We already know that Peter Mills is going to be gunning for the republican nomination once again, but as far as frontrunners go, he does not come anywhere near being a consensus choice. There is a giant vacuum of opportunity for the nomination, and count me among the people who think that former Senate President Rick Bennett will try to fill it.

Bennett has been out of politics for some time, but recently decided to jump back into it by acquiring a seat as a National Committeeman at the RNC. It was widely rumored that he would make a run at the Blaine House in 2006, but instead opted to stay in the private sector, a move that looked to me a lot more like an aversion to wasting his chance taking on an incumbent and biding his time for an open seat than lack of interest.

He has been firmly entrenched in the Republican establishment for two decades now, and has a lot of things going for him. He’s still very young, attractive, articulate and great on the stump. He’ll be able to raise a good amount of money, and even despite having something of a green streak in him, he still measures up as firmly conservative, which should satisfy the republican base. He has a great appeal to both the first and the second district, and I think clearly he would have a very good chance at winning.

Nothing has been announced, and no websites have been reserved as far as I’ve been able to tell – but from a purely “finger in the wind” perspective, I believe Senator Bennett will be throwing his hat in the ring shortly.

Popularity: 26% [?]