BELSHIAD, Wellington--While Nationalists are riding a nation-wide wave of anti-Conservative sentiment this election season, in the state of Wellington, it's the NAT that's on the defensive.
Nationalists are still favored in many Wellington Assembly races. But two of the state's most prominent Nationalists are up for re-election, and facing an increasingly uphill battle.
Sens. Chris DeCarro and Nadan Saralo are both up asking voters to return them to Mavocke this year, and both are facing insurgent CNS opponents.
DeCarro, will face a rematch with Rep. Joe Wilsey of Claremonte-White Pines, whom DeCarro defeated narrowly in 2008's special election.
Saralo will face two-time Senate candidate Rep. Sally Haverstein, who represents the electorate of Dempsey-Meeshaw, south of Starksmin.
DeCarro is defending a centre-left record, one that is out of step with his three other colleagues in Wellington's Senate delegation.
Saralo has a moderate voting record, but currently serves as Assistant Majority Leader, and that makes him vulnerable to attacks from Conservatives, who have sought to tie him to Majority Leader John Morandi (N-Lial) and other NAT leaders.
Both DeCarro and Saralo won by narrow margins in 2010. Both received strong support in urban Starksmin, Lunden Plains, and the regional city of Henrietta in the foothills of the Upscotch Mountains.
But Wellington, in general, is a Conservative-leaning state. And many voters in the prairie state are unhappy with President Brenton Menuhaeo, and NAT leaders in the Senate and Assembly.
Wilsey and Haverstein sense the opportunity, and say they are seeing anger building on the campaign trail.
"Every day when I talk to people across this state, they tell me they are not happy with Brenton Menuhaeo, and they're not happy with the bickering and partisanship that's coming from Nadan Saralo and Chris DeCarro," Wilsey told the NPF.
Haverstein says constituents want genuine conservatives in office who will help boost economic growth through tax cuts and reducing the debt.
"The economy is the number one issue right now for folks across Wellington, and unfortunately, all we've seen from people like Nadan Saralo and John Morandi and Brenton Menuhaeo is more taxes, more borrowing, more debt, more unemployment, less jobs. It's very frustrating to people in this state who just want to be able to make a decent living."
While momentum may be building for the two CNS Senate candidates, Nationalists haven't been easily defeated in Wellington in recent years.
In 2010, NAT Gov. Pierre Carten survived a hard-fought and expensive race against Conservative Craig Thoyer.
And also in 2010, Haverstein initially won a three-way race against Nationalist Paul Leitcher and Independent Bill Kintelli, but ultimately lost against Leitcher in a run-off election.
The Nationalists' unusual record of surviving close elections may prove to be Haverstein's third strike. This is her third bid for the Senate in four years.
Undoubtedly, voters know her name. But some question if voters may be tired of her campaigning.
"It's clear from the last four years that Sally Haverstein is more interested in being elected to the Senate than anything else," Saralo said in a recent interview with the Mavocke Capitol newspaper.
"If getting elected is that important to her, that she would spend millions of dollars and try over and over and over again, then she may very well win this election. That is real persistence, some might say. I prefer to call it an obsession," said Saralo.
DeCarro is also hitting Wilsey for his ultra-conservative views on social issues, and for what DeCarro calls Wilsey's divisive and partisan nature.
"If you ask someone to name a Conservative that is dividing this country, one of the first names they come up with is Joe Wilsey," DeCarro said. "He has pushed wedge issues to the forefront just to earn some attention and notoriety, and to demonize his political opponents. And that's not what Wellington is about."
The most recent polls showed both races neck-and-neck. But polling has been sparse this year in Wellington, so most political experts are hesitant to predict the outcome of the races.
One thing is for sure, though. Both races will be expensive and highly contentious. The DeCarro-Wilsey campaigns have raised a combined $14 million, and the Saralo-Haverstein campaigns have raised about $11 million. Outside groups have spent about $13 million on both races.
Nationalists are still favored in many Wellington Assembly races. But two of the state's most prominent Nationalists are up for re-election, and facing an increasingly uphill battle.
Sens. Chris DeCarro and Nadan Saralo are both up asking voters to return them to Mavocke this year, and both are facing insurgent CNS opponents.
DeCarro, will face a rematch with Rep. Joe Wilsey of Claremonte-White Pines, whom DeCarro defeated narrowly in 2008's special election.
Saralo will face two-time Senate candidate Rep. Sally Haverstein, who represents the electorate of Dempsey-Meeshaw, south of Starksmin.
DeCarro is defending a centre-left record, one that is out of step with his three other colleagues in Wellington's Senate delegation.
Saralo has a moderate voting record, but currently serves as Assistant Majority Leader, and that makes him vulnerable to attacks from Conservatives, who have sought to tie him to Majority Leader John Morandi (N-Lial) and other NAT leaders.
Both DeCarro and Saralo won by narrow margins in 2010. Both received strong support in urban Starksmin, Lunden Plains, and the regional city of Henrietta in the foothills of the Upscotch Mountains.
But Wellington, in general, is a Conservative-leaning state. And many voters in the prairie state are unhappy with President Brenton Menuhaeo, and NAT leaders in the Senate and Assembly.
Wilsey and Haverstein sense the opportunity, and say they are seeing anger building on the campaign trail.
"Every day when I talk to people across this state, they tell me they are not happy with Brenton Menuhaeo, and they're not happy with the bickering and partisanship that's coming from Nadan Saralo and Chris DeCarro," Wilsey told the NPF.
Haverstein says constituents want genuine conservatives in office who will help boost economic growth through tax cuts and reducing the debt.
"The economy is the number one issue right now for folks across Wellington, and unfortunately, all we've seen from people like Nadan Saralo and John Morandi and Brenton Menuhaeo is more taxes, more borrowing, more debt, more unemployment, less jobs. It's very frustrating to people in this state who just want to be able to make a decent living."
While momentum may be building for the two CNS Senate candidates, Nationalists haven't been easily defeated in Wellington in recent years.
In 2010, NAT Gov. Pierre Carten survived a hard-fought and expensive race against Conservative Craig Thoyer.
And also in 2010, Haverstein initially won a three-way race against Nationalist Paul Leitcher and Independent Bill Kintelli, but ultimately lost against Leitcher in a run-off election.
The Nationalists' unusual record of surviving close elections may prove to be Haverstein's third strike. This is her third bid for the Senate in four years.
Undoubtedly, voters know her name. But some question if voters may be tired of her campaigning.
"It's clear from the last four years that Sally Haverstein is more interested in being elected to the Senate than anything else," Saralo said in a recent interview with the Mavocke Capitol newspaper.
"If getting elected is that important to her, that she would spend millions of dollars and try over and over and over again, then she may very well win this election. That is real persistence, some might say. I prefer to call it an obsession," said Saralo.
DeCarro is also hitting Wilsey for his ultra-conservative views on social issues, and for what DeCarro calls Wilsey's divisive and partisan nature.
"If you ask someone to name a Conservative that is dividing this country, one of the first names they come up with is Joe Wilsey," DeCarro said. "He has pushed wedge issues to the forefront just to earn some attention and notoriety, and to demonize his political opponents. And that's not what Wellington is about."
The most recent polls showed both races neck-and-neck. But polling has been sparse this year in Wellington, so most political experts are hesitant to predict the outcome of the races.
One thing is for sure, though. Both races will be expensive and highly contentious. The DeCarro-Wilsey campaigns have raised a combined $14 million, and the Saralo-Haverstein campaigns have raised about $11 million. Outside groups have spent about $13 million on both races.
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