Alan Levin To Delay Final Decision Until After Feb 5th
Alan Levin is waiting to get the turn out numbers from Delaware’s Presidential primary.
To be honest it isn’t a dumb move. Just look at the New Hampshire turnout numbers to see why:
The turnout results were dramatic – 50,000 more Granite Staters voted in the Democratic primary than the Republican primary, with nearly 280,000 voting in the Democratic race and only 229,000 turning out for Republicans. This was the first time since the establishment of the modern New Hampshire primary system that more people voted in the Democratic primary than the Republican primary when both were contested.
Like 2006, this year is shaping up to be a Democratic blowout and playing road kill does not interest the drug store millionaire. That is why he and his advisors are looking toward the Presidential turnout numbers. They want to see if there is enough gas in the DE GOP’s tank to at least keep the race out of laughing stock territory.
Word is that he has been resolutely noncommittal and will beg off for “health reasons” if it looks like the party of Lincoln has totally lost its luster.
The Bottom Line: Mike P’s stock just ticked up.
I have an interview with him up from Saturday night. He wants to work with Maryland and increase the size of the wind farm. http://www.wgmd.com/blog/2008/01/14/alan-levin-on-running-for-governor-and-wind-power/
Hey Maria,
“it is going to be a great night?”
Was that his response to your question about him running for governor?
Also, that wind farm thing was from back in September. Do you know of any more recent statements that might give some insight into his future intentions.
Jason, that wind farm quote was from Saturday night. When I interviewed him in September, he was for it, but I wanted to clarify his position in light of the General Assembly flailing. Still for it and wants to “increase” its size 2 nights ago, is that recent enough?
And no, the “great night” quote was about the event. I have up the audio of his response to whether or not he’s running.
Happy Harry has no heart and the GOP knows it.
He knows that the house is going to switch to the Democrats because of the other weak candidates that will be on the ticket and he dosen’t want to be blamed for the whole ticket including Castle going down in flames. That is what bothers him very much. Republicans can’t win when gasoline is over $2.50 a gallon. That’s the price that everyone hates. They have no control over it.
“Still for it and wants to “increase” its size 2 nights ago, is that recent enough?”
I heard him say the same thing at the DE APRI meeting.
He’s right about increasing its size, only DE should float a bond and buy some of the turbines and own them. Hire Bluewater to run them and sell the excess energy on the open market. Use the profits to pay off the bond and–well, here we can go imagining:
1. Universal single-payer health care for all Delawareans.
2. College tuition paid for Delaware students.
3. Expanded assistance to home owners and business and public schools for green technology. (Imagine the cost savings if our schools were outfitted w/ solar panels.)
4. Perhaps a small pension for Delawareans upon retirement. It takes little thought to determine how that would be a cost savings measure.
If Levin is waiting for the results of Feb 5 to announce, I doubt it will be chiefly to see how many Repubs show up to vote. I suspect it will be to see which Repub prez candidate the GOP chooses to determine if the Repubs in DE are aligned w/ what he would campaign on.
Jason — You forgot to say “BREAKING.”
You’re slipping.
At this point, Dave, it’s starting to look like bravado. This is twice that the announcement has been delayed by a significant amount of time. He has nobody to blame for this beating but himself.
Of course, if he does bow out, he should do it early enough to allow people to still switch parties so they can vote for Markell in the primary. Otherwise he’ll tick off all the Republicans who would vastly prefer Markell to Carney but would vote for Levin if he was in the race.
There’s one benefit should Levin not run — Protack would finally get his chance to show what he can do. And if his opponent turns out to be Carney, he might avoid setting a modern record for futility.
Sometimes you earnest bloggers really “overthink” a person’s intention or decision making process. How about some candidates just don’t see a need for a long engagement…….?!!!!
It sounds odd to say, but thanks for signing my shoulder the other day.
It may be possible that he’s just trying to drum up that little bit of mystery and excitement of “will he or won’t he”. Hell, it worked for Ross and Rachel for about a decade. Plus, the longer he waits, the more Protack shoots himself in the foot.
However, it would be disappointing if he does not run, and Protack is the best the GOP can put forward for governor.
