Let me get this out of the way right from the start: Anyone has the right to run for office.
That said, they do NOT have the right to be taken seriously.
Every election cycle we get a slew of usually well-intentioned people throwing their hat in the ring for offices they have no business running for. Here’s the latest example.
As our Brittany Sheehan wrote yesterday, Irina Hansen has announced that she’ll be challenging Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in the primary next year.
As Brittany wrote, “Hansen’s challenge is more annoying than threatening.”
True. Let’s roll the tape…
With ZERO political experience, connections, or donor support, Hansen ran for Las Vegas mayor last year. She came in NINTH with just 849 votes out of 72,434 votes cast (1.17%).
Hang on. It gets worse.
According to her campaign finance reports, she raised ZERO dollars. Her entire campaign consisted of a $5,000 “in-kind” donation for some printing and $3,385 of her own money.
So, naturally, we’re supposed to believe that makes her ready for prime time in a statewide gubernatorial race?
And to put this in perspective, for the gubernatorial primary in 2022, Lombardo reported raising more than $1.6 MILLION!
I don’t know Ms. Hansen. Probably a very nice lady. But that’s not what this is about. This is about winning elections.
And if Republicans want to start winning more elections, they need to stop wasting time, money, and effort treating fringe candidates like this as legitimate just because they have an “R” after their name.
Folks such as Ms. Hansen need to check their egos while undergoing a reality check and set their sights on lower offices to get their foot in the political door.
Lord knows Gov. Lombardo needs reinforcements in Carson City!
As an example, consider current Las Vegas Mayor Shelly Berkley – who crushed Hansen in the primary.
Berkley cut her political teeth in the Nevada State Assembly, then the Board of Regents, then Congress, then lost a U.S. Senate race, before coming back to win the Las Vegas mayor’s race last year.
It’s a political roadmap that Ms. Hansen, and others like her who want to start off at the top, should study and follow. Campaigns are a LOT more than simply placing your name on the ballot.
They have the right to do so. But again, we have no obligation to take their candidacy seriously – and shouldn’t.
