To underscore part of what I am talking about, I would reference the Democratic Primary in Texas in 1996. That year Republican Senator Phil Gramm was up for re-election and the Texas Democratic Party wanted to field a strong candidate to hopefully unseat Gramm. The party elites actively recruited US Rep John Bryant to run in the primary. One his challengers for the nomination was a High School teacher named Victor Morales. Morales, sans political experience, sans much money, sans party support, won a plurality of the vote in the 1996 primary, and went on to beat Bryant in a head-to-head run-off.
The party elite did not support Morales, but the voters preferred him. Oddly enough, he won the nomination (although Gramm did soundly beat him in the general election).
Victor Morales travelled around in a pick up all over Texas garnering populist support and a lot of free news coverage. If I recall his campaign correctly, his main plank was that he was not a political insider and would be a fresh voice in the Senate. I applauded his spunk, and even though I did vote for Gramm, I was privately rooting for Morales to make a very good showing. I like grass roots campaigns. Who was the little old guy in Vermont who made such a good showing in one big race without spending much money a couple of years back?
Posted by: Tiger at August 2, 2024 10:18 AMYou remember rightly.
The Vermont reference doesn't ring a bell.
Posted by: Steven at August 2, 2024 09:58 PM