Cunningham: Democrats Need More Time To Pick Nominee
Rejecting calls from his opponent not to pursue a runoff campaign, Cal Cunningham today challenged his opponent to up to five debates before a second vote June 22 among North Carolina Democrats to choose a Senate nominee.
"We think that Tuesday's ballot was a pretty clear indication that voters would like more information about their candidates," he told reporters this afternoon.
Though Elaine Marshall led Cunningham by more than 9 points in Tuesday's vote, Cunningham argued that he had shown the momentum late in the race. He also turned to quotes from Marshall in her past statewide races embracing runoffs.
"Ms. Marshall can't have it both ways," he said, quoting her as saying in 1996 that a runoff "was one of the best things that could have happened to her." "We're in an environment where she's been running statewide for 14 years. They know her. I'm the new guy. And we think that the more the electorate tuned in in the run-up to election day on Tuesday, the more they responded to our message and looked for another candidate other than the one that they knew. We obviously were the beneficiary of people looking for an energetic alternative."
"She's been running statewide for 14 years," Cunningham said.
Cunningham said he would be reaching out to the other candidates from the contest, including Ken Lewis -- the only African American in the race.
National Democrats were critical in convincing Cunningham to run, and remain convinced that he'd be a better nominee to face Sen. Richard Burr (R) in November. Asked by RCP if he had received any commitments from the DSCC to help him in the runoff, Cunningham declined to offer specifics. He said he had not spoken with DSCC chair Bob Menendez since Tuesday's vote.
"We're sizing up where we are, we're putting together a plan that will ensure we're successful June 22," he said. "We are making sure that we have all the resources that we need." He added that "all of the parts of the coalition that got us to where we are are in tact."
Given the resources he'd already expended, Cunningham was asked if his 9-point loss was a disappointment. He argued that he considered the outcome a success, having "outperformed any poll" and that he "overcame a greater than 37-point deficit in the span of just several months against the second highest vote-getter in North Carolina history." Campaign manager Rick Fromberg noted that Marshall's team had predicted she'd win outright this week.