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So what is the lower tier of candidates doing to propel themselves to the top tier? You don’t really expect any of them to approach the current poll leaders, do you? But then, what’s the point of being in a campaign if not to win? Some candidates in the past have entered a Presidential race to do nothing more than bring attention to the issues, improve their standing in a current elected office, improve name recognition for a future run or just to muddy up the place. Most voters may support a lower tier candidate because they strongly support an issue only a lower tier candidate can afford to promote. Some are so dissatisfied with the top tier and typical choices that the lower tier support is like a protest vote.

You will not get anything from lower tier candidates but the same victory predictions or aspirations displayed by the top tier. The money to win may not be there and the strategy and tactics do not reflect the same strength of the upper tier campaigns. And there is no shortage of trading barbs or wild west tactics within the ranks of those barely visible in the polls.

Senator Sam Brownback has decided the straw poll in Iowa is THE target. With Giuliani, McCain and Thompson not a factor, a second place finish is not outside the realm of possibilities for the Senator. But his automated ‘robo-call’ methods to attack his opponents does not come without a downside. Some might suggest this tactic should be part of the national do not call list. If any voter is annoyed by unsolicited calls, getting one from an automated system on any subject cannot be any more pleasing than the traditional human counterpart. And the complaints from competing campaigns, the subjects of the calls, may cause potential voters to challenge the validity of the claims. But then we’ll know how well this worked sometime in August.

Pure Horserace: Brownback’s Bold Move

July 26, 2007(CBS) When Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback entered the race for the Republican presidential nomination, he wasn’t placed in the top tier, but was expected to still be a factor, especially when it came down to attracting the evangelical Christian voters that comprise a large part of the GOP voting base. But until this point, Brownback has largely been a non-entity in the contest, his fund raising and poll numbers putting him at the bottom of the field.

Finding anything reasonable to discuss about Mike Gravel’s campaign is difficult. Withdrawing from public life, experiencing two bankruptcies, entering the Pentagon Papers into the public record and offering a campaign reminiscent of the sixties’ counterculture does not lend itself to the current campaign. This lower tier attempt will be lucky to net the Gravel campaign a footnote in the 2008 elections.

Regardless of your politics, you gotta love the Kucinich campaign. If you’re on the left, he speaks to long standing and underlying positions of the Democratic party. Peace, programs and solving problems with government intervention. If you’re on the right, he helps the GOP by harassing other Democratic candidates.

Democrat Kucinich: long shot who keeps on running

Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:47PM EDT
By Andrea Hopkins
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich has just 1 percent support in the polls, six candidates ahead of him and next to no chance of becoming U.S. president. But don’t tell him that.

While this post was presented in light of the recent Democratic party debate via CNN/YouTube, the lower tier of the GOP presents some interesting choices as well. Perhaps one undisclosed purpose by lower tier candidates from both major parties is a chance at a spot on the ticket as a running mate. While John Cox, Ron Paul and Tommy Thompson are very unlikely to pose any threat in a run for the 2008 nomination, the lower tier of GOP candidates has some contenders with more than no chance at all. Brownback, Huckabee, Hunter and Tancredo are established politicians but their contribution to the race may only serve to slow the process of finding a breakout candidate.

The continuing postponements to announce from the Fred Thompson campaign together with this week’s campaign staff changes and rumors of friction certainly do nothing to improve the former Senator’s standing with potential voters or donors.

While Giuliani remains on top the GOP national poll numbers and has actually started to do some campaigning, the fact remains his appeal to the typical conservative base is in question. While Romney continues to strengthen his poll numbers and rankings in the early states, his fund raising has slowed, his spending is up and appears to have relaxed campaigning with the exception of attacking the Dems. And the McCain campaign still appears to be stalled. Right at this moment, the claims by observers and Democrats suggesting GOP fund raising and voter apathy as serious problems may have some credibility. But the recent flaw in Clinton’s armor again suggests its a long campaign season and nothing has yet been decided……nothing.

Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com

This entry was posted on Friday, July 27th, 2007 at 1:49 pm and is filed under Public Affairs, wordpress, Politics, campaign, election, McCain, GOP, Democrats, Tancredo, Clinton, thompson, romney, giuliani, Brownback. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.