Duncan Hunter Finally Starts Campaign in Iowa by Hiring John Cox’s Former Staff
July 21, 2007 | Permalink
Duncan Hunter decided, months after other campaigns started making pushes in Iowa, that he should do the same. From a press release we received today:
Get Ready Iowans…Here Comes Duncan
(Des Moines, Iowa)…Duncan Hunter’s Presidential campaign has officially begun in Iowa with the announcement of a statewide director during his campaign swing through in Iowa this weekend (July 21-23) with a myriad of personal appearances at the state’s various county fairs. He will also be hosting a personal “Donuts with Duncan” early morning gathering in Sioux City, and then will be attending the services at two of the city’s churches.
Patrick R. Anderson of Hubbard, Iowa, has taken the reins of Hunter’s Iowa bid for the White House. Anderson, known throughout the state for his expertise with successful candidates, said he is thrilled by the appointment. “My objective is to promote Hunter’s conservative values throughout the state so that the voters will get to know him. He is an outstanding candidate with strong credentials and a firm stance on vital
issues. Iowans will soon learn about the real Duncan Hunter and will jump on board with this campaign.”Anderson has had a world of political experience. Most recently, he was the Collation Director of Field Operations for John McCain for President Campaign. He was the Iowa coordinator for the John Cox for President Campaign; campaign manager for Tom Sooter for Iowa Senate; campaign manager for Kenneth Young for Iowa Senate; and Tom Latham’s 2006 bid for Congress.
There’s nothing impressive about starting a campaign in Iowa less than a month before a straw poll and hiring people that were only previously hired by the John Cox campaign - and someone who was not even fit to be the campaign manager in Iowa for John Cox: Duncan Hunter actually gave him a higher position! Duncan Hunter’s FEC release showed a substandard campaign, and this news just underlines the point. 
I think Hunter could have had appeal with his unqiue resume and political views, but the campaign has been run haphazardly at best; I have to question how serious Hunter is about this run. Even compared to someone like Tommy Thompson, who just about everyone is writing off, Hunter has really run a substandard campaign.
[Photo Credits: flickr user eichelberger_greg and flickr user marcn]
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What you say about his campaign thus far seems right, and not just in Iowa, and it’s a shame, as you point out.
Yes, Patrick Anderson co-coordinated the campaign in Iowa for Cox, though in truth, word is that Cox was so incapable of delagating any authority to either chair that John Cox was actually the de facto campaign coordinator for the state. And that’s why Cox is less than a blip on the radar screen (that and his horrible, didactic and boring speeches that droned on and on. That’s where I met the mand and trust me, you don’t want to hear him speak!)
Anderson will be a great asset to the Hunter campaign, which may or may not be too late to get going. If anyone can, Anderson can.
On June 23, in the straw poll of Linn Co., Iowa, the second-most populated county in Iowa, Cox received 4% of the vote. That’s twice the vote of McCain and Giuliani, combined. Last weekend, in the Madison Co, Iowa, straw poll, he was fifth, with 12%. He received twice as many votes as Fred Thompson.
Nice spin. 4,1% in a very poorly attended straw poll in which the extremely inarticulate candidate Tommy Tompson DOMINATED with 33% of the vote isn’t worth much, and surely isn’t enough to propel John Cox to the nomination.
Especially since Cox has lost badly in every other straw poll since then, usually with 1% of the vote, or less.
And if Cox creamed Tommy Thompson in the Madison Co. Straw Poll, after Thompson dominated the Linn Co. poll, that kind of throws doubt on both of them as accurate bellweathers of anything.
And for the record:
Cox got NO votes in the Pennsylvania Straw Poll on July 8.
Cox got 1.4% of the v0te - actually, a total of FOUR votes - in the New Hampshire Straw Poll in June. Even no-name candidate Dan Gilbert got 20 votes.
Cox got NO votes in the Georgia Straw Poll in May.
Think it’s time to stop crowing about John Cox?
Perhaps the poor-finishing U.S. legislators who competed in the Iowa Straw Poll (ISP) — Paul, Tancredo, and Hunter — can attribute their low results to the fact they work (as in receive a paycheck) full time.
The top three finishers in the ISP?
Romney — unemployed — finished first
Huckabee — unemployed — finished second
Brownback — U.S. Senator* — finished third
* Brownback: Has missed 39.7% of Senate votes since the 11oth Congress opened session (source: washingtonpost.com). He’s gainfully employed — with an excellent vacation package.
The Kansas senator was cited by politicalwire.com in February 2007 as having missed HALF of all Senate votes the previous month.
According to a Survey USA poll, also referenced by politicalwire.com in February, 61% of Kansans believed Brownback was spending too much time on his presidential bid.
According to washingtonpost.com, Brownback ranked third, behind Tim Johnson (who suffered a brain hemorrhage and understandably has been unable to return to the Senate) and John McCain on the list of Senators with most missed votes.
Here are some interesting facts from a blogger commenting 8/12 on monstersandcritics.com. The data highlight candidates’ (and Fred Thompson’s) days on the ground in Iowa:
17 days in Iowa Ron Paul…received 76.76 votes per campaign day
04 days in Iowa F. Thompson…received 50.75 votes per campaign day
89 days in Iowa M. Romney…received 50.74 votes per campaign day
70 days in Iowa M. Huckabee…received 36.95 votes per campaign day
66 days in Iowa T. Tancredo…received 29.71 votes per campaign day
115 days in Iowa S. Brownback…received 19.06 votes per campaign day
26 days in Iowa Guliani…received 7.03 votes per campaign day
Though Paul, Tancredo, and Hunter also missed several votes of the 110th, each Congressman missed less than 30% of House votes.
According to Duncan Hunter, and corroborated by the fact that Hunter is not even listed in the above days-in-Iowa stats, the Congressman only arrived in Iowa in time for the debates.
Also according to Hunter, he was occupied in DC, as ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, completing assignments related to the current war in Iraq.
Hunter doesn’t owe anyone an apology for his poor showing in Iowa. His time outside the state has been time well spent fighting for our troops overseas and his constituents; and taking a stand against illegal immigration.
If Hunter is the Reagan-Truman candidate I believe he his, we are witnessing the beginning of a great come-from-behind story that could only happen in America.
No, it’s not time to stop crowing about John Cox. He has done well for someone who was unknown, 17 months ago. In the Iowa straw poll, he received about 40% of McCain’s vote.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJArhZTo-WM
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