Right candidates in the wrong year

[IceSpear]

What are some candidates that were very strong, but simply could not win due to the partisan tide of the specific year? For the purposes of this thread, try not to include incumbents (ex: no Lincoln Chafee in 2006 or Russ Feingold in 2010).

Here's some I can think of:

FL-Sen (2004): Betty Castor (D)
UT-Gov (2004): Scott Matheson (D)
MD-Sen (2006): Michael Steele (R)
NJ-Sen (2006): Tom Kean, Jr. (R)
IL-Gov (2006): Judy Baar Topinka (R)
LA-Sen (2008): John Kennedy (R)
NC-Gov (2008): Pat McCrory (R)
IN-Sen (2010): Brad Ellsworth (D)
MO-Sen (2010): Robin Carnahan (D)
PA-Sen (2010): Joe Sestak (D)
AZ-Gov (2010): Terry Goddard (D)
TX-Gov (2010): Bill White (D)
HI-Sen (2012): Linda Lingle (R)
MO-Sen (2012): Todd Akin (R) (had to)
NM-Sen (2012): Heather Wilson (R)
WI-Sen (2012): Tommy Thompson (R)

If 2014 turns out to be a decent Republican year, Grimes and Nunn would certainly qualify for this list, along with potentially Ross, Carter, and Burke.

[IceSpear]

Oh, I should probably add McCain for president in 2008. While he ran a horrible campaign, a lot of that was due to desperation from his lagging poll numbers. The guy used to be super popular across the entire political spectrum.

[IceSpear]

Ah, found a great old video of the kind of "competition" Wilson faced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DQ8WDjK-lc

Which again, explains why I am aligned Republican in New Mexico.

wat

That lady was the attorney general of the state?! It seems like she can barely speak English.

[IceSpear]

Ah, found a great old video of the kind of "competition" Wilson faced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DQ8WDjK-lc

Which again, explains why I am aligned Republican in New Mexico.

wat

That lady was the attorney general of the state?! It seems like she can barely speak English.

I found another great clip from that debate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJsaswfowY0

Wow, talk about cringeworthy. I'm surprised the actual election was even close. That's the power of a wave I guess.

[IceSpear]

In addition to the list in the OP:

WA Gov '12- McKenna
AZ Gov '10 - Goddard
OH Gov '06- Blackwell (or least I've heard that from Republicans)
AK Sen '04- Knowles
OK Sen '04- Carson

John Kennedy wasn't considered an A-List challenge to Landrieu in 2008.

Goddard was actually on my list. Good calls on McKenna/Knowles/Carson. Blackwell probably got crushed a little too badly in a purple state to qualify for this even though it was a Dem wave.

You probably know far more about this than I do, but I remember hearing that Kennedy was personally recruited by Karl Rove to switch parties and run against Landrieu. IIRC he also outperformed the polls.

[IceSpear]

Christine O'Donnell could have been perfect in 1692.

Only if she doesn't get burned at the stake first.