An interesting side discussion developed following a recent article, and I would like to expand on it. I hope we can get some good debate going.
What exactly is the criteria for “major candidate” status? One Republican candidate, the only one besides McCain that is still running after all nine of the others dropped out, doesn’t seem to have it. It almost seems as if there are only three major party candidates still running…
1). Must one be running as a member of one of the major or main parties to attain major candidate status?
The candidate referenced as not being one of the major candidates is a ten-term Republican Congressman from Texas, (despite previous Party wrangling to oust him).
In fact, the Party has apparently gone so far as to recruit a Democrat to switch parties to run against Dr. Paul, yet he is and has been a Republican for many years. Although he did once run for president (20 years ago) as the Libertarian nominee, he is currently a member of the Republican Party and is running for president as a Republican.
Remember these guys, who also ran on the Republican ticket?
- Jim Gilmore
- Sam Brownback
- Duncan Hunter
- Tom Tancredo
- Tommy Thompson
- Fred Thompson (now, there was a “major candidate” *cough*)
- Rudy Giuliani
- Mike Huckabee
- Mitt Romney
2). Must one have millions of dollars in campaign contributions and continue bringing in more money to attain “major” status?
Like it or not, money plays a role in any campaign. Good thing Ron Paul has enjoyed record breaking fund raising. Sure, this is something you’d probably expect to hear about non-stop, and certainly would have heard constantly, would probably still be hearing, if it had been a “major” candidate.
As just one example, his supporters raised more than $6,000,000 in a single day. The key element, I mean, aside from being a record-breaking amount in a 24 hour period, is that the majority of the money was donated by new voters/people who never donated to a campaign before.
3). Must one continue campaigning/rallying, bringing in new voters, collecting delegates, to be considered major?
Most people don’t expect that Ron Paul will become the Republican nominee. The party will no longer back someone with a truly conservative, small government, personal freedom message. It doesn’t stop him from getting that message out or continuing to draw people to him.
Even though the party continues trying to change the rules, in Idaho, Missouri , and more, to keep Dr. Paul from getting delegates, they can’t seem to put a stop to his campaign.
While “a pig growing wings and flying” might be more likely than it would be for Ron Paul to become the Republican Party’s nominee, supporters work to keep his name on ballots and to help people hear his message.
Did I mention he’s one of the only two left in the race out of 11 original Republican candidates?
Sure sounds like a major candidate to me.
Side Note: Clearly, I favor Ron Paul, but to add some perspective, I was just as vocal when Dennis Kucinich (D) was belittled and excluded from debates, not receiving a balanced amount of coverage (even though I could never vote for him). I am simply not comfortable with the type and amount of influence the parties and the media has on our elections.