Why Not Support Wertz?

During political campaigning, it is important to gain the backing of one's political party. Without this support, it becomes difficult to raise money in order to organize a competitive and successful campaign.

Matt Wertz, the Republican challenger of Democrat Tim Holden in the District Seventeen race, found this out the hard way. In Wertz's recently failed campaign, he was unable to raise money and gain the support that is so important from his political party. In a recent interview, Wertz offered his thoughts on why he was unable to gain support from the Republican Party.

When asked, "Did you feel as if you had the backing of the Republican Party," Wertz responded, "The short answer is, no." He then went on to provide a deeper analysis. Wertz said that the Republican Party was less than willing to put funds into his campaign chest partly because of the "stunning defeat of Rep. George Gekas in 2002, and a poor showing trying to get Scott Paterno elected in 2004." This statement basically implies that if George Gekas and Scott Paterno, with name recognition, party support, and abundant campaign funds, can not unseat Tim Holden, then a marginal candidate, like Matt Wertz, stands no chance against Holden.

Also in response to the above question, Wertz said, "The information that I received from a well-placed source was that all the major players in the community (I'm talking Republicans here) like Tim, and see no reason to change congressmen. They appreciate and admire my military record, but they like Tim." This quote is meant to show the difficulties that Wertz encountered as a challenger attempting to unseat a popular incumbent. Wertz also blamed his lack of support on his inability to form a professional campaign team. He mentioned that he had "no lead time," and in order for candidates to run a successful campaign they need "at least eighteen months prep time to get supporters, volunteers, etc."

Therefore, Wertz blames his inability to gain the support of the Republican Party on three reasons in particular. The first reason is that history was against him. If well funded, popular Republican candidates were unable to defeat Holden, then Wertz's chances of winning as a marginal candidate were very slim. The second reason is simply that Tim Holden is popular. Democrat, as well as some Republican voters, saw no justifiable reason to remove Holden from office, thus dooming Wertz's campaign from the start. Finally, the third reason why Wertz could not gain the backing of the Republican Party was his failure at organizing a professional campaign team. It is these three reasons that Matt Wertz highlighted to explain his lack of support for the Republican Party.

Aaron Warchal