Release: Glassman Supported by Arizonans, Not DC Establishment
March 4, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2010
Rodney Glassman Supported by Arizonans, Not DC Establishment
Despite Washington Democratic leaders desire for an establishment insider, Arizona Democratic activists and leaders are lining up behind potential U.S. Senate candidate Rodney Glassman.
“Recent comments by the DSCC only highlight the fact that, should I decide to run, I will not be an establishment candidate,” says Glassman in response to comments published today in the National Journal that Glassman may may not have sufficient Washington credentials. “Arizonans believe it’s time to send an Arizonan to Washington instead of letting Washingtonian insiders continue to represent us.”
Arizonans are showing their support for Glassman in a very tangible way: Even with his “exploratory” committee, Glassman already has more individual contributors than any candidate who has ever run against McCain. Glassman’s focus has been on $20 donations because he believes grassroots support is more important than establishment support as he “tests the waters.”
In addition to the strong grassroots support Glassman is garnering, prominent Arizona Democrats like Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and former senatorial candidate Jim Pederson, along with the entire slate of statewide Democratic candidates, are encouraging Glassman’s potential bid for U.S. Senate.
“Prominent Arizona Democrats like Jim Pedersen, Terry Goddard, and state party chair Don Bivens asked me to run against John McCain for U.S. Senate,” says Glassman, “but I believe this effort must be bottom-up not top-down. That’s why I believe that focusing on $20 donations is the right thing to do, and that’s why I invite the DSCC to come to Arizona to see for themselves what is building in Arizona as we explore the 2010 race.”
Glassman would be both the first Democratic elected official to challenge McCain in the U.S. Senate race and the first Democrat to run for this Senate seat who is encouraged and supported by every other candidate for statewide office in Arizona in nearly twenty years.
Goddard, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said of Glassman, “Rodney Glassman has already brought energy, intelligence and enthusiasm to the race for U.S. Senate, and he is still in the exploratory phase. At a time when Arizonans are crying out for new leadership, Rodney’s innovative ideas and fresh perspective are what the U.S. Senate needs.”
With Arizona’s resign-to-run law, potential candidates who want to fulfill their obligations to current constituents are hamstrung. Glassman has promised to hang tough on the Tucson City Council until early April before making any official decisions, saying: “I will not abandon my responsibilities for political expediency in a time of crisis.”
“The Tucson City Council will forward their budget recommendations to the City Manager in just 5 weeks on April 6. I understand what it would take to win this race, and should I decide to run, I will be ready to run a grassroots campaign that will rival any beltway-insider campaign that John McCain or J.D. Hayworth can muster.”
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