Which Presidential Contender is Best for Udall?

10 thoughts on “Which Presidential Contender is Best for Udall?”

1. and the corresponding one for the ‘pubs basically means – which candidate has enough charisma and appeal to help their party’s local Senate candidate?

   One reason why I personally can’t gauge what will happen in 2008 is that none of the POTUS hopefuls on either side is really that charismatic or appealing, certainly not among the front runners at least, except maybe Obama who has drawbacks serious enough to offset that. Maybe in time things will become more clear, especially as the pre-primary season dialogue heats up.

   Anyway I can’t cast vote here or there.

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   1. But one thing is for sure; Hillary doesn’t help anybody in colorado or any heartland state.  With the available choices listed at this point and with Richardson having no real chance except as possible VP, Edwards or Gore would probably make it easier for Udall than the other choices.

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   2. Top of the ticket candidate’s real strength is not their charm per say it’s the ability to bring specific groups of people to the polls that wouldn’t normally go that would also be favorable to the down ticket.  Now before all the Obama fans claim he can do this I’m talking about specific voting groups like Hispanics, evangelicals, woman, seniors, etc.  I’m not talking about disenfranchised young people because they will never vote.  Rove was a master of this because he specifically (and illeagally) targeted churches; he did not make a bunch of vague lofty speeches aimed at nonvoters looking for a new way.

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2. In my interviews of rural Coloradoan dems, her on the ticket would be a major drag for local dems. Edwards, of course, is polling highest among rural voters. As for Udall, not sure how much rural votes are in play in CD 2.

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   1. If Edwards is pulling rural votes, then as a Senate candidate, Udall would very much love to have those increasingly wandering CD4 and CD3 votes (as well as the saner parts of CD5 and CD6…).

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   2. I think rural Colorado Dems would rather see Udall run for President than have to endure Hilary. Is there such thing as the “reverse coattails” effect?… Udall garnering more votes for Hillary than her for him.

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3. There’s actually a group by that name, comprised of people who like Obama’s careful (read: conservative) approach in evaluating facts and policies. Obama is a thoughtful individual and would no doubt have a Cabinet with a wide spectrum of experiences and viewpoints should he be elected.

   Also, I think America is finally ready for a Black party nominee for president. (A woman too, for that matter.)

   People are underestimating Hillary Clinton though. She managed to become Senator in N.Y. even with that state’s conservative northern and western areas. She’ll do a good job should she become the Dems’ nominee.

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   1. I think both those groups had other motives they knew neither candidate can win.

      Your point about Hillary is right though she shouldn’t be underestimated.  The clintons have a long history of beating republicans.  They are smart tough and wouldn’t make the kind of careless blunders Gore and Kerry did.

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4. The best candidate to help Udall would be someone who can both improve the Dem party image, while also rallying the base.  Hillary could boost the base, but turns off swing voters.  She’d also rally the GOP base – not good for Udall.

   Obama might appeal to both moderates and the base, but his past voting record sounds pretty far left, so he’d likely be easily portrayed as too far left.

   Richardson certainly has some moderate appeal and would llikely help boost Hispanic turnout, but he’s more of a DLC type, which might not rally the rest of the base well in a state that is predominantly white.

   Edwards clearly knows how to appeal to moderates, as he won in North Carolina.  Further, his populist “Two Americas” message tends to appeal broadly along the ideological spectrum.  Of course, he has focused more on Iraq, health care, and raising taxes on the rich so far this year, so I guess it depends on what kind of campaign Edwards runs.  Today, the news is that he’s turning back to his Two America’s theme.  If that’s the case, he’d appeal to all sides of the political spectrum, and thus give Udall a good hand up.

   Of course, maybe the question is somewhat backwards.  Salazar won despite Kerry.  Maybe Udall can help out one of the Dem nominees, more than the other way around?

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5. Looking back over the past decade and a half, it seems that Coloradoans tend to split tickets a great deal.  Clinton didn’t do any favors as races from Congress on down to the local level swung decidedly to the right even as Clinton took Colorado.  Bush wasn’t able to stop an overwhelming Salazar win.  I don’t remember, but it seems like Colorado was home to a huge number of Reagan Democrats as well. 
   That said, I believe that what coat tail effect may be available will be generated by an energetic campaign. Udall will benefit more from a perceived strong or controversial Republican.  “Anybody but Tancredo (or Hunter)” will have a much greater effect on the Democratic base than anything I can imagine our candidate doing to drum up support.

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