Back in 2004, North Carolina preferred a potted plant (err..Richard Burr) over an uncharismatic, aloof candidate (Erskine Bowles). Although trailing in the polls during the 2004 Summer, Burr caught on fire and defeated Bowles 52-47.
How did Burr win? Well, it wasn’t for his charisma, and it wasn’t because of name recognition. It wasn’t for his progressive ideas or his brain power. Burr won because (a) the GOP brand was hot in 2004, (b) the Democrat was a crummy candidate, and (c) Bush ignited the Republican base.
Going forward today, let me list Richard Burr’s accomplishments during his tenure in the US Senate. Well, let me think…oh yeah, he told his wife during the financial meltdown to withdraw as much as humanly possible out of the ATM that night (and every other day afterward).
I’m being sarcastic..I’m sure he has some sort of record that he can promote, but he’s not too good about communicating them to the folks in NC.
Going to the 2010 election, what plan does Burr have to win re-election? He doesn’t have Dubya running, and the GOP brand is not as hot in NC as it was in 2004. His only hope is that the Democrats nominate an uncharismatic candidate and that the Obama administration has some severe stumbling blocks.
I don’t see Burr winning re-election unless the GOP name catches on fire again to the 2004 level. I also don’t see the Democrats nominating a boring candidate like Erskine Bowles again.
My preferred candidate is Cal Cunningham. He’s young, attractive, and a progressive. He’s a Captain in the U.S Army reserves. He has charisma. He could be the next John Edwards (the 1998 version) to sweep NC.
Okay, everyone is thinking of “name recognition”. In NC, name recognition of new candidates don’t mean much. John Edwards wasn’t a true “name candidate” in 1998. He was a high-profile attorney in Raliegh, but most of the state had no idea what John Edwards was about. Kay Hagan was not well-known, either.
What did Hagan and Edwards have in common? They were both young candidates that represented the ideas and beliefs better than the incumbent. In addition, both were much younger than the incumbent Senator. Cunningham also is considerably younger than Burr, and he is also a better fit for the NC electorate than the very conservative Richard Burr.
Don’t dismiss Cunningham because of his lack of name recognition. Name recognition should be Burr’s problem (a third of the electorate has no idea that he is their Senator).
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