1. District 17 Senator Jennie Forehand vs. Former Delegate Cheryl Kagan

Marc:
In my view, Kagan’s decision to run kicked off the local 2010 campaign season. As a former Delegate with deep local ties, Kagan will make Forehand work harder than she ever has before to keep her seat as she seeks to knock off the longtime incumbent. Expect this to be an expensive, noisy, and exciting race. But unlike other entrenched incumbents, few people are rubbed the wrong way by Forehand so Kagan will have her work cut out for her convincing voters a change is needed. However, of the three state senate races expected in 2010, Kagan is the challenger with the most extensive record to run on and network to tap into.

Adam:
Are there two candidates in this race? Cheryl Kagan is everywhere, holding meeting after meeting with constituents and power brokers, knocking on doors and holding a big sweet-tooth fundraiser, no doubt with more to come. But aside from her re-election campaign announcement, we have seen very little from Jennie Forehand. She really needs to get started.

Forehand’s advantages look like Nancy King’s. She has a united slate of Delegates behind her, will get most of the institutional support and can draw on help from Mike “Big Daddy” Miller if she needs it. In fact, Kagan accused Big Daddy of sending out a pro-Forehand mailer the last time she considered running for Senate. Kagan, a two-time former Delegate, is no ordinary challenger. She makes the Energizer Bunny look like a snail in molasses and cannot be fended off with an air war alone. If Forehand picks it up, this will be a top-tier race. Otherwise, Kagan will run amok.

Some spies speculate that Forehand may drop out, just as District 19 Senator Len Teitelbaum did when facing a vigorous challenge from Mike Lenett. If that happens, look for Delegate Luiz Simmons to run against Kagan and a horde of challengers led by Young Gun Ryan Spiegel to come out for the open Delegate seat. That means more work for us bloggers and more fun for you junkies!