If Nominated I Will Not Run

How badly has a year of profligate spending and closed-door vote-buying hurt the Democrats? Their best candidate in North Dakota won’t even run, following Byron Dorgan’s entoastment yesterday:

Rep. Earl Pomeroy will not run for Senate, a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee source tells RealClearPolitics.

Pomeroy, the state’s lone congressman, had been considered Democrats’ strongest candidate to replace Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who announced his retirement yesterday. The long-held Democratic Senate seat now appears likely to flip parties, should Gov. Jon Hoeven (R) jump in the race as expected.

Meanwhile, GOP recruitment efforts — in the toilet for most of 209 — are picking up steam in places as blue as Massachusetts and as purple as Colorado.

Strange days, indeed.