Wednesday, March 25, 2009

New Republican Candidate For Governor Now Available

Should have covered this on Monday, but other things came up...

From the blog of former D-Backs (and now "former Red Sox") pitcher Curt Schilling -

"Turn out the lights, the party’s over"

I used to wait with bated breath for Don Meredith to start singing that on "Monday Night Football."

Normally, it was sweet music if the Steelers were playing. If I could get him to sing it again, I would. This party has officially ended. After being blessed to experience 23 years of playing professional baseball in front of the world's best fans in so many different places, it is with zero regrets that I am making my retirement official.

Now that Schilling is leaving baseball behind him, expect him to move into politics.

He's been popular in Republican circles for a while (of course, all that takes is a conservative viewpoint, a loud mouth, and deep pockets). There was talk about him running for U.S. Senate against John Kerry last year (which didn't happen last year, but if Ted Kennedy retires due to his medical issues, expect Schilling's name to crop up again) and he campaigned for John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign.

With his ties to AZ (and the fact that MA is bluer than the North Atlantic), his political ambitions could take him back to the desert.

Of course, regardless of his Rep bonafides, gaining a nomination here in AZ will be tough. The Reps seem to be turning on Jan Brewer, signalling what could be a crowded and bloody primary for the governor's spot on the ballot. The seat, while not technically "open," it won't have an elected incumbent in it, so pretty much every Rep who's kissed a baby or worked the LD circuit is eyeing the seat.

They won't roll over for a newbie outsider, deep-pocketed or not.

...Now this post is either incisive speculation on possible 2010 candidates, or it's a cheap ploy to boost readership by mentioning someone famous.

You decide which it is. :))

Other 2010 candidate news -

- Somebody named Roy Miller has filed as a "$500 Exemption" candidate for Governor, no party affiliation listed. A "$500" committee for Governor would be more accurately called a "tilting at windmills" committee.

- State Sen. John Huppenthal has semi-confirmed the rumors of his future plans by forming an "exploratory" committee for Superintendent of Public Instruction. (SOS filer ID: 201000065 )

- John McCain's CountryFirst PAC has formed an AZ version of same (SOS filer ID: 201000066)

2 comments:

Stephen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stephen said...

Politics probably isn't his focus right now. He started a video game company with another famous valley resident, Todd McFarland. He's trying to build an MMO to compete with World of Warcraft.

He helps host a podcast about World of Warcraft. He spends hours every week playing it with his son. He has even been created as a game character in another large MMO by Sony called Everquest.

He's said in the past that once he retires he's planning to bury himself in his new game company. He's said he's put a ton of his money into it. I don't think he's anywhere near as passionate about politics as people think he is. He's just passionate about whatever issues he cares about. That doesn't necessarily translate into political aspirations.