Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Bill Johnson Withdraws From GOP Primary
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I first became aware of Bill Johnson as a candidate when he received an endorsement from Alan Keyes last year. That was all I needed to know about his conservative credentials. My kind of guy. The problem he had was his inability to raise money. I know he loaned himself a bunch of money, but that isn't the same as putting together an organization and raising millions of dollars as a candidate.
A lot of people might disagree with me on this next point or complain that it isn't fair, but I think the ability to raise funds is vitally important element of politics. First and most important it is a sign of organizational strength of a candidate. It shows that a candidate has the mettle it takes to win and hold political office. Secondly, like a free market system, it naturally whittles down the field to a few qualified candidates. While Bill Johnson was a strong conservative, he wasn't a good candidate. Especially for a U.S. Senate race.
Even so, he kept trying to proclaim himself a legitimate candidate. Even denying the results of the recent SurveyUSA poll that showed him with little support. Today he faced reality and dropped out of the race.
A lot of people might disagree with me on this next point or complain that it isn't fair, but I think the ability to raise funds is vitally important element of politics. First and most important it is a sign of organizational strength of a candidate. It shows that a candidate has the mettle it takes to win and hold political office. Secondly, like a free market system, it naturally whittles down the field to a few qualified candidates. While Bill Johnson was a strong conservative, he wasn't a good candidate. Especially for a U.S. Senate race.
Even so, he kept trying to proclaim himself a legitimate candidate. Even denying the results of the recent SurveyUSA poll that showed him with little support. Today he faced reality and dropped out of the race.
The reality is you can't just run for the U.S. Senate and expect to win. You have to build up a base of support over time. Bill Johnson appears to be a young guy. I hope he can find a local race to jump into and win. It will allow him to build the political base necessary to run for higher office somewhere down the line. I hope he does it because we need more conservatives like him serving in elected office.Todd County businessman Bill Johnson has decided to withdraw from Kentucky’s U.S. Senate race.
Johnson, a Republican, issued a statement Wednesday that said a poll conducted for his campaign Tuesday night showed results that “were not encouraging for a continued run.
“It is time to gracefully and honorably exit the race for the U.S. Senate.”
Posted by at 10:06 PM in Kentucky Politics
