Bruce Clark, who ran the campaign that put Anthony Foxx in Charlotte's mayor's office, is hoping to repeat his success with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kenneth Lewis.Clark had taken a job in Washington when Lewis called last month and asked him to manage his campaign.
"I've had the luxury of working for two candidates that I believed in,” said Clark, who grew up outside Chicago. "I just said to myself, 'This is the guy who’s got to be our next senator.'"
Lewis faces former state Sen. Cal Cunningham and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall in the May 4 Democratic primary. The Chapel Hill attorney led his better-known rivals in fundraising, according to new reports.
And in a primary where it takes 40 percent of the vote plus one to win, Lewis is relying on a solid base. That's because African American voters make up as much as 41 percent of the state's Democratic electorate.
Last fall, in a city where about 35 percent of registered voters are black, Foxx relied on a strong African American vote to beat Republican John Lassiter.
20 comments:
The Question is how is Bruce going to run a campaign with out the State Party bailing him out? with Foxx Campaign - State Dem party ran the show the last few weeks telling Foxx's people to get out of way and dont touch anything.
As someone who was there, I can assure you that the comment about the NCDP running the show at the Foxx campaign is entirely inaccurate (the NCDP can barely run their own show).
Bruce Clark is a smart level-headed political operative. Mr. Lewis is lucky to have him.
Sadly true about NCDP running the campaign in the last few weeks. The Foxx campaign was burning through money much faster than they could raise it up until the end of the summer. Foxx should have won but much more than 2,000 votes.
He did he came from the Charlotte Obama office then did Foxx's campaign, both where Democrats have a 2 to 1 advantage, that alone cant qualify him to run a state wide campaign.
It will be interesting to see how a kid from Chicago does in Eastern Carolina Politics.
In my opinion all of these campaigns lack winning statewide experience. That's one thing I find so interesting about this race. Three Qualified Candidates, Three very diverse teams, but only 1 who can beat Richard Burr. Which I hope we all remember is the goal here!
First, I wonder how it is that this press release says that Lewis leads in Fund Raising?
If you go to:
http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/cancomsrs/?_10+S0NC00152
You will see that he has total contributions of $327,047
And his current Cash on Hand (12/31) was $116,456
Elaine Marshall was at: $304,864 total receipts and $211,113 Cash on Hand.
Cal Cunningham was at: $320,058 total receipts and $303,175 Cash on Hand
With all that being said, I don't care if he did raise more money than Elaine and Cal by the end of the year. He also got started earlier and the fact is, he's nearly $100,000 behind Sec. Marshall and more than $186,000 behind Cal Cunningham when you talk about the funds needed to win in May and November.
Even though Sec. Marshall is my favorite NC Political personality, I don't think the money needed will line up for her if she does win the primary. Look at the facts. Over $71,000 of her current fund raising numbers is a loan from her personal account.
The best case scenario for Lewis is to finish 2nd and force a runoff. If that happens, he might have a shot because Clark could use his organizing experience to gotv and focus on urban areas where he can influence lots of African American democrats to get out and support Lewis in what would be a 4%-6% at best turnout for the runoff election.
But God help us if that perfect storm happens. Lewis would get beat by 10+ points in November to Burr.
The one thing I will give Lewis, he is the only candidate that has personally asked me for money. Which is interesting since I’ve been a moderate donor for Elaine for years and have contributed a small amount to Cal already (without being asked)?
I personally believe that with over 40% of the democrats in NC being African American and knowing that all three candidates are going after that base in a big way; which ever candidate wins the white democratic vote in rural counties across this state will be the one that wins the primary.
Mark this down, and on May 5th, see if I am correct.
We can not be afraid to campaign in places like Union County, Wilkes County, and Catawba County. We must pull better numbers in rural NC than we did in 2008 for our US Senate candidate to win against Burr and to keep both chambers of the GA. (Which is more important to us all than who wins the US Senate race)
With all this said, we cannot win in November without the support of the DSCC. They will not line up behind a man with no chance against Burr, and unfortunately I doubt they will line up behind a woman who would be pushing 70 at the end of her first term.
