Surprise indeed: Clayton Walker of Black Hawk wants to join the U.S. Senate race. Yesterday he filed with Secretary Gant about 3,500 signatures, nervously close to the 3,171 necessary to make the ballot as an Independent.
Walker ran for District 7 House while attending SDSU in 2010; he lost in the Democratic primary to Spence Hawley and Harold Widvey.
Mr. Powers focuses on Walker's apparent opportunism: Walker says he took up Democratic registration just to get an internship. (Given Powers's embrace of that story, expect him to also boost Stace Nelson's rage against Larry Rhoden for changing party membership in the 1990s.)
I note Mr. Walker's ageism:
He said he wants to "stand up for the young" as well as elderly voters, and supports term limits for both members of Congress and judges.
"I feel I'll be able to get more energy in the Senate than some of our older candidates," Walker said [David Montgomery, "Surprise! Unknown Black Hawk Man Files Senate Petitions," Political Smokeout, 2014.04.29].
I've seen most of the other eight Senate candidates in action, and even the oldest, Larry Pressler, seems to bring plenty of energy and enthusiasm to the campaign. But Walker appears to share the opinion of GOP lion Joel Rosenthal that the current crop of candidates are too old.
And term limits? Come on, Clayton: the best term limits are new, energetic candidates who can beat rotten incumbents.
But I will spend my day waiting for answers to two burning questions:
- Will Secretary Gant approve Walker's petition?
- What was Walker doing with an Oklahoma driver license in 2009?
I was sent a cartoon a couple days ago and all these GOP candidates remind of the new word in the cartoon -- "Exaustipated"; that is, Too tired to give a shit.