The Worst Challengers of Campaign 2006

[DeepModem Mom]

WP political blog, "The Fix," by Chris Cillizza
The Worst Challengers of Campaign 2006

Today wraps up The Fix's look at the best- and worst-run campaigns of this election cycle....

The 10 Worst Challenger/Open Seat Campaigns (listed alphabetically):

Phil Angelides (D-Calif.): Ever since winning his party's nomination in June, Angelides has been on the defensive -- allowing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to control the terms of the debate. The Democrat has also lived up to his reputation as an awkward and uncomfortable candidate, a sharp contrast to the telegenic movie star he is trying to defeat. As a result, polling shows Schwarzenegger comfortably ahead and Angelides seems headed for an ignominious defeat in one of the bluest states in the land.

Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-Colo.): Beauprez's poor campaign was all the more surprising for being so unexpected. The congressman was seen as a rising star within the Republican Party nationally following his back-to-back wins in the Democratic-leaning suburban Denver House district he currently represents. But he has run an uneven -- at best -- race for governor and trails former Denver district attorney Bill Ritter (D) badly in late polling. Beauprez was unable to match Ritter's fundraising and made any number of costly errors. The latest? An FBI investigation into how Beauprez obtained information from a federal database that was used as a campaign hit against Ritter. Not good.

Ken Blackwell (R-Ohio): Given the toxic political environment for Republicans in Ohio, it's not likely Blackwell would have have won even if he had run a perfect campaign. We'll never know. Blackwell demonstrated considerable political acumen in the Republican primary in which he effectively cast his opponent as a tool of outgoing -- and grossly unpopular -- Gov. Bob Taft (R). But Blackwell could never find an effective line of attack against Rep. Ted Strickland (D). Blackwell chose to highlight his conservative social positions, a strategy that failed to resonate this year with Ohio voters disgruntled about the direction of the country and the war in Iraq.

Rep. Ben Cardin (D-Md.): Cardin came into the race for Maryland's open Senate seat with low expectations. He met them. Despite grossly outspending former Rep. Kweisi Mfume in the state's Democratic primary, Cardin won by a slim 43.7 percent to 40.5 percent margin. That underperformance continued in the general election as Cardin was unable to pull away from Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) -- an inability born partially of Cardin's struggles and partly of Steele's well-run campaign. If you need an example of the difference between the two campaigns, watch their ads. Steele's are vibrant, unorthodox and eye-catching. Cardin's are static and unexciting. Still, Cardin is the favorite to win tomorrow....

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/11/ten_worst_challenger_races.html