Former senator, a moderate, defeats socially-conservative opponent
HARLYNE, Harvannah -- Conservative party leadership is breathing a sigh of relief today after their preferred Senate candidate prevailed in the state's primary election, routing a more socially and fiscally conservative opponent.
Eric Danzinger, 36, had been gaining momentum in the final week of the campaign. But the young, handsome Air Force veteran and married father of three young children was unsuccessful in his bid to bar the establishment's choice candidate, former Senator Andre "Bourret" Magiscanti.
A final vote count released by Secretary of State Jennifer Giorchani's office showed Magiscanti earning 56.64% and Danzinger receiving 43.36%, or 79,536 votes to 60,894 votes, respectively.
Mr. Danzinger, who lives in northern Saoca County and is currently enlisted in the Air Force reserves after fifteen years with the military, was once thought of as a nominal opponent with little chance of winning the party's nomination.
A first-time office-seeker with no name recognition and a small campaign war chest, Danzinger was brushed aside by Magiscanti's campaign as disregardable.
But it was that same dismissive attitude in the Magiscanti camp that led to Mr. Danzinger's sudden rise in the polls.
Magiscanti - a known moderate with socially liberal positions - had succumbed to entitlement, Mr. Danzinger argued.
When Mr. Magicanti declined to debate him, Mr. Danzinger called the snub "arrogant."
"He thinks the nomination is automatically his because he's a former senator. He thinks he doesn't have to debate me because I'm not in the same league, I'm not quite in the same tier. I'm just some nobody going up against a big-name former senator. But I'm here to tell you folks, the nomination is earned. You don't automatically get it because you were some big-name guy. You don't automatically get it because the party big wigs like you. You get the nomination because you earned it and the voters choose you," Mr. Danzinger said at a May 27 campaign rally in Flag Harbor.
Hal Swenson, a Conservative member of the Western Harvannah Metropolitan Council (WHMC) from Bourneham County, said Magiscanti's refusal to debate Mr. Danzinger was unfair to Conservative voters.
"The voters should have the chance to hear all the candidates, to see where they differ in their policies and positions, and Mr. Magiscanti has robbed the voters of that," Swenson said.
The Magiscanti campaign responded by saying the senator's schedule was too full to accommodate a debate.
Mr. Magiscanti himself tried to downplay the debate issue, chocking it up to a scheduling conflict.
"I have no problem debating other Conservative candidates or anybody else for that matter. The voters of Harvannah know me, they know my positions, they know where I stand on the issues, so this notion that I avoided a debate because I was scared I'd lose is nonsensical," Magiscanti said.
In the end, Magiscanti's refusal to debate Mr. Danzinger didn't significantly hurt him at the polls. Voters interviewed at exit polls wanted a strong, well-known candidate who can defeat NAT incumbent Glenn Rosen.
At his election night celebration at the Nevington Boardwalk, Mr. Magiscanti appeared triumphant, telling the excited crowd "this is the first step on the road back to Mavocke."
"We sent a message to Mavocke tonight, a warning shot across the bow, if you will," Magiscanti said. "We are tired of the status quo. We are tired of the way John Morandi and the Nationalists are running the Senate. We're tired of the economic stagnation that's been happening under this administration for the past almost eight years. We are tired of politicians putting their own selfish interest first before the good of the people they have been sworn to serve," he said to applause.
Mr. Magiscanti was joined by his wife Ann, who serves on the Western Harvannah Metropolitan Council (WHMC).
Mrs. Magiscanti represents District 9, which encompasses Nevington and the eastern outskirts of Harlyne, where the couple reside.
In the coming weeks, Mr. Magiscanti plans to cross the state on a "listening tour," where he will hold town hall meetings and hear concerns from citizens.
Early polling in the race shows both Bourret Magiscanti and Glenn Rosen locked in a dead-even race.
HARLYNE, Harvannah -- Conservative party leadership is breathing a sigh of relief today after their preferred Senate candidate prevailed in the state's primary election, routing a more socially and fiscally conservative opponent.
Eric Danzinger, 36, had been gaining momentum in the final week of the campaign. But the young, handsome Air Force veteran and married father of three young children was unsuccessful in his bid to bar the establishment's choice candidate, former Senator Andre "Bourret" Magiscanti.
A final vote count released by Secretary of State Jennifer Giorchani's office showed Magiscanti earning 56.64% and Danzinger receiving 43.36%, or 79,536 votes to 60,894 votes, respectively.
Mr. Danzinger, who lives in northern Saoca County and is currently enlisted in the Air Force reserves after fifteen years with the military, was once thought of as a nominal opponent with little chance of winning the party's nomination.
A first-time office-seeker with no name recognition and a small campaign war chest, Danzinger was brushed aside by Magiscanti's campaign as disregardable.
But it was that same dismissive attitude in the Magiscanti camp that led to Mr. Danzinger's sudden rise in the polls.
Magiscanti - a known moderate with socially liberal positions - had succumbed to entitlement, Mr. Danzinger argued.
When Mr. Magicanti declined to debate him, Mr. Danzinger called the snub "arrogant."
"He thinks the nomination is automatically his because he's a former senator. He thinks he doesn't have to debate me because I'm not in the same league, I'm not quite in the same tier. I'm just some nobody going up against a big-name former senator. But I'm here to tell you folks, the nomination is earned. You don't automatically get it because you were some big-name guy. You don't automatically get it because the party big wigs like you. You get the nomination because you earned it and the voters choose you," Mr. Danzinger said at a May 27 campaign rally in Flag Harbor.
Hal Swenson, a Conservative member of the Western Harvannah Metropolitan Council (WHMC) from Bourneham County, said Magiscanti's refusal to debate Mr. Danzinger was unfair to Conservative voters.
"The voters should have the chance to hear all the candidates, to see where they differ in their policies and positions, and Mr. Magiscanti has robbed the voters of that," Swenson said.
The Magiscanti campaign responded by saying the senator's schedule was too full to accommodate a debate.
Mr. Magiscanti himself tried to downplay the debate issue, chocking it up to a scheduling conflict.
"I have no problem debating other Conservative candidