The Command Post
2004 US Presidential Election
« Edwards Widens Lead in South Carolina | Main | Kerry Leads Senate in Special-Interest Money »
January 31, 2004
Bush | Republicans Concerned About Close Election

The Associated Press is reporting that some Republicans are concerned about the possibility of a close presidential election in November, now that Howard Dean is no longer the front-runner. The concern seems to rise from John Kerry’s military service and his appeal to some veterans.

Republicans feel Kerry is a veteran politician who can avoid the obvious mistakes of a political newcomer and they’re very aware he is a decorated Vietnam war hero running in a time of war.

”I can’t tell you in all honesty that President Bush has a big advantage going into this election,” said Gary Abernathy, executive director of the West Virginia Republican Party.

Both Abernathy and West Virginia party chairman Kris Warner said they expect a competitive contest both in traditionally Democratic West Virginia and nationally. Bush narrowly won West Virginia in 2000.

”Here’s a president who has done so much for the military,” Warner said. ”And you’ve got a guy like Kerry who, whenever he shows up on TV, has veterans standing behind him, including the guy he pulled out of the river.’

‘



Posted by Jeff M at January 31, 2004 02:56 PM | TrackBack
Comments

According to The Nation;


One in seven Republican primary voters cast ballots for candidates other than Bush, holding the president to just 85 percent of the 62,927 ballots cast. In some parts of the state, such as southwest New Hampshire’s Monadnock Region, a historic bastion of moderate Republicanism, Bush did even worse. In Swanzey, for instance, 37 percent of GOP primary voters rejected Bush. In nearby Surry, almost 29 percent of the people who took Republican ballots voted against the Republican president, while a number of other towns across the region saw anti-Bush votes of more than 20 percent in the GOP primary.

I’m running a front page poll, but right now my gut says that ABB is pulling out in front.

Posted by: Bob King at January 31, 2004 03:37 PM

Yeah, and the fact that some folks vote for “Santa Clause” means he’s an effective campaigner?

Please.

In the GOP primaries, it’s pretty much understood that Bush will win the primary, so there are those who take the opportunity to make a protest vote. Some don’t like his spending on Education and Medicare; not conservative enough. Others think he should be nicer to the Democrats, let them win a few; not liberal enough.

And it’s well-known that primaries get their share of cross-over voters; SC is trying to figure out how to keep Republicans from voting in their Democratic Primary, so it’s equally obvious that some folks will vote in the Republican primary, who have never been Republicans.

Add to all that, the fact that a Texas Conservative is not going to sell as well in the Northeast as he will in other places, and this report is more boring than milk and dry bread for your dinner.

Posted by: GDubya at February 3, 2004 10:02 AM

GDubya: A couple of points: (1) Rural New Hampshire is NOT a bastion of liberalism; to the contrary, it’s a pretty conservative place, so your point about a Texas Conservative not selling that well probably isn’t true - though it MAY be true that this particular Texas Conservative doesn’t sell well because he rubs them the wrong way. (2) What are these voters going to do in November? Bush will hope that they hold their nose and vote for him, but they are just as likely to stay home or cross party lines, neither of which would be helpful

Posted by: PaulG at February 3, 2004 09:27 PM

Post a comment

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (Click here should you choose to sign out.)

As you post your comment, please mind our simple comment policy: we welcome all perspectives, but require that comments be both civil and respectful. We also ask that you avoid the extensive use of profanity, racist terms (neither of which we consider civil or respectful), and other boorish language.

We reserve the right to delete any comment, and to prohibit you from commenting on this site, if we feel you have broached this policy. As a courtesy, we will first send you an email noting a violation so you understand the boundaries. This will occur only once, however, and should we ban you from our comment forums we expect that ban to be permanent.

We also will frown upon those who suggest that we ban other individuals for voicing unpopular opinions, should those opinions be voiced in a civil and respectful manner. The point of our comment threads is to provide a forum for spirited though civil and respectful discourse … it is not to provide a forum in which everyone will agree with your point of view.

If you can live by these rules, welcome aboard. If not, then we’re sorry it didn’t work out, and thanks for visiting The Command Post.


Remember me?

(You may use HTML tags for style)