical form letter. Nick Clooney is very very popular in Northern Kentucky - I think even Repubs will vote for him. He's a very smart man and very credible.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

8. Lots of talk recently...

...about how the Republicans "own" Northern Kentucky. I think with the right local candidates, having Nick Clooney as the head of the ticket could make a big old dent in the conservative plans for one-party rule.