So it's been what three weeks since AG Mark Shurtleff threw his hat in the ring to challenge Senator Bennett, and four weeks since Tim Bridgewater dropped out of the State GOP race to give our Jr. Senator a run. And now...this week Cherylin Bacon officially announces she's in the race and newcomer James Russell Williams III also announced his intentions to run.
Present at Bacon's announcement was Gayle Ruzicka of the Eagle Forumn. So clearly Cherylin is running as the ultra-conservative in the race. She said as much in her announcement "I'm told this is a four-way race. It's not," she said. "It's a two-way race: a race between three counterfeit conservatives and one authentic conservative. I'm the real deal."
"Counterfeit Conservatives"
The name calling begins. I wish she hadn't said that. I hope she chooses to make the case for her conservative principles without demeaning those who disagree or have a sightly different take on the definition of conservative.
James Russell Williams III is a younger guy - only 36 and is a Ron Paul Republican. It will be interesting to see how some of the more conservative state delegates break between these two candidates. It seems in recent elections there hasn't been much of a difference between an 'Eagle Forum' candidate and a 'Ron Paul Republican' candidate.
My guess is most would break in Cherilyn's direction. James is a newcomer to politics and without significant resources either in dollars or volunteers will have a hard time getting his message out and being taken seriously.
Cherilyn's entry into the race in my mind hurts Tim Bridgewater the most. I think Tim's play is to go after the disenfranchised voter/delegate and with the support of the Eagle Forum I think Cherilyn gets an instant boost from the strength and networking power of a very politically active organization. Tim could find himself the odd man out.
No mention of Shurtleffs support? If anyone was at the Convention today they would know that Shurtleff has the best chance at beating Sen. Bennett.
ReplyDeleteDitto, regardless of the viewpoints of the Eagle Forum, I think Shurtleff would be far more effective at defending conservative values than any of the other candidates. He has a well-proven track record.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments guys....
ReplyDeleteI've posted a couple of times on Shurtleff and I think you are both right - he's going to give Bennett the toughest run for his money.
And I think Shurtleff did quite well on Saturday. I was surprised and kind of impressed that he focused his remarks mostly on his AG record and didn't directly attack Bennett in front of the Delegates.
All things considered I thought Bennett actually did pretty well also. I was also impressed to see how organized Cherilyn was so soon after her announcement.
Lots of similarities to the Cannon-Leavitt-Chaffetz race eh?