Santorum toast in upcoming Senate race v. Casey
Sean Miller & Brad Levinson
Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: Ed-Op
In a recent commentary in The Triangle, William Mulgrew asks, "When Will 'Silent' Bob (Casey) Speak?" He hints at the idea that Auditor General Bob Casey Jr. (D) should be actively campaigning, declaring his positions left and right, challenging Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), and making himself known. "How can 'Silent Bob' expect us to vote for him when he won't tell us what his position is?" Mulgrew asks.
If this were late March 2006, a time much closer to the primary and general election, then perhaps Mulgrew would have a valid point. By then, Casey should establish himself, articulate his views and his plans, and begin truly campaigning. However, we're currently eight months out of the primary, let alone the senatorial election.
The Casey campaign is gearing up for what is considered the most hotly contested Senate race in the nation, facing a very strong incumbent with a lot of resources and a very high position in the senate (he's considered to be the third most powerful senator). In order to gear up, Casey has to begin by focusing on building his support group, raising funds to compete with a highly successful fundraiser such as Santorum, fill his campaign's staff, and begin to formulate a general strategy. This is what campaigns generally do at this time and place.
Right now, around the rest of the nation, most incumbents do not even have clear challengers. Of a sampling of the 2006 races, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) has no challenger. Kent Conrad (D-ND) doesn't seem to have a clear challenger either, and only several days ago did people begin to declare their candidacies in Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio. For those races with clear challengers, they must first worry about winning the primary before they can even think about taking on the incumbent. Most states with multiple challengers are beginning to gear up for hotly-contested primaries. If most races haven't even gotten down to a one-on-one race, you can see why it's way too early, traditionally, to even begin to think about going mano-a-mano.
If this were late March 2006, a time much closer to the primary and general election, then perhaps Mulgrew would have a valid point. By then, Casey should establish himself, articulate his views and his plans, and begin truly campaigning. However, we're currently eight months out of the primary, let alone the senatorial election.
The Casey campaign is gearing up for what is considered the most hotly contested Senate race in the nation, facing a very strong incumbent with a lot of resources and a very high position in the senate (he's considered to be the third most powerful senator). In order to gear up, Casey has to begin by focusing on building his support group, raising funds to compete with a highly successful fundraiser such as Santorum, fill his campaign's staff, and begin to formulate a general strategy. This is what campaigns generally do at this time and place.
Right now, around the rest of the nation, most incumbents do not even have clear challengers. Of a sampling of the 2006 races, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) has no challenger. Kent Conrad (D-ND) doesn't seem to have a clear challenger either, and only several days ago did people begin to declare their candidacies in Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio. For those races with clear challengers, they must first worry about winning the primary before they can even think about taking on the incumbent. Most states with multiple challengers are beginning to gear up for hotly-contested primaries. If most races haven't even gotten down to a one-on-one race, you can see why it's way too early, traditionally, to even begin to think about going mano-a-mano.
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