Monday, November 07, 2005
Norwood
Also reported in today's ABH is a surgery undergone by Charlie Norwood to remove a small malignant tumor from his left lung. He already has a replaced right lung, although apparently this surgery was unrelated and did not affect the new lung. According to the article, also unaffected by the surgery is Norwood's intent to run for reelection in the 10th.
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4 comments:
Question: How much does a candidate's health have to do with their electibility?
How much does a candidate's health have to do with determining whether you vote for him/her or not? Then multiply that by every likely voter.
It depends on the electorate, and how well the campaign handles the issue.
Probably a better reason for Norwood to retire would be his promise to limit himself to six terms. He was elected in 1994.
I've never considered myself "average" so my feelings about voting for someone with medical problems might differ from those of "normal" people. I was just curious and was not suggesting that he should retire. In fact, it was just a generic question and not necessarily about this particular incident.
Thanks for the answers.
To answer the question a few comments ago, as to why Democrats should run far away from that particular district, I can tell you that the numbers aren't very encouraging, even with the addition of Athens to the district.
You've got two major metros in the district, Athens and Columbia County. While Athens is solid D, it usually breaks about 60-40, which isn't nearly enough to balance the votes coming out of Columbia County (suburban Augusta), which usually breaks about 75-25 for the GOP. That means that any Democrat running in the 10th will have to do extrememly well in Athens, and clean up un the North Georgia rural counties just to have a chance against the Columbia County GOP base. On top of that, add in the 10,000 or votes that are going to come out of Oconee County, and you can see why it's a daunting district for Dems.
Which isn't to say that the District isn't winnable by a Democrat. But, to win, the Democrat would have to be well-funded. I'd mention here that, from a fundraising standpoint, Norwood has not had serious competition since 1996 (David Bell was the Democrat then). His last challenger, Bob Ellis, raised a paltry $113K, which was the most anyone has raised since that 1996 race. In 2002, Norwood's challenger raised less than $20 (if memory serves), and in 98 and 2000, his challenger raised significantly less than $100,000.
So, show me a Democrat who is committed to spending hours every day for 11 months asking strangers for money, and I'll show you someone who can win that district, or at least make it interesting.
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