Grasping for Negatives
June 2, 2010 - by
I had my hopes up. For a few minutes, I thought the Senate primary was going to get down, dirty and negative – just the way I like them.
Wednesday morning, Cal Cunningham’s campaign sent out a breathless email denouncing a “negative letter the Marshall
Then I saw the letter. It’s apparently one that Elaine Marshall’s consultant, Thomas Mills, sent May 12.
Mills wrote:
Even though she did not reach the 40% threshold to avoid a runoff, Sec. Marshall’s victory was decisive and overwhelming. While Cal Cunningham has every right to call for a second primary, Elaine Marshall will be the nominee. Mr. Cunningham has no credible path to victory. The primary results show why.
And:
In the runoff election, Mr. Cunningham has very little to build upon. Sec. Marshall’s fundraising has taken off since her victory. She will have the resources to compete in every medium and has a stronger, broader base to build upon. In addition, the runoff electorate will skew even more toward Sec. Marshall. About 30% of the electorate will be African-American, a population in which she overwhelmingly defeated Mr. Cunningham, and almost 50% will be women over 50 years old, Sec. Marshall’s base.
The Cunningham campaign also professed outrage that the letter went to “Cal
Holy cow! How low you can you go?
By negative campaign standards, it’s thin stuff.
My take: Mill’s analysis hit the mark and Cunningham thinks he’s behind.
Posted in General, North Carolina - Democrats
Grasping for Negatives
June 2, 2010/
I had my hopes up. For a few minutes, I thought the Senate primary was going to get down, dirty and negative – just the way I like them.
Wednesday morning, Cal Cunningham’s campaign sent out a breathless email denouncing a “negative letter the Marshall
Then I saw the letter. It’s apparently one that Elaine Marshall’s consultant, Thomas Mills, sent May 12.
Mills wrote:
Even though she did not reach the 40% threshold to avoid a runoff, Sec. Marshall’s victory was decisive and overwhelming. While Cal Cunningham has every right to call for a second primary, Elaine Marshall will be the nominee. Mr. Cunningham has no credible path to victory. The primary results show why.
And:
In the runoff election, Mr. Cunningham has very little to build upon. Sec. Marshall’s fundraising has taken off since her victory. She will have the resources to compete in every medium and has a stronger, broader base to build upon. In addition, the runoff electorate will skew even more toward Sec. Marshall. About 30% of the electorate will be African-American, a population in which she overwhelmingly defeated Mr. Cunningham, and almost 50% will be women over 50 years old, Sec. Marshall’s base.
The Cunningham campaign also professed outrage that the letter went to “Cal
Holy cow! How low you can you go?
By negative campaign standards, it’s thin stuff.
My take: Mill’s analysis hit the mark and Cunningham thinks he’s behind.
Posted in General, North Carolina - Democrats