10 responses so far ↓

• 1 GOPerative // May 8, 2006 at 9:12 pm

  There are still a couple glitches but I will get them worked out soon.

• 2 TalkintoStrangers // May 17, 2006 at 8:31 pm

  Does anyone know of any internal polls showing how Robby Wagner would fare if he does decide to run against David Craig in the primary for County Executive? These rumblings about Wagner going against Craig certainly appear to be more than mere rumor. I’ve got to imagine the Robert (Martin O’Malley) Hockaday connection to County Executive Craig is not going to do Craig any favors among the GOP Base.

  Although I’m generally fond of Craig, I’ve got to admit I don’t know how he’d stand up to the pressure of a Wagner primary run. I still remember when David Craig was considered the prohibitive favorite nack in 1998 and Jim Harkins had him for lunch.

• 3 GOPerative // May 19, 2006 at 1:29 am

  TalkintoStrangers,
  I’m a little surprised by your comments. I honestly feel that Craig would beat Wagner 70-30. That may be a little generous to Wagner. I am a member of the GOP base and for the most part we support Craig. Wagner will be out of a job after November whether he runs against Craig or Kazi. That being said, I would like to see more local polls. I have done some on the blog with some success. The problem is people cheat. I might put a Craig vs. Wagner poll up some day just to see if my gut feelings are correct. I’m pretty sure they are.

• 4 EhrlichGuy // May 19, 2006 at 3:30 am

  GOPerative,

  I am not sure I agree. The people who land on this site are “inside baseball” people. They closely watch the candidates and generally live and breath this stuff. The majority of voters just go on name recognition and in this county- a gut feeling of who they think is most conservative. Wagner has been moving to the right this entire last year. He might be doing this in contemplation of a run against Craig. It is actually very logical. Wagner plays hardball. Craig seems incapable of playing hardball. Craig asks for a slew of new positions at the worst possible time, Wagner kills them, etc. On paper, Wagner is the more conservative one. With enough mailings, he can get this across. He can explain the Snodgrass (D) vote as a protest vote. Wagner also has a lot of money to dump into a race. Craig has a long political record to rip apart. It could get ugly and who knows what happens. As it is, Wagner is in trouble in the Council Presidency race, but a lateral hop could throw everyone off kilter. Heck- he might just do to throw everyone off kilter and see what happens. Politics is a crazy business.

  If Wagner jumps into the race, Craig will have to make a hard move to the right. It is kind of tough to do this when your campaign is being run by a big O’MALLEY supporter like BOB HOCKADAY and your WIFE had fund raisers for KKT?!?!??! Next we will discover that Craig was a Carter delegate.

  Answer me this GOPerative- and anyone else out there: What do YOU think about Craig’s campaign being run by a O’Malley supporter? I think it is very good and serious question.

• 5 GOPerative // May 19, 2006 at 10:26 am

  EhrlichGuy,
  I know exactally where you are coming from. I know people who, like Stepp, took a long time to get their brain around the thought of Craig as Executive (referring to her pause before casting her vote for Craig). I am not sure I share your concern about Craig’s Hockaday connections. It is certainly something to keep an eye on. I did know about Craig’s wife holding a fundraiser for KKT. I think that should have been probed before he replaced Harkins. I think Wagner has a lot of damage control to do before he paints himself to the Right of Craig. Like you said, he probably does have the money to re-create himself in the public eye. For some reason my gut still says Wagner does not have a chance this September. I like the thought of Wagner mixing things up because I never liked boring campaign seasons.

• 6 Talkintostrangers // May 20, 2006 at 5:13 pm

  I’d heard Melinda Craig had a fundraiser for Kathleen Townsend right before the 2002 General Election, but figured that had been vetted by the Ehrlich folks before the Governor gave his nod to Craig to replace Harkins.
  And, like I intimated and as you said GOPerative, the Hoockaday-Craig connection certainly is worth watching, at the very least.

