Feeling the pressure of a three-fold cash on hand advantage and a lack of support from House Democratic leadership, some Democratic challengers are having second thoughts about the decision to run — and in targeted races such as HOD-94, beginning to crack.
From the Daily Press, it would appear as if Delegate Yancey’s challenger has decided on better things to do than running for public office:
Wittkamp said that with a young family — his daughter is just five — and two full time jobs, including his role as a partner in two-year-old Tradition Brewing, he simply didn’t have the time for the campaign.
“The expectations for fundraising just got in the way,” he said.
The 94th House district is one of the most competitive in Virginia, and is supposedly one of the top priorities for the Democratic Party in the 2017 election.
Expectations for fundraising.
This is one of the hardest things to coach folks running for public office — that there is no moneybag in the sky here to support a race where you might win. Rather, success follows success. If you raise $50K, then leadership might think you’re a safe bet. If you cannot raise even $20K? Why would folks make you viable on a maybe? In a world where each seat is a vote and every vote counts, your candidacy needs to look better than a mere maybe to donors.
Right now, Virginia House Democrats are looking like the lame horse on the outside of the track stumbling into the gate — never mind getting out of it.
