Awww. Connoisseurs of political schadenfreude will be disappointed to learn that Sen. Vince Illuzzi (D/R, Bumptious) has decided not to run for Vermont Attorney General. The Freeps’ politics blog, vtBuzz, reports that Illuzzi has narrowed his options to two: run for re-election to the Senate, or seek the Auditor’s seat about to be abandoned by Tom Salmon (D/R, Opportunist). WCAX-TV, meanwhile, says Illuzzi is leaning toward Auditor, which has the two advantages of (1) a full-time salary and (2) a departing incumbent who’s set the performance bar very low.

Either Illuzzi finally realized that his history of ethical troubles would be a huge hindrance in a run for AG, or he saw a better opportunity in the Auditor’s contest.  His fundamental assumption, I guess, is that he is innately qualified to hold any elective post in the state; it’s simply a matter of which office he will deign to hold.

Illuzzi’s AG abjuration, wise though it may have been, does leave another hole in the crazy-quilt Republican ticket for 2012.  

The filing deadline for this fall’s election is June 14, a bit more than two weeks away. And here’s how things stand for the VTGOP. (Hint: not a pretty picture.)

Governor: Randy Brock, trailing Peter Shumlin by a 2-1 margin in the latest poll with few undecideds, and running a hard-right campaign aimed at that solid bedrock 30% conservative electorate.

Lieutenant Governor: The only bright spot, Phil Scott, popular incumbent. The Dems may not even nominate a candidate.

AG: Haven’t heard any Republican names, As flawed as Illuzzi was, he had more name recognition than any other potential candidate. It’s looking more and more like the real contest for AG is the Democratic primary.

Treasurer: The Great White Hope, and sworn enemy of ShummyCare, Wendy Wilton. (Well, Emerson Lynn sees her as the Repubs’ GWH. Think he’s all alone there.)

Secretary of State: No names out there. Can the GOP find someone willing to lose big to Jim Condos? A young conservative looking to build a resume?

Auditor: The Republicans are reduced to mooning over Tom Salmon. Hey, there’s Vince Illuzzi, waving his arms in the air like the smarty-pants kid in second grade: “Pick me, pick me!” Senator Kevin Mullin is also pondering a run.

US Senate: John MacGovern and H. Brooke Paige want the privilege of giving Bernie Sanders a chance at his biggest-ever margin of victory.

Congress: Ditto Mark Donka running against Peter Welch.

Of the Senate and Congressional hopefuls, here’s an encouraging word courtesy of vtBuzz:

Vermont Republican Party Chairman Jack Lindley said he doesn’t know any of the candidates.

Yeah, and he can’t find anybody better. Wow. This isn’t exactly a ticket designed to lift up the GOP’s legislative candidates. No wonder the Republicans are so ornery this year.