Washblog || Why Darcy's Opponent in the 8th CD Won't Win Primary

Why Darcy's Opponent in the 8th CD Won't Win Primary

By Sarajane46th
Wed Jul 25, 2007 at 10:07:43 PM PST
Section: Diary Topic: Democrats

I volunteered for Darcy last fall, and my son Kerry Gutknecht worked as a field coordinator out of the Auburn office, organizing in Pierce County. Kerry was dismissive of Rodney Tom's entry into the race, especially his choice of Renton as symbolic of the southern part of the 8th CD. He missed it by many miles. As a high-end Windemere Realtor (r)(R) from Medina, Tom will have a hard time with name recognition in Pierce County, even if he grew up there. Darcy's campaign knocked on 100,000 doors, while Tom is known mostly in the 48th and in Olympia.

Rep. Larry Springer (45th, Kirkland) was hanging about the KCDCC endorsement meeting last night, waiting for us to consider endorsing his wife Penny Sweet for Kirkland City Council. I took the opportunity to ask why he (joined the swarm of legislators who) endorsed Rodney Tom. He said Tom is very strong on education (considered an East Side issue), has political experience and is better able to stand up to the tough Sheriff Reichart image than Darcy.

I think this comes from the RCCC "job interview" ad that ran against Darcy. Boy, if you'd seen her knock Reichart flat in their Bellevue debate, you wouldn't believe that myth. She blew me away when she said she is permitted to "pack heat." Her recent homemade YouTube ad also turns his ad on its head.

Tom argues that he's more conservative, therefore a better match for the 8th CD. That won't help him much in the primary, where most of the voters are clear about their Democratic values. Rather than appeal to disaffected Republicans, Tom needs to be reaching out to independents, who might choose a Democratic ballot. Most of them are among the 2/3 of all voters who share the social values of the Democrats. The Republicans will just treat him as a turncoat. He'll never get the R votes in the 8th. It's not that the 8th is so conservative, it's more that there are a lot of independents who've not voted Democratic in the past. They are persuadable.

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Why Darcy's Opponent in the 8th CD Won't Win Primary | 2 comments (2 topical)

I heard someone say

that Rodney Tom has no "donor base"...that only a handful of people had given him $1000 or more (and they were his family and friends) but hundreds (or was it thousands?) had given Darcy $1000 or more....plus a lot of small donors.

I read that her campaign has accrued more money than any congressional candidate in Washington history...plus name recogntion from the last run. Those would be huge hurdles for Tom to overcome, don't you think?

by dinazina on Mon Jul 30, 2007 at 06:05:32 AM PST

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Experience

The experience issue is more than just the ad. The ad worked because it resonated with people. As far as the debate, people who thought she knocked Reichert flat were on her side to begin with. I've talked with independents and less active Dems who were seeing her for the first time who felt that she was rude and lacked command of her facts. For my part, I thought she did OK, but I didn't see anything that would convince anyone who voted for Reichert in 2004 to change parties and vote for her. Until she goes and gets some elected experience, she won't do well in a general. A lot of primary voters will support Rodney because his values are the values of the Democratic party, and he has experience.

by nwdem on Wed Aug 15, 2007 at 09:14:05 PM PST

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Why Darcy's Opponent in the 8th CD Won't Win Primary | 2 comments (2 topical)

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