ND-SEN: Cramer likely to run

[moderatevoter]

So Cory Gardner is NRSC Chairman? I would have preferred Tillis; politically I like Gardner better but Tillis is clearly the better strategist/campaigner, as he was triaged IIRC yet still won, while Gardner won by what appeared to be an underwhelming margin. But I wish Gardner well and I know he'll still do a great job.

No? Tillis was never triaged. National Republican groups, like the NRSC, dropped $6M in the last few weeks to put Tillis over the top.

North Carolina, especially in a midterm, is much more favorable for Republicans than Colorado. The fact that race was tight says a lot about Tillis as a candidate and his campaign.

[moderatevoter]

So Cory Gardner is NRSC Chairman? I would have preferred Tillis; politically I like Gardner better but Tillis is clearly the better strategist/campaigner, as he was triaged IIRC yet still won, while Gardner won by what appeared to be an underwhelming margin. But I wish Gardner well and I know he'll still do a great job.

No? Tillis was never triaged. National Republican groups, like the NRSC, dropped $6M in the last few weeks to put Tillis over the top.

North Carolina, especially in a midterm, is much more favorable for Republicans than Colorado. The fact that race was tight says a lot about Tillis as a candidate and his campaign.

Never mind, my apologies. I just remember most people, going into election night, viewed Hagan as the favorite and seem to recall many describing Tillis's win as an upset. Plus I thought I read somewhere that he stopped getting NRSC cash in August. I was mistaken, then.

Rob Portman would have been better than Tillis and Garnder combined, IMO.

Hagan had about an eight point lead a month out. Tillis tightened the race after that, but Hagan maintained about a one point lead in election day, and so people predicted that she had run out the clock and would barely survive.

Ultimately, Tillis is lucky the election was held when it was. Had it been held even half a week earlier, Hagan would have won.

The trajectory of that race sort of matches this year's presidential race. Tillis's numbers bobbed up and down, especially when the controversial legislature was in session, but Hagan's numbers rarely exceeded 46-47%.