Ted Kaufman to fill Biden seat

I like the symmetry to Beau taking the seat, but I do hope he has a primary opponent. It's only fair. Via Ben-

Two Democratic sources tell me that Ted Kaufman, a longtime Biden adviser, will be named to fill his Senate seat.

UPDATE: A Delaware source says that Kaufman would likely be a "placeholder," spending two years in Biden's seat as a cap to a long, loyal career as a key Biden deputy. He could vacate the seat in time for Biden's son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, to run for it in 2010.

UPDATE: The Delaware governor announces the Kaufman pick, with both she and Kaufman saying he would merely serve out the remainder of Biden's term, and not seek reelection.

Beau Biden ships out to Iraq

Godspeed.

(CNN) – Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s eldest son Beau left his training base in Texas on Wednesday, bound for a year-long tour of duty in Iraq with his Delaware National Guard unit.

The 114 members of the 261st Signal Brigade were training at Fort Bliss, Texas for the past two months ahead of their mobilization to Iraq. Captain Beau Biden, also Delaware’s attorney general, will serve as an assistant Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer in Iraq, enforcing the Uniform Code of Military Justice and helping troops with legal issues back home.

Beau Biden Will Not Accept Senate Appointment

By GottaLaff

Yesterday I read a couple of stories that suggested that Joe Biden might be hesitating to relinquish his Senate seat so that his son could slip into the spot as his replacement in 2010. Wrong:

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden will not accept an appointment to the Senate to replace his father, according to knowledgeable state sources, a decision that scrambles the race to to replace the vice president-elect in the Senate next year.

Beau Biden, the eldest son of Joe Biden, removed himself from consideration even as he prepares to deploy for a year-long tour of duty in Iraq. (Biden is a member of the Delaware National Guard and is currently training in Texas before being deployed to the Middle East.)

What Beau Biden's decision means for the Delaware political landscape is still anyone's guess. Given his military commitment, there seemed to be no way that he could be appointed to the seat in early 2009 anyway, and his decision to pro-actively remove himself from consideration simply affirms that reality. [...]

If Biden resigns before Markell is sworn-in as Delaware's next governor on Jan. 20, then Minner, who is term limited out of office on that same day, would likely make the appointment. [...]

Which governor picks could make a big difference in the identity of the next senator from Delaware and whether or not the door will be open to Beau Biden in 2010.

So much for that speculation.

Joe Biden speaks at son's deployment ceremony