Two possible Denham challengers emerge

UPDATE 5:30 p.m. -- So the workday's over and two people have stepped up as possible challengers to state Sen. Jeff Denham: Atwater Mayor Pro Tem Lesa Rasmussen and Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas.

It's not too late for others to enter, though it seems unlikely that anyone will pull and file paperwork by 5 p.m. Saturday, especially because many of the offices have reducted hours since staffers must work a weekend.

Rasmussen's decision, more or less, came out of nowhere. Salinas, however, had his name in the game for a few weeks. The fact that the field wasn't cleared for him sooner makes it seem like the Democratic Party was looking to see if there was anyone else interested. Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse II seemed like a strong contender, especially locally. But he backed out last week. Today, Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, ruled out a run.

If I had to take odds, I'd guess that Salinas will be going head-to-head with Denham for the next two months.

But to find out for sure, check out the Merced Sun-Star's Web site sometime late Saturday. The Secretary of State will release a list of people who returned the paperwork by 5 p.m.

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UPDATE 4 p.m. -- The blows have been traded by the pro-recall and pro-Jeff Denham folks all week. Besides Denham launching a radio campaign, his team released a bipartisan list of District 12 resident opposing the recall.

Here are the Merced County movers and shakers on the list:

Joe Oliveira - Gustine Mayor Pro Tem
Michael Burns - Dos Palos Mayor
Jim Kelley - Dos Palos Council Member
Alice Thompson - Dos Palos Council Member
Jerry Antonetti - Dos Palos Council Member
John Mays - Dos Palos Council Member
Wil Hunter - Merced Irrigation District Board member
Ellie Wooten - Merced Mayor
Tommy Jones - Los Banos Mayor
Joan Faul - Atwater Mayor
Gary Frago - Atwater Council Member
Jerry O'Banion - Merced County Supervisor
John Pedrozo - Merced County Supervisor
Kathleen Crookham - Merced County Supervisor
Deidre Kelsey - Merced County Supervisor
Mike Nelson - Merced County Supervisor

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UPDATE 2:50 p.m. -- Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas is charged up to battle Denham. He's trying to turn in his signatures by 5 p.m. today and drop off a candidacy statement to the various District 12 elections offices Saturday.

"I'm entering," he said. "I'm going to give people a choice."

Salinas said he wasn't going to make up his mind because Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, was mulling a run. She decided to opt out today, clearing the field.

The supervisor, who has two years left on his term, said he'll campaign on weekends and at other points when he can break away from his county job. Time, he said, will be the hardest part of this campaign because it will be before voters June 3, just under two months away. "It's intensive and quick," Salinas said.

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UPDATE 2 p.m. -- Atwater Mayor Pro Tem Lesa Rasmussen pulled papers to run against state Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced. "I'm only considering my options," she said. "I'm one of the many names out there."

Regular blog readers will recall that Rasmussen's name was floated around in a phone survey early on in the recall effort. The pollers were looking to see what candidates were favored among voters. The other names were former Assemblywoman Barbara Matthews, Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani and UC Merced Vice Chancellor of University Relations John Garamendi Jr.

Galgiani state she wasn't going to challenge Denham and none of the others have made much noise about running.

So the slate of possible contenders so far:
Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas, a former assemblyman
Atwater Mayor Pro Tem Lesa Rasmussen

Also, the Monterey County Elections Office struck John Nevill's name from the list of contenders.

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UPDATE 1:15 p.m. -- I just saw that Hank Shaw at the Stockton newspaper reported that Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, decided not to run against state Sen. Jeff Denham in the recall election. It seems that Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas will be the Democratic Party's main candidate against Denham, especially since Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse II ruled out a bid as well.

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I just learned Monterey County Supervisor Simon Salinas pulled papers to run against state Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced. He must return his application and signatures by 5 p.m. Saturday. Salinas, who's served in the state Assembly, has been considered one of the likely candidates to challenge Denham. Also, John Nevill, a Monterey County Republican and a health care compliance officer, has pulled the paperwork to run. I've heard his qualifications are in question because he may live outside of Denham's district, which covers Merced, Madera, Stanislaus, San Benito and Monterey counties.

So far, no one in the other five counties that Denham represents have gone to the elections office to take out the forms. I'm going to be bugging the elections offices throughout the day to get the latest, so be sure to check back to the Reporters' Notebook.