MCCLINTOCK STAYING
CNN reports that Tom McClintock vow’s to stay in the race.
The Field poll shows Bustamante leading the recall field with 30 percent of the vote. GOP frontrunner Arnold Schwarzenegger received 25 percent in the statewide survey, with Republican State Senator Tom McClintock posting 13 percent. Ueberroth received 5 percent in the poll.
An analysis of the polling data after Ueberroth’s withdrawal shows that his supporters would be split among the top three candidates — Bustamante, Schwarzenegger, and McClintock — with Bustamante still leading Schwarzenegger by 5 percentage points. But the poll does demonstrate that if McClintock withdraws from the recall, Schwarznegger takes a slight lead over Bustamante 33 percent to 31 percent.
State Senator McClintock appeared on CNN’s Inside Politics on Tuesday and told me he had no intention of following Ueberroth’s lead and ceding the field to Schwarzenegger: “I’m in this race right to the finish line.”
When I pushed McClintock about similar statements from Ueberroth up until Tuesday about staying in the race until the end, he bristled: “What is it about the word ‘no’ that you guys don’t understand?”
Given that McClintock is nothing but a potential spoiler at this point, this attitude is rather bizarre. It would be one thing if he had been chosen in a party primary; but he’s just some guy who threw his hat into the ring. At some point, it should become a two-way race. Surely, McClintock doesn’t want to go down in history as the Republican Ralph Nader?
Given that McClintock is nothing but a potential spoiler at this point, this attitude is rather bizarre. It would be one thing if he had been chosen in a party primary; but he’s just some guy who threw his hat into the ring.
“Just some guy who threw his hat into the ring”??? What on earth does that make Arnold? McClintock at least is a sitting member of the state senate, and got more statewide votes in his (unsuccessful) run for controller last year than did Bill Simon, the gubernatorial candidate. Do you think, possibly, that he believes he might be better qualified to serve as Governor than Schwarzenegger?
Gunther,
Sure. Except that he’s not going to win. Arnold, despite–or perhaps because of–his lack of experience has double McClintock’s standing in the polls with less than a month to go. Thus, the question is whether to cede the race to the Democrats or drop out and give the party a shot a the seat.
Plus, frankly, I’m not sure being a state senator is particularly impressive. Legislative experience virtually never translates into effective governance at the executive level.
In Davis’s case, executive experience doesn’t translate into effective governance either.
As someone who’s employee candidates with “experience”, I can tell you that you never really know what you’re getting till you get it.