Ive been criticized among Democrats and some Independents for believing that only CREDIBLE candidates can WIN in EaWA. And Ive suggested that credible candidates must have the appropriate skill set, intelligence and commitment to Democratic values and most importantly have a HISTORY of elected public office. Some believe that all you need is a D behind your name, be a good guy/gal, honest, say youre a Democrat and magically .. youre a credible, competitive candidate. And some even believe that if youve been elected before .. that somehow makes you LESS desirable as a candidate! Heres a listing of our Partys performance from 94 to the present in the 4th & 5th CDs. It lists the loosing candidates name and the % of votes received. You can count on a few fingers how many of these Democratic candidates have ever won ANY election ..... ANY... prior to their run. Yet here they were running for the US Congress .. obviously expecting to win, with so many of us optimistic. 4th Congressional District 5th Congressional District 1994 Inslee 47 1994 Tom Foley 49 1996 Rick Lock 47 1996 Judy Olson 44 1998 Gordon Pross 24 1998 Brad Lyons 38 2000 Jim Davis 37 2000 Tom Keefe 39 2002 Craig Mason 33 2002 Bart Haggin 32 2004 SandyMatheson 37 2004 Don Barbieri 40 2006 Richard Wright 40 2006 Peter Goldmark 44 2008 George Fearing 37 2008 Mark Mays 35 2010 Jay Clough 32 2010 Daryl Romeyn 36 2012 Mary Baechler 34 2012 Rich Cowan 38 Im certainly not saying that previous elected office automatically will make anyone a Democratic winner. But the experience a candidate gains from financing, campaigning and winning AND afterwards credibly serving the public through elected office, will make that person a better and truly more competitive candidate in future races. And just as the vast majority of the above loosing candidates DIDNT have previous elected office experience. How many continued in their desire to seek any ELECTED public office after their loss? You can count those on ONE HAND as well. Im curious as to what opinion YOU draw from these facts in terms of what it takes for a Democrat to WIN in EaWA.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 00:32:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015