Silence from GOP on Murphy challenge

I know, you'll think I'm obsessing -- Let it go, Brian; let it go... -- but I have to point out that there's very little talk out there of a Republican challenger for Democratic Rep. Scott Murphy from Glens Falls.

None, in fact, unless I'm missing something...

In competitive districts across the U.S., the GOP is already lining up top candidates. In many contests, there are already primary campaigns underway.

But State Senator Betty Little, who was brushed aside by Republican leaders for the special election bid, has said that she won't run against Murphy next year.

She would have been the natural choice, but the two are distantly related by marriage.
This from the Adirondack Daily Enterprise:

"She anticipates running for New York state Senate in 2010," her spokesman, Dan Mac Entee, said Monday afternoon. "She enjoys being senator. It's a tremendous honor. She would like to continue having the privilege of representing the voters of the 45th District."

Murphy will be a tough nut to crack: He's centrist, he's wealthy enough to make outspending him well nigh impossible, and he proved to be a natural on the stump.

There's also talk that the district might be redrawn after the 2010 Census, which means that a Republican politician could be fighting for an ephemeral prize.

But in a part of New York state that still has deep conservative roots, surely someone will step forward and mount a credible challenge?