Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Night of the Grizzly (Updated)

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"The Night of the Grizzly" isn't just the title of a 1960's adventure western. For candidates who have been endorsed by Sarah Palin, it was overwhelmingly a night of electoral victories. Only one of those candidates failed to win in the Tuesday elections, as Cecile Bledsoe narrowly lost a runoff race for the GOP nomination in Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District.

But "Mama Grizzlies" Nikki Haley and Carly Fiorina won big races in South Carolina and California, though Haley must face Gresham Barrett in a June 22 runoff. Meanwhile, "Papa Grizzly" Terry Branstad was chalking up a victory in Iowa. Gov. Palin went 3-1 for the night, pending the runoff. For details on these races, read the posts immediate following this one.

Although not endorsed by Sarah Palin, two more mama bears won Tuesday night -- Sharron Angle in Nevada and Christine Todd Whitman in California. In a preview of "Night of the Grizzly," Susana Martinez won the GOP gubernatorial primary in New Mexico last week after having received Gov. Palin's endorsement just two weeks earlier.

Update: More from Politico's Andy Barr here:
Some of Sarah Palin’s riskiest endorsements scored major victories Tuesday for the former Alaska governor, showing off her power in Republican primaries.

Palin had four primary endorsements in play – Carly Fiorina, Nikki Haley, Terry Branstad and Cecile Bledsoe – and three won or moved on to a runoff.

Palin served different roles for each candidate – sometimes spotlighting conservatives not well known to the national scene while at others validating conservative credentials to an unsure grassroots and even stepping in to deflect nasty attacks.
Also, from Thomas Lifson at the American Thinker blog:
The woman the left fears most emerges as an electoral powerhouse. Candidates backed by Sarah Palin visibly were powered victory, or in one case, near-victory.

[...]

Nikki Haley is the most dramatic beneficiary, having been propelled to a strong first place showing in a multi-candidate field, though just shy of 50% of the vote. She is all but certain to win a runoff election in 2 weeks. Palin's backing pulled her into the lead and bucked her up in the face of attacks on her wifely virtue, attacks she adamantly denied. A handsome woman, like Sarah Palin herself, Haley can expect the same sort of vicious anti-woman attacks the former Alaska Governor has endured. Evidently, like her northern counterpart, Haley will emerge stronger and her opponents will be self-discredited.
And from Robert Costa at NRO:
Oh, those “mama grizzlies, they rise up.” So says Sarah Palin, rightfully, and it bears repeating after two high-flying lady Republicans she championed swept to victory on Tuesday. In South Carolina, Nikki Haley outdistanced three rivals in the GOP gubernatorial primary (falling just short of a majority, but she is heavily favored to win the runoff on June 22), while in California, Carly Fiorina held off four Republicans in a crowded Senate primary. Their wins are Palin’s, too.

[...]

Tangling with opponents, however, is not the only element of Palinista politics. Friendly debate with tea-party groups is another. Palin — an outsider to the GOP establishment before she was tapped as the veep nominee, and its pit bull once brought inside — remains a trusted tea-party favorite. Though she is close to the movement, it’s important to note that she’s not of the tea parties. She was around, and battling Obama, before tricorner hats began to pop up en masse.

[...]

Palin’s willingness to mix it up with tea partiers will only help her should she decide to run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. For Palin, policy ideas and values are important. So, smartly, is winning — especially when it comes to electing her hand-picked crop of Palinistas. “No matter your gender or politics, you have to hand it to her: Palin is fearless,” says Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to Pres. George W. Bush.

Despite the complications, that’s good news for the GOP’s electoral chances. “Sarah Palin — feminist first, tea partyer second,” said one recent Christian Science Monitor headline. About that, we shouldn’t be too sure. For Palin, it seems, it’s about electing Republicans, just with a mama grizzly, please. From what we saw last night, her strategy is working.
- JP

1 comment:

  1. Even Andy Barr at Politico was forced to sit up and take notice, and he did it without his usual snark.

    Palin's backing pays off
    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38302.html#replyform

    I'm sure he's not the only one who is taking notice. Mike Huckabee for one is sure to have noticed that his endorsement didn't help DeVore in CA, Vander Plaatz in IA, or Bauer in SC. Even Romney's endorsement of Haley about a month before Palin didn't budge Haley's numbers enough to get her out of last place.

    ReplyDelete