About Those Chickens Again

This article from the Washington Post shows why it is always problematic to count chickens too soon in politics. Chafee won the primary in Rhode Island at least partly because of a massive voter turnout program. From the Democrats the Post quotes, I think they may be a bit worried that they cannot match this.

In the past two national elections, in 2002 and 2004, Republicans outperformed Democrats in bringing their backers to the polls, but many Democrats and independent analysts have suggested that the competition may be different this year, in part because of slumping morale among GOP activists. But Chafee's performance — combined with reports of late-starting organization and internal bickering on the Democratic side — suggest that the Republican advantage on turnout may remain intact even as many other trends are favoring the opposition.

The Republican National Committee, convinced that Chafee is the party's only chance of keeping a seat in a Democratic-leaning state, spent $400,000 to ship 86 out-of-state volunteers and several paid staff members to Rhode Island. They targeted not just Republicans but also independent voters during the final days of the campaign, following a blueprint developed months ago by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Chafee campaign.

The effort helped Chafee survive a spirited challenge from Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey by boosting primary turnout to an all-time high. In June, GOP leaders used a similar turnout program to help lobbyist Brian Bilbray win a special California election for the House seat vacated by indicted GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

Read the whole thing, it actually is quite fascinating. The Republicans have a lot of experience at this and I really think the Dems are a bit worried right now.

categories Politics | Gaius Wednesday, 13 September , 2006

Other Links to this Post

  1. Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » Worried As Heck — Thursday, 14 September , 2006 @ 8:00 am

WordPress Themes