Markell’s going to win, but I guess I like fair fights.
No the hesitation is real. Put yourself in his shoes. It is a very scary proposition he is putting himself into. He could lose his good name overnight, over something of which he has no control.
Based on what he sees as he looks over the Republican wasteland, were I in his shoes, I would decline the opportunity.
In a way it’s sad. His vision of wind power needs to be shoved down Copeland’s throat.
Joe M is pretty clueless. Markell has money but so have a lot of recent candidates with no credibility like Mitt Romney, Steve Forbes ad many others. By the way, Carney will win the Dem primary.
His criticism of Protack shows another instance of having no brain. Protack barely loses a U S Senate primary in 2006 and without O’Donnell I think would have won. With such a close race the GOP pseudo elites should wake up and get him on the ballot. The Pseudo elites are the ones shooting themselves in the foot not Protack, at least he is talking about issues which matter to me. Levin wants to enlarge the wind farm? The one that won’t be built? Oh boy.
How in the world can Levin make a tough choice as Governor when he can’t make up his mind on running for Governor? I love these Wilmington Country Club types who want everything handed to them.
No, Julie: you may not know Joe M.
If you did, you would know he is the opposite of clueless.
But I feel by this time next year, after events have played out, that you may feel so by some of your predictions you hold to above……..
Mike, why not just put your own name on that? Why make up a fake name?
Dave, Dave, Dave:
You keep saying you know who everyone is, well let’s see the evidence please?
You don’t have to be a Protack supporter to realize Levin is a joke and the latest puppet of the GOP. All you have to have is a brain to know he has no chance at all and will have to spend millions of his own money only to lose and lose real big. It doesn’t matter who you support to say the truth.
You are by far the biggest ass of the GOP, seems to me after your severe beating in the special election you would shut up. Try to earn some credibility before you open your giant mouth which is powered by such a small brain.
Mr. Levin is an elitist millionaire who has nothing in common with me or you and is the ultimate Greenville elite. Sorry, we don’t need him or his crazy idea of wind turbines (maybe he is making money off of the turbines).
How can he decide anything as Governor when he can’t make up his mind to run?
Wasn’t Basil Battaglia the disgraced former chairman who lead the GOP for so many years and lead them into oblivion?
What a pair of out of touch individuals? No wonder we are winning everything in Delaware.
Julie Jones says, “By the way, Carney will win the Dem primary.”
And he might. However, I know of nobody outside of either camp’s circle of advisors who really claims to know with certainty who will win.
And that is why, in my opinion, Alan Levin will ultimately not run. He does not know and, most importantly, WILL NOT know until September, who the Democratic nominee will be.
Against Carney, he can run as the change agent. He could make a strong case that the current regime has run out of energy and ideas.
Against Markell, he lacks the same narrative.
Since he can’t wait until September, I predict he chooses to sit this one out. After all, if Carney does win, there’s always 2012…
Isn’t Markell an elitist Greenville millionaire, too?
He is a populist Newark millionaire. Big difference.
Stan Smith the tennis player? And Julie Jones? John Millsboro? Golly, those Mike Protack supporters/Greenville haters sure are plentiful! Who knew there were so many Republicans in this state who harbor the same litany of class-resentment-saturated views as a certain renegade “candidate”? And since when do Republicans care about the issues Mike talks about? I’ve never met a Republican in my life who cared about providing universal health care.
Really, Mike, they make robot dogs that have more creative routines than this.
It is feeling like some kind of rote testimony isn’t it?
Jason, Markell may be from Newark, but doesn’t he live in Greenville now? Levin went to Concord High School and grew up in north Wilmington, not very elite.
They’re pretty much “elitist” equals.
Maria,
I went o Dover HS so Concord is pretty much Tower Hill to me.
You don’t think Protack is water-boarding these multiple posters to support him?
What I think is either these posts are protack himself or a very close protack supporter (Jason O?). Maybe he’s asked them to stop and they wont, maybe he supports it. Either way he has something to do with it. Regardless these posts have to be from the same person because they all say the same thing.
I think that between Protack and feralkid they’ve gotten ahold of the bot that writes 90% of the comments on the News Journal articles…..