GOP Big Money: How it Failed Ed Gillespie

BY BILL FENG

“The votes just aren’t there,” Ed Gillespie told his supporters, adding that he had phoned Warner earlier in the day to congratulate him. On November 7, the Republican candidate and former chairman of the RNC conceded the Virginia Senate race to Democrat incumbent Mark Warner.

Why is Bill Pointing this Out?

From the start, Ed Gillespie’s Senate run faced attacks by every facet of the political mainstream. For months, major polls placed Ed Gillespie behind Democrat Mark Warner by double digits. Most political analysts saw his Senate run to unseat a popular incumbent as “farfetched”. Few outside sources found the Virginia race to be competitive. On Election Night, Gillespie not only ended up over-performing his bleak forecast, but also shocked political opponents when he moved within mere decimal points (0.7%) from defeating Warner. The Republican drew an impressive amount of voters, despite his relatively underfunded campaign compared to his opponent. By running what may have amounted to be one of the largest election upsets in recent history, one has to ask: where was the GOP?

Mistake: Not Standing Behind Gillespie

Because of the bleak forecasts of Gillespie’s Senate campaign, Gillespie struggled to receive outside funding from Super PACs and large Republican donors. Despite limited resources, the candidate organized and led a flawless campaign. He remained on message and focuses on one of the top issues this election cycle: the national economy. His effective campaigning influenced undecided voters those not expecting to participate in the elections to cast their ballot for Gillespie. If Gillespie performed so well with highly limited funding, imagine the results he could have accomplished with a large war chest.

The Senate race in North Carolina , this past cycle, became the most expensive Senate race in history, with a reported outside spending of $81.2 million. Outside spending within Virginia measured a measly $2.6 million dollars. For perspective, the New Hampshire national Senate race witnessed an influx of $6.4 million from out of state and considering that race pitted the so-called Republican “carpetbagger” Scott Brown against the Democratic incumbent Jeanne Shaheen. If there is one thing that Republicans should have done during these midterms, it was to financially support Gillespie. Instead, Republicans looked the other way. Instead, the Republicans left him to work alone. Instead, the Republicans spent absurd amounts of money in “closer” races, withdrawing any and all support from quality candidates such as Gillespie.

Gillespie’s Loss, a Loss for Virginia and the Nation.

In the end, Gillespie’s loss hurts everyone. With decades of experience as a political operative, Ed Gillespie has been known for assisting congressional members on creating bipartisan economic policies. He was a co-founder of Quinn, Gillespie & Associates, the first government relations firm to employ experienced professionals from both sides of the aisle. As former chairman of the RNC and a well-respected stay in American politics, Gillespie had the right experience to help break down the congressional deadlock. Mark Warner, during the campaign, attempted to portray himself as a bipartisan player – which failed when his record showed himself voting along Obama’s stances 117 out of 117 times. While Warner made himself out as a foot soldier, Gillespie should have positioned himself as a congressional leader.

With the impressive showings from election night, Ed Gillespie became a frontrunner for the state’s next gubernatorial election.