  David Craig is a nice guy who believes people like him and will support him because of his work. Robby Wagner will paint himself any way he has to in order to win. At this point, if I’m Wagner and I’m looking at a potential loss, I’d rather lose to Craig than to a newcomer for an office he’s held for years. There is a method to Wagner’s madness, though, and I tend to believe it is to marginalize Craig by making him seem irrelevant (the killing of the recently requested positions; the trashing of Craig’s comprehensive rezoning plan). Again, I refer to Jim Harkins defeating David Craig back in 1998. Nearly every inside player thought Craig had that race in the bag.

• 7 EhrlichGuy // May 21, 2006 at 1:31 pm

  Well here is a question: What if Senator Nancy Jacobs jumped into the County Executive race at the last minute?

  I believe she would demolish Craig. She is tough, a great fund raiser, and has no Hockadays around her- she also does not have a pro-KKT spouse! She beat a Helton once- she can do it again!

  She is a true blue Republican. I think Craig has a lot to be worried about.

  GOPerative- check out the poll for Wagner v. Craig. It is actually close and does not looked stacked ?!?@?! Wagner could actually win. Amazing.

  Is Craig just not a fighter? Has his years as a school bureaucrat killed any fighting spirit he might have had? Is he just not a fighter?

• 8 GOPerative // May 21, 2006 at 5:17 pm

  EhrlichGuy,
  I’ll admit the poll closer than I thought. I think that County employees may have to vote from home because only one vote per IP address is allowed. Many of the County computers are on the same IP address. I forget how I configured the poll but I think it is more difficult to cheat (not impossible, but more difficult).

  I would welcome a Nancy Jacobs County Executive run. I think she could win too. I have not heard this option in my circle but I think it would be welcomed. The problem is that she would need to abandon her “Leadership Team.”

  As far as Craig being a fighter, we will see. I think he will fight if he is given a reason too. I do not see “Ann has a plan” being much of a challenge. He would fight against Wagner. I know that for a fact. I mentioned this before, Wagner is not well liked by many people at the moment. I know the “inside baseball” crowd will not be pushing the possible Wagner ticket even for his current position much less the Executive position. The reality is the “inside” crowd bring votes with them. I know that sounds like the GOBN but that is the way it is right now.

  I still stay with my gut, Craig could and would beat Wagner.

• 9 EhrlichGuy // May 21, 2006 at 8:29 pm

  I agree with your gut- that Craig likely wins. I just do not think it will be a blow out. A Wagner v. Craig matchup could be much closer than people assumed. This also assumes that nothing big comes out on Craig. He does have baggage. Nepotism, big developer friends like Bill Cox (who is a Dem), Bulle Rock stuff, as well as that O’Malley operative-Hockaday on his team. Hockaday’s presence really is a big deal. He supports a man that might beat the first Republican Governor we have had in years. Ehrlich is unhappy with Hockadays presence on Craigs campaign. This really tarnishes Craig. If Wagner direct mailed this fact to every registered Republican in the county, he could win the election. He could do a follow up about Craigs KKT fundraiser.

  What happens if our choice ends up being Wagner or Helton? If Craig allows this to happen, he should be forced to move out of the county. Run out on a rail.

  On Jacobs- why not do a poll on Jacobs v. Craig or even Hooper v. Craig? I bet they both blow him out of the water.

• 10 GoldwaterGOP // May 25, 2006 at 12:09 am

  I have one question….how can Bulle Rock possibly be a negative with Craig? The development is one of the premier destinations in the East Coast. It also has provided the city of Havre de Grace millions of dollars in taxes to help fund the needed infrastructure and the ongoing renaissance the city has seen. Give me a break on this one….Bulle Rock can easily be sold as a win for Mr. Craig. Would you rather see another trailer park pop up on Rt. 40? Bulle Rock was perfectly timed, and will provide much needed housing for the influx of workers due to BRAC. I call it good planning and quality design!

  Craig could also direct mail every Republican and say that he voted for O’Malley’s new Deputy Campaign Manager over Craig for County Executive. Wagner has his own baggage with Ehrlich and with the Republican Party grassroots folks. From what I hear, the KKT Fundraiser has all been forgiven. Craig took his lumps on that one already.

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