John Carney, The Forgotten Candidate
There was great excitement when John Carney filed for the Delaware At Large U.S. House seat. At that time, in February 2009, Mike Castle was still undecided about whether he would run for re-election, retire or run for the U.S. Senate. Carney made a bold gamble that paid off for him. He was a great recruit for the DCCC, a man with high name recognition from his race for governor and this immediately vaulted the race into national significance.
The DE-AL seat is probably one of the surest bets for a R to D turnover in the House this year. Is this why this race seems to be ignored? Even if you check on John Carney’s own website the “latest news” lists articles from June. So, what’s happening here? Is Carney unable to get the media to pay attention to him? Let us not forget that Carney will most likely be competing against self-funding millionaire Michele Rollins. We can’t afford to forget this race, or take it for granted.
Tags: DE-AL, John Carney
While I agree that D’s certainly can’t take this race for granted, it appears that Carney has been out there slowly but surely making progress. Lotsa work on both the cancer issue and his opposition to offshore drilling.
For better or worse, Carney has always been more of a workhorse than show horse. He’s an earnest, diligent guy, but not the best self-promoter. Once elected, I think people will come to value that in him, much in the same way that they did with Bill Roth.
Helping him get there will be a challenge, so, for those who feel strongly about his candidacy, I’m sure he’d appreciate the volunteer assistance.
Is this a case where not having a primary hurts? In the future, what’s to stop a party from running a “friendly primary” to ensure a candidate can raise money and generate interest in a campaign.
what’s to stop a party from running a “friendly primary”
Delaware Dems certainly have no shortage of tomato cans.
At this point, doing a quiet campaign is actually pretty smart. He doesn’t know who he’s going to be running against (thought I doubt it’ll be Izzo the Idiot), so it makes sense to work the ‘roots and raise cash until September, when you can unleash a barrage of stuff WHEN IT COUNTS. Don’t forget that most voters don’t pay attention until October at the least.
I guess Scott Spencer is the forgotten primary candidate, too?
D’oh!
The Rose Izzo ‘Campaign’ is a classic. Every Saturday, she has a yard sale at her house, which is on the corner of Grubb Road and the entrance to Holiday Hills in Brandywine Hundred. Big Izzo banner on the tent shielding her from the sun (and reality, for that matter).
And that, far as I can tell, is the beginning and the end of the Izzo campaign. If the only people who vote are (a) from Brandywine Hundred; and (b) go to yard sales, then I suppose she’s got a shot…
I’ve been to John’s website too, where I find very old news of his experience as Lieutenant Governor. Asking the Obama Admin. to reverse its stance on drilling for oil off Delaware’s shore and his cancer research initiatives are good stuff. But what about jobs and the economy? Where does he stand on the Jobs Bill, trade agreements, employee free choice, green jobs (and not just R & D, which are great jobs, but also manufacturing and construction jobs.) Does he support stimulus or deficit reduction? Would he have supported breaking up the “too big to fail banks,” or Glass-Steagall? How about Employee Free Choice? If answers to these questions are somewhere online please let me know. I am no pundit, but I don’t take this race for granted.