It may presage very little for November, but Darcy Burner finishing second in her primary is not the optics her campaign was looking for...especially after she talked up the primary's importance on YouTube.
Those optics are helped even less by the fact that Dave Reichert wasn't on TV while she was running 60 second ads prior to Tuesday, or that her campaign's mail was extensive - including an "Oprah-like" twelve-page magazine sent to potential female voters.
Ultimately, however, the primary doesn't change the basic construct of the race. Burner is taking on the tough task of winning a rematch against an established opponent after losing the first time - in perhaps the best of all Democratic years. Yet, recent demographic and partisan shifts in the district give Burner serious hope, while at the same time the combined expenditures of her campaign and the DCCC will significantly outspend Reichert and the NRCC (whether the former combo is more effective than the latter might be a separate issue).
This has all the makings of a very tough race for Reichert.
Footnote: I remain somewhat bemused that Burner's major campaign theme still appears to be the Iraq War. Let's stipulate the obvious: she won the anti-war vote in 2006, especially in the affluent liberal havens of the district near Lake Washington. Where she lost decisively was in less well-off neighborhoods, farther from moneyed Bellevue, where economic issues and gas prices dominate current voter concerns.
As of now her campaign is doing very little publicly to reach that decisive demographic, which already has proven its comfort level with the Sheriff.
Peculiar.
Posted by Eric Earling at August 20, 2008 08:02 PM | Email ThisPoor Dave. He is too stupid to understand, you are not supposed to admit THEY COUNT THE VOTES....
God, for the sake of our country, I hope Darcy wins.
We have had ignorant ego maniacs running our country long enough.
Posted by: All Facts Support My Positions on August 20, 2008 09:38 PMIt's rare to see anyone say so much but say nothing of any substance. (But I guess that might change when the dem convention starts in Denver.)
Posted by: johnny on August 20, 2008 10:14 PMIt appears that telling the truth is not part of the Slavery Party's beliefs? Better to lie and cheat and maintain party unity like all you good Slavers, right?
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on August 20, 2008 10:48 PMFactless, in a few short months you'll likely find that MarcyDarcy will be joining Dave Ross at Heidi Behrens-Benedict's weekly quilting circle of "also rans". From the current results of the primary, Burner and Reichert practically tied in King County. The place where Reichert mopped up was in Pierce County. Burner's "message" doesn't carry there like it does in Kirkland and Bellevue. She didn't understand this in 2006 and apparently still doesn't understand it today.
I wonder if the women of Pierce County were lucky enough to receive Darcy's 12-page "Oprah like" magazine, or was that sent only to the Bellevue Square bunch?
Or is your Nobama-like nonsense now endemic in the party of the morons?
Posted by: Hinton on August 21, 2008 12:42 AMI dropped the D party after Scoop died. There are no good Ds out there anymore. At least the ones in office. In real life, there are many, many good ones but they don't run for office. They leave that to the system that allowed AmesLaker/Flaker to be the party's nomination.
Posted by: swatter on August 21, 2008 07:24 AMReichert - 41,876
Burner - 39,124
Difference - 2752
The other 2 Democrats got 4374 votes. So in a general election Darcy wins.
Posted by: Crusader on August 21, 2008 11:31 AM2006 Primary results
Reichert - 52598
Burner - 54776
Difference? +2178 for Burner
Remind me again what happened in the General.
Posted by: jimg on August 21, 2008 12:07 PMThe math isn't that simple. Jim Vaughn (the dem that got 3151 of those 4374 votes you are giving to Burner) has thrown his support to Dave Reichert (more here) and has encouraged the people that voted for him to do the same.