Voters who are unhappy with John Shadegg will have another viable choice: businessman Jon Hulburd.
No word on whether his last name is an homage to FC Dallas fanatic and Winning Ugly panelist Sarah Wilson.
Hulburd’s supporters are promising a well funded campaign. One supporter told me that Hulburd is looking to raise more than the $1.8 million that Bob Lord raised against Shadegg in 2008. Lord, by the way, is advising Hulburd.
Lord was beaten 54-42, which Democrats consider a decent number given the registration in the district. Even more than the registration advantage that Hulburd will be fighting will be Shadegg’s fundraising ability. In 2008, some saw Shadegg’s early fundraising numbers as lacsadaisical. It didn’t help that early in the year, it was unclear that Shadegg would even be a candidate. But, once Lord showed he was raising money, Shadegg turned on the taps and in the end, spent $1 million more than Lord. J. D. Hayworth will likely encounter the same phenomenon should he run against John McCain.
Still, having a strong Democratic candidate in an otherwise Republican district should help with turnout for state elections and divert Republican resources from other places.
NB – Note that Dave Schweikert was defeated by a similar margin that Lord was in his race against Harry Mitchell. And that was in a Republican district. Schweikert is considered by some to be the “Best Hope” to beat Mitchell this year. Go figure.
