Poor Bill Lee. He must feel jilted at the altar. Or thrown under the bus, and run over a few times. Either analogy will do.
Copeland has said repeatedly that he is an “independent voice” willing to work with any governor — a campaign slogan he said illustrates his willingness to work across party lines and appeal to voters of all parties.
Many of Copeland’s campaign signs omit his political party, a decision the Republican said was to show his ability to work across party lines.
“You want to make sure people listen to what you have to say and don’t get caught up in party labels,” Copeland said.
Copeland said that, while he sees Lee as the best gubernatorial candidate, he would work well with Markell if that’s what voters decide.
“He and I would work together very well,” Copeland said. “There are some big problems facing the state with jobs and the economy.”
Look, Matt Denn is going to win. The Democratic wave is just too strong. If this were 2004, or 2000, Copeland may have had a very good chance. But not this year. Before the WHYY poll, I was concerned that the race was close. But with the result of that poll being 53-38, and with the Denn campaign saying its internal polling showed him about two points higher, the race looks good for Denn.
What Charlie Copeland has done is rather amazing. No doubt his internal polling, like Matt Denn’s showed the race closer in margins than any other race in Delaware other than the insurance commissioner race. So he had a choice. Does he just be the dutiful Republican soldier for Lee, going down in defeat this time, knowing that he will live to fight another day? Or does he go for broke this time and try to win? Copeland is the only rising star left in the Delaware Republican party. He is their bench, bullpen, and farm system. He will be running for Governor in 2012 regardless of who wins what this year. Indeed, he may even be running for Congress in 2010 if the Republicans wish to prevent Beau Biden from winning. So the future for Copeland was bright, no matter if he lost this time.
But Copeland decided to go for it all this time. He has raised more money than Denn, and he is running a campaign that is everyday distancing himself from his losing running mate, Bill Lee. The premise of his “independent voice” campaign is that it is a sure thing his running mate is going to lose, and lose big. So he is saying to voters, “I am the better man to keep Markell in line.”
It is just surprising. It is not often you see Republicans breaking Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment during an election campaign.