Friday, December 10, 2010

Historic.

That's one very clear way of describing John Kasich's win over Governor Ted Strickland.

As we approach the Inauguration and the official beginning of A New Way and A New Day, I decided to take a quick look at just how rare a feat John Kasich was able to pull off back on November 2nd.

One data point we heard about quite a bit leading up to the election was "1974". That was the last time an incumbent Governor lost in the state of Ohio when former Governor Jim Rhodes came back to lay the smack down on John Gilligan.

But what John Kasich accomplished goes back much farther than 36 years.

He beat Ted Strickland without having ever run for statewide office.

That just doesn't happen in Ohio.

In fact, after speaking with the Ohio Historical Society, the last time an incumbent Governor lost to someone who had never run statewide in any capacity was 1914 when Frank Willis defeated Governor James Cox.

96 years and 33 elections ago*.

In other words, it ain't an easy thing to do.

The reasons for such rarity are various, starting with the obvious - name identification. But it goes far  beyond that. Having run statewide before, candidates have already had a chance to build up their fundraising network and grassroots organization. They've shaken hands, kissed the babies, and built the relationships necessary to make victory possible. On the other side, incumbents have stashed away cash to run, built a record, owned the bully pulpit, and had the time to develop a formidable statewide organization.

In other words, there is a reason the last time this happened the United States was still three years from entering World War I.

On November 2nd, John Kasich broke with tradition. Without ever having run for statewide office before, he defeated an entrenched incumbent.

Now I can't wait to see what he does with the opportunity he earned.

One month until A New Day begins.

* - Until 1959, Governors served two year terms.

5 comments:

  1. C'mon...why you gotta ruin Modern's Friday with this?!!

    Ha.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah, it had nothing to do with the economy or a political tide. John Kasich is just that awesome.

    So awesome, he's the first Governor in over thirty years who failed to get a majority of the vote.

    He's also the first Governor-elect to appoint a person with public corruption conviction in his past to a prominent role in his inaugural committee.

    He's the first Governor-elect to cost the State federal funding.

    He's the first Governor-elect to cost the State jobs before taking office.

    Yep, he's a historical figure all right. LOL.

    What happened to you Mitch Daniels and Christie worshipping?

    ReplyDelete
  3. C'mon, only Democrats can have historic elections. Oh, and by the way, Democrat candidates are all geniuses while Republican candidates are imbeciles.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kasich didn't run statewide, but he DID run for President... so this post is about a pretty unimpressive, meaningless achievement.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Modern, you hate facts.

    And you are whiney Bitch.

    You lost, your blog sucks, and your pedophile buddy Tim Russo hates you now.

    Get. A. Life.

    ReplyDelete

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