2008: Charlie Owen for Senate?

Mark Hebert had this to say about Charlie Owen's political future.

Apparently about the same time I was writing this brilliant analysis, Owen was hammering Mitch McConnell in a speech to Louisville's Young Democrats Club and implying that he's seriously considering running for McConnell's U.S. Senate in 2008. Tough chore. We'll see if Owen will return my phone call tonight.

Given his track record in prior years, it's hard to say how well he would do in a primary or general election. However, he does have the finances to run his own campaign. Now while I am one that would wait and see how the field develops, I do think that Charlie Owen would make a great Senator should he decide to run.

A bit of background on Mr. Owen for those of you who are uneducated on his history:

He earned his bachelor's degree at Princeton University and his law degree at the University of Virginia. Owen worked as a federal prosecutor before Governor of Kentucky Edward T. Breathitt asked him to return to Kentucky to head the state crime commission. In that capacity Owen worked under three different governors (two Democrats, one Republican) and played a major role in enacting Kentucky's penal code, medical examiner system, law enforcement training programs and a host of other accomplishments.

Here's some more from the archived 2003 Chandler-Owen caampaign site.

Owen was appointed Director of the Kentucky Crime Commission and served in that position for Governors Breathitt, Nunn, and Ford. Under his leadership, the Crime Commission created the nation's first salary incentive program and local police throughout Kentucky were trained for the first time. Last year, over 9,000 law enforcement officers attended the program established by the Commission at Eastern Kentucky University. The Commission also rewrote all the state criminal laws for the first time in history, created Kentucky's Medical Examiner Program, established a Public Defender System and successfully promoted a Constitutional Amendment changing the way Kentucky judges are elected. Owen was recognized for the extraordinary progress Kentucky made during this 7 year period when he was twice elected Chair of the National Conference of State Crime Commission Directors.

From 1974 to the present, Owen has been a successful businessman and attorney. As a corporate attorney, he represented both small and large businesses, including several Fortune 500 companies. As a businessman and entrepreneur, he served as President or Managing Partner of numerous cable television systems, a construction company and several real estate development entities. He has employed thousands of people in these successful businesses.