March 09, 2006
Radnofsky's runoff

I think the result that surprised and disappointed me the most from Tuesday was the Senate race, where Barbara Radnofsky failed to win a majority of the vote and was forced into a runoff with perennial non-campaigning candidate Gene Kelly. I said at the time that I suspected Kelly's simpler name helped boost his total. I still believe that's true, but I also think Stace is onto something when he says that BAR was running to win in November, not in March. She's been very thrifty with her limited campaign funds, as befitting someone who'll be grossly outspent in the fall, she's done a lot of travel and met people face to face, and she's clearly impressed a lot of newspaper editorial boards. These are all good things, but they're of limited effectiveness when it comes to name recognition. You can only meet so many people in a year's time. Put out a few mailers, make some robocalls - surely a few of our esteemed officeholders would be willing to lend their voices towards that effort, since surely none of them want to see ol' Gene at the top of the ticket, right? Spend a few of those hard-earned bucks now - it's not like the name recognition you'll get from it will expire before November.

This nifty map shows where BAR did well and where she needs to improve. Again, I agree with Stace: Get down to South Texas, where you did relatively poorly, and campaign. You speak Spanish, so that's a plus. As annoying as it must be to be forced into this position, it may end up benefitting you by keeping your name in the news for another month. There'll be a lot less interest in reporting anything on this race until at least Labor Day after that, so make the most of it while you can.

At least the campaign has recognized that it needs to run against Kelly for the next 30 days. He's as easy a target as you could want. The contrast between the two of you and the reason why you're the only choice couldn't be plainer. Be just negative enough to remind people why they can't afford to go with him, and play up your qualities for all they're worth. The rest will follow.

I'll be reminding everyone here to vote for BAR in this runoff as it approaches. Even if you saved yourself for Kinky or OTG, you can sign their petition and still vote in April, since this isn't the gubernatorial race. As long as you didn't go Republican on Tuesday, you're eligible.

Finally, the Bride of Acheron has a little song about Gene Kelly that I found amusing. Check it out.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on March 09, 2006 to Election 2006 | TrackBack
Comments

Radnofsky has no idea what she's doing. Saving money is well and good but the name ID you build in a frugal primary campaign is an investment that will pay off in the general.
One mailer to every 3D (three time Democratic) primary voter in the state -- or even in just the major metro areas could easily have been done for $200,000 -- that's a check Barbara can write all by herself.
Now she's hopeless. She's shown she can't even out-campaign a corpse, much less a juggarnaut. Barbara Ann is a nice lady but she has no idea what she's doing and isn't listening to anyone who does.

Posted by: Salami Sandwich on March 9, 2006 9:50 PM

Be just negative enough to remind people why they can't afford to go with him....

How 'bout, "a vote for Kelly is a vote for Hutchison?"

Posted by: Mathwiz on March 10, 2006 3:27 PM