Grinnell has a lot of people who support Ed Fallon’s gubernatorial bid. Yesterday, many went to volunteer at his campaign headquarters in Des Moines and got to know his friendly staff. They’re better organized than most campaigns, and — although they may be behind in fund raising — they have a lot more for volunteers to do at this point than other campaigns.
At least one volunteer expressed a little confusion, though, when he wasn’t able to tell a potential supporter whom he was calling that Ed Fallon will support whoever earns the Democratic nomination for governor in June. In fact, he was directed to give the ambiguous answer, “That’s a decision that’s still being talked about among the staff.”
What could this mean? Does Fallon think he’d have a shot running as a third party candidate in November (and would his chances be improved by all the volunteers who come in now, even though many will feel betrayed if he does that)? Or does his staff believe that he can’t commit to supporting the other democrats merely because he won’t look like he’s running to win anymore?
If it’s the second possibility, they’re wrong. Party loyalty (or, more notably, party disloyalty) can become a huge issue in Democratic primaries, and it can only hurt Fallon. After all, there are still a lot of people who remember when Fallon endorsed Nader instead of Gore in 2000 — who irrationally blame Fallon for Bush’s victory. Fallon needs to get out ahead of this immediately or he’ll lose a lot of supporters.
Update: This appears to have been resolved by a comment from one of his staff members.
April 9th, 2006
It’s ostensibly to help other governors this election, but the Register doesn’t buy it:
Jeff Link of Des Moines will help chart Vilsack’s national strategy this year, which the outgoing governor has said will be to assist Democrats around the country, especially those running for governor.
However, Vilsack has taken steps toward seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, giving the deal with Link, an Iowan with presidential campaign experience, potentially larger meaning.
April 3rd, 2006
Bruce Braley is running for the Democratic nomination for US Congressman from Iowa’s 1st district, and Congressional Quarterly recently gave him a softball interview (via Drew):
CQ: Looking at your primary election, how do you feel about your position in this three-person field?
Braley: I feel very good about my position. It’s a very significant challenge — as a first-time candidate, I’ve had to work very hard to develop the resources and the name identification and the positions that will set me out from the other two candidates in the race. And I feel like over the last year we’ve made great inroads in doing that. . . .
March 15th, 2006
As the Des Moines Register reports, the Democratic Party has kept the Iowa Caucuses as the first primary contest for its presidential nomination, but it has shifted others around. It seems that they want to compensate for Iowa’s ethnic homogeneity by moving other states up closer to Iowa: “Contenders include Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada and South Carolina.” And this is apparently good news to Vilsack:
The additional primaries and caucuses could assist Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack should he decide to run for president, by giving him a chance to demonstrate that he has appeal in similar-size states. Vilsack would be expected to win the Iowa caucuses. Vilsack is scheduled to headline the premier Democratic Party banquet in South Carolina next month.
I guess Paul Begala will have to drive his CNN RV out here again after all.
March 13th, 2006
