Pierre Prosper has dropped out of the race for Attorney general. this will save Pooch needed funds. Pierre did do a good job getting around to GOP groups and made a positive impression on most. Here is my post about my lunch with him. The money wasn’t there for him to make it work.
Here is the release
(LOS ANGELES) Former Ambassador at Large Pierre-Richard Prosper, candidate for Attorney General of California in 2006, released the following statement today:
“After much deliberation, and with thoughtful counsel from friends and supporters, I have decided to withdraw from seeking the Republican nomination for California Attorney General and therefore will not file on March 10, 2006 to be on the June primary ballot. This was a very difficult decision in light of the mounting support and tremendous enthusiasm that our efforts have generated. I thank all my supporters.
“My decision was based on two main factors. First, as we did not reach our fundraising goals before the filing deadline, we realized that the Republican primary would be an uphill battle. Second, I was concerned that in a closely-contested primary against a worthy opponent, State Senator Charles Poochigian, our Party’s financial resources and energies would be diluted from meeting the challenge ahead: winning the State-wide election in November.
“The time and resources that many invested in my candidacy have strengthened my resolve for public service. Having had the opportunity to travel throughout California, and having received enthusiastic receptions from a broad cross-section of the population, I remain convinced that bold leadership is required to solve the State’s most pressing public issues.
“A heartening message is that if we have the will, we will find the way. And I believe that the Republican Party is best suited to lead us down this path. I will continue to support these efforts into the future.”
[PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Where is the strong statement of support, and endorsement of Senator Chuck Poochigian? Very disappointing. – Flash]
March 9th, 2006 at 12:00 am
This power house staying in the race might have made Chuck spend an extra $2
This guy really needs to lose the love of titles if he really wants to run for public office someday.
March 9th, 2006 at 12:00 am
As an outsider I disagree strongly with your analysis and think Poochigian just caught a huge break in his race.
To me the Prosper campaign always reminded me of Bruce Gleason beating Dixon Arnett for the Republican nomination in 1980.
For those that don’t remember the race, Arnett (a moderate) cut the backroom deals necessary to get the united support from all factions of the Republican party and spent a good amount of money on his campaign with TV and mail featuring endorsements from prominent law enforcement groups and major Republican leaders.
However, he didn’t have anything special for a ballot title and he was hammered by Gleason who spent no money, but was a Deputy District Attorney and was listed on one slate card that Arnett refused to buy for personal reasons.
Nothing else to his campaign, but the ballot title and in the end that was enough. The problem was that even though Arnett did a lot, he never quite got his message out with everything else that was going on statewide and except for the political insiders, voters looked at the ballot title and went for Gleason.
I think if Prosper had run, he would have had a good chance of the same dynamic coming into play. He not only had the ballot title with the word “Prosecutor” in it, he also had enough of a real background to get some good press coverage.
Poochigian might have beaten him (and probably would have because his campaign staff may have been a little more effective than Arnett’s was), but I think it would have been a tough race where he would have had to spend everything he had and still maybe not won.
With Prosper dropping out, we will never know for sure and Poochigian gets a free jump over a tough hurdle, while Democrats are still fighting it out in a tough primary battle and this increases his chances of being elected dramatically. Huge day for the Poochigian campaign. JMO!