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Closing thoughts on the Leach endorsement pull

CORRECTION APPENDED (See bottom)

So yesterday I wrote about the inside-baseball implications of Daylin Leach’s decision to pull his support from Doug Pike and go neutral in the 6th District.

I still haven’t heard back from Leach, and I get the impression he doesn’t want to talk about this. I’ll keep trying in the interest of due diligence, but here’s a couple other thoughts in the meantime.

•In calling around to various party insiders, it became clear that, if nothing else, Leach’s move could give cover to other Democrats who have endorsed Pike to get back on the fence. Some people, it seems, are waiting to see if this “stops the bleeding,” so to speak. But it stands to reason that the bleeding would stop if it were coming from the bottom up, not the top down. Leach was one of the more prominent politicians on Pike’s endorsement list, though certainly not the most prominent, and if he can do it, others down the ladder may think they can, too. Obviously, this is nitty-gritty inside baseball stuff that means little to voters and has little—if any—impact at the polls. But it’s fun to think about.

•One factor I failed to mention in my previous post is Connie Williams. Leach last year won the state Senate seat that Williams had held for a long time. She’s been a major contributor for him, and it’s fair to say a major supporter in helping him build a political career. And, as you might remember, she endorsed Manan Trivedi. Could mean something, could mean nothing.

This may be the last endorsement that Pike loses. But don’t be surprised if there are one or two more. Regardless, a primary that was supposed to be an open field for Pike is, at the minimum, quite interesting.

Correction: This post originally said I hadn’t heard back from Pike. I meant to say I haven’t heard back from Leach.

November 25, 2009 at 9:07 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

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