Good Times… Good Times
I just went back to take a look at the old DL endorsement post from October 2008. I stated that DL did not endorse in the Insurance Commissioner race in one of the threads today. This is true. It is interesting looking at the comments that this non-endorsement generated.
Tags: Endorsements, Insurance Commissioner, Karen Weldin Stewart
A1 cracksme up.
He is consistent.
So I can’t remember (I’m an old man) 🙂 , was Brady that bad?
Did anyone know much about Brady?
The guy who got hosed was Reed. His is a case study in not getting fast out of the gate and establishing your campaing narrative.
Did anyone know much about Brady?
I knew so little about them both.
I knew KWS was connected to McDowell, but Brady had cast his lot with the Delaware GOP. Those two shady connections canceled out in my mind, so “all things being equal, vote for the Democrat.”
Really? (for Jason’s comment re: Reed)
I think that he was fast out of the gate. I remember the City of Wilmington being plastered with Reed billboards and ads before many others started. I still think he was sunk by fundraising and (unfairly) by his Dad’s rep.
Reed was tarred by the Mike Matthews reportage on his fundraising from state contractors. That just tainted him right there, and he never really responded well or crafted a narrative beyond “experience.” Plus KWS had the edge in name recognition among Delaware primary voters mainly drawn by the Markell-Carney contest. And among idealistic Markellite reformers who hadn’t been paying much attention, she probably seemed like the cleanest bet when compared to machine-rooted Reed. That’s my analysis, anyway.
Brady was by far the best candidate for the job – a practicing attorney with the smarts and the chops. Unfortunately, he was also an independent-minded gay Republican from Sussex County running in a Democratic sweep year. That’s at least four strikes against him right there.
A whole lot of his fellow GOPers (the Sam Wilson / Eric Bodenweiser / Dave Wilson types) who would normally have gotten behind a Republican nominee sat on their hands and just didn’t vote, donate or volunteer for him because of his sexual orientation. But frankly, he’s one of the most honest, straightforward people I’ve ever met. I’d vote for him again in a heartbeat.
The Matthews’ reporting did not “tar” Reid — the fact that the took a couple of steps back in fundaising from the standards set by Denn did him in. And you can see some of the results in what we have now — not in terms of contributions from contractors, but wannabe contractors. Who got their nut.
And why did KWS have name recognition? She ran two or three times before.
“Did anyone know much about Brady?”
If I recall, he wasn’t liberal enough for the Liberals, and he wasn’t gay enough for MJ.
Ha!
“But frankly, he’s one of the most honest, straightforward people I’ve ever met. I’d vote for him again in a heartbeat.”
Truth.
Brady also ran a crappy campaign. Never had a theme or explained what he would do. “Vote for the Big Guy” doesn’t give you any reason to vote for the big guy. Considering his opponent, I did anyway.
During the election I saved everyone’s campaign literature. I was going to do a post… Oh well, that never happened. Brady’s pile was practically non-existent. And what did exist was very vague.
And as much as I hate that crap filling my mailbox, there’s something to be said for bombarding people with your name, especially in the low profile races. How many people walked into the voting booth and voted for the person whose name they recognized?
Name recognition is really important in these low info races. KWS had two big advantages in 2008, a name that people vaguely recognized and a (D) after her name. That’s how she beat Brady. I think she beat Reed because of the fundraising issue and name recognition.