Campaigns and Bad Timing
Man, spring break disappeared in a blink. Let me see if I can get back into the groove.
One news item that caught my eye in the last couple of weeks concerns Pennsylvania’s Lt. Governor race. In PA, there are separate primaries for Governor and Lt. Governor, and then the primary winners run together as a ticket in the general election. So a gubernatorial candidate doesn’t get to pick his or her running mate. This was somewhat unfortunate back in 2002, because Ed Rendell wound up with Catherine Baker Knoll as a running mate. Knoll has a lot of name recognition and a long career in elected office, but she never struck me as the strongest candidate. And she has apparently made a few gaffes in the last four years to boot. So when I heard that a few people were gearing up to challenge her in this year’s primary, I was pleased. I took particular notice when Joe Hoeffel, who ran for Senate in 2004 and whose e-mail list I subscribe to, started talking about running. His position was that he would not run if Rendell specifically asked him not to. Rendell said he wasn’t going to support Hoeffel, but he wouldn’t stop him either. So Hoeffel organized some petition gatherers, got himself the necessary signatures, filed to run, scheduled an announcement tour, and started to gear up his web site.
At which point Rendell said, “Boy, I sure wish he’d think about withdrawing.” So 24 hours after Hoeffel officially got into the race, he was out.
Now, as a voter, I’m all for primaries. I think they’re a useful way for a party and its elected officials to debate and set priorities. I’m saddened that Bob Casey isn’t facing more of a challenge in the senatorial primary, for example. But I understand why candidates don’t feel the same way. Running a campaign, and gathering the resources for it, is not an easy task, and recruiting top candidates can be harder if they have to face two tough elections and not just one. There are some people who are criticizing Rendell for interfering in a primary this way; they cite the fact that Rendell ran against the party-supported candidate in 2002’s primary and won. But I don’t think that makes Rendell a hypocrite. A candidate doesn’t have to drop out when party leaders try to clear the field. If the candidate is strong enough, and has built his or her own base of voter and financial support, he or she can run against the establishment and then become the establishment. And with this particular position, I can see how the governor would like a voice in his running mate. But the timing is pretty ridiculous. Why put Hoeffel’s supporters through the whole rigamarole and then pull the rug out so quickly?
My suspicion, and it’s really a very wild guess, is that at first, Hoeffel’s run looked like it would just be a way for Hoeffel to raise his name recognition and some issues in the primary. But then he got the endorsement of some county parties here in southwest PA, and it looked like he could actually win. At which point party leaders elsewhere in the state realized they could be looking at a ticket with two white guys from Philadelphia and its suburbs. And if you don’t know much about PA politics, lemme tell you that doesn’t play well in the rest of the state. Still, it’s a very odd story.
There are still other candidates in the Lt. Governor primary. Several PA bloggers have said good things about Valerie McDonald Roberts, Allegheny County recorder of deeds. I’ll be tracking her campaign over the next several weeks.
About Dave Thomer
Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.