The DeVore Hurts Strickland Chatter Is Just A Myth

There’s been a lot of chatter lately that should some serious challenger, most speculate that to be Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, step up to challenge Tom Harman, the ultimate victim in such a scenario would be former Assemblyman and Senate candidate Tony Strickland.

The argument is this:

The Senate Republican Caucus has a zero-sum number of dollars, and operates on a “Protect Incumbents First” Rule. Then, once all incumbents are protected, the Caucus can put a priority on Open Seats.

Thus, should someone challenge Harman (an incumbent), it would eat up dollars otherwise allocated for Open Seats (like Strickland’s attempt to keep the McClintock seat).

If those were the only two races in question – sure, the argument might have some validity. But the 08 cycle won’t happen in a two-race vacuum.

The fact of the matter is that with some nifty positioning, Abel Maldonado has all but secured a pretty easy ride through his election, thus freeing up a lot of dollars. So, should Harman get a challenger, and should his money not be able to cover the bills, there exists a much larger than anticipated pot of money – which can easily fund Strickland and Harman.

A small price to pay to clean up the Caucus gene pool.