| The Capitol Alert AM Email raises an interesting point:
If Speier does jump in, that may open the door for a third candidate -- Sen. Leland Yee, who replaced her in the Senate. All three represent San Francisco's South Bay and, unlike Lantos or Speier, it's the middle of the election cycle for Yee, who wouldn't have to risk his own seat to run.
But there is another issue lurking in the back here: Will Leland Yee run if Jackie runs. A three-way race would likely favor Lantos, but that's hardly clear. Here's the thing for Yee, if he doesn't run and then Jackie wins, the seat is out of play for another 20 years. If Lantos wins, then he can run in an open seat whenever Lantos retires. While it's not totally clear how he would affect the race, I think it's almost a no-brainer for Yee if Speier enters.
Yee has been something of an enigma in the City. On the Board of Supervisors, he represented a heavily Chinese district, which, for the City, is/was fairly conservative. In the Assembly he was known primarily for going after video games. He has come up with some interesting legislation, but isn't particularly loved by some of the major clubs in the City. However, the power of the Chinese vote would assure him a decent result if he ran.
This could be a wild ride folks. |
