Retraction: Grothman beats himself

The Xoff Files incorrectly reported recently that Sen. Herb Kohl had defeated State Sen. Glenn Grothman in November's US Senate race.

It turns out that information was incorrect. We regret the error.

Grothman beat himself:

TUESDAY, July 11, 2006, 5:15 p.m.
By Patrick Marley

Grothman won't run against Kohl

Madison - State Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) gathered enough signatures to run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl but opted not to file them today, meaning Kohl will have no significant opposition in November.

About 3,000 people signed nomination papers for Grothman, well over the 2,000 needed to get on the ballot. But Grothman said he did not believe he had a strong enough organization in place to mount a challenged against the millionaire owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Republicans had hoped to get a serious contender to take on Kohl, and turned to Grothman in recent weeks after former Gov. Tommy G. Thompson said he would not jump in the race.

Nomination papers for fall races are due today.

I would have reported this earlier, but was busy having my photo taken with George Bush.

UPDATE: Inquiring minds wonder whether Grothman actually had 3,000 signatures, or whether he didn't file because he didn't even have the 2,000 minimum. The media are reporting his 3,000 signatures as fact, but has anyone seen them?

PS: Karl Rove has not been indicted yet, either, contrary to earlier reports. The Xoff Files regrets even more than this is not true.

ANOTHER UPDATE: John Kraus at One Blog doesn't believe Grothman even got 2,000 signatures, and says it shows the weakness of the right. Apparently, Grothman agrees.