Cal has finally started promoting his platform on Education, Energy and the Environment, Financial Reform, Health Care, Jobs and the Economy, National Security, and the needs of Veterans and Military Families.
There is no doubt that Cal has the most well structured platform on the issues and is FINALLY, doing the best job of delivering his message through the Voices of NC Video Series.
So for me, Cal has been worth the wait.
I urge all of you to remember that all democrats are playing for the same team and I hope that #1 there is not a runoff to just waste more resources that we'll need in the fall. and #2 that you will all join me in supporting Cal for this race while continuing to honor Sec. Marshall for her years of service to this state, and Acknowledging Mr. Lewis for having the desire to make a difference for all of us.
Why does it matter where Clark is from.
Hillary is not from New York. BO was a community activist.
Hard work, dedication, and unbending drive is what Clark will deliver.
Come on dude,get in the 21st. Its not about Clark, its about his ability to deliver. He's proven that.
Lewis is desperate at this point in the game, 60 days out of early voting, and now he is putting together his team. Lewis has very few political relationship inside the state. His only option is to hired a small time campaign manager - who almost blew the Mayors race.
Running a Mayors race in an odd year is a little different then running a Senate Campaign.
Just ask McCrory and the "garage band"
Phil
Clark is a warm, fuzzy Obamaite that is more about resume' building than actual organizing.
Bruce is a good guy. Lewis has alot of ground to make up in short order and Bruce knows the mechanics of Mecklenburg County politics.
I'd hardly call Bruce a "good guy." He does have a pretty big ego though. Unfortunately not a lot of substance to back that ego up.
Lewis must have decided to go with an all in push for Meck county. Since Bruce knows nothing about North Carolina Politics.
Bruce didn't build any strong alliance in Charlotte either - So i doubt he will bring any resources to the table.
With Clark we can be sure that Lewis will spend the most money with least return on it. Clark spent over 600k for 55k votes thats over $11 per vote.
Lots of interesting comments on this one...I'm curious though. Am I the only one that is disturbed by the fact that candidates come down to how much money they raise more so than what it is they represent? Why is it in American politics - on a field that is supposed to be level so that any man can run and represent the people of his/her district - that the candidate with the most campaign cash is considered as having the best chance of winning?
"Anonymous" certainly is critical of the guy who's put himself out there for now three democratic candidates.
Bruce is smart, works incredibly hard, and puts together good teams - it's not his job to be nice, though in my experience he is.
It will be a tough road coming in this close to the primary, but I congratulate him for having the courage to take the challenge.
Sad thing is, most of these Anonymous snipers are probably Democrats. Doesn't bode well for taking this seat back.
I worked with Bruce Clark during the Obama Presidential campaign, as a volunteer, and found him to be a competent operative who knew what he was doing.
May he do well with the Lewis Senatorial campaign.
I'm willing to bet that half of you haters have never met or barely know Clark. He is a serious operative who will out work the competition every time. And how often are political operatives lacking in the ego department?
Clark worked on 2 campaigns but were gimmes. He has never run a race when the numbers were not stacked in his favor.
Absolutly amazing to read about the neg pub on Clark, I thought this was about Lewis.
Smells like some real sour grapes.
clark can and will get this man over the finish line. just not sure the candidate has earned it.
I have met Clark on more occasions than I can even remember. I've heard a little bit about Cal's manager and I believe you will find that he(and probably A.J.Carillo with Marshall) will not only outwork but also outsmart Mr. Clark. Both of these men are much more experienced as managers and have competed in real races. Already, Clark's quote in this article just shows a terrible understanding of press communications. Cal's team has made an impressive showing in the short amount of time the campaign has been together. Their website is top-notch with all the issue sections filled. They seem to have a strong and clear plan that has already been put in motion. Mr. Clark can keep sending his friends here to defend him but who is going to defend him on May 4th?
I have volunteered in campaigns for 40 years. Bruce Clark was head and shoulders above everybody else I have ever worked with. He was unpretentious, kept his word, returned calls and followed through. That's what those of us unpaid volunteers who do the grunt work value and why we Hillary supporters jumped in with both feet after the nomination was settled to work for Obama.
Gosh, there is a great deal of effective info here!
Post a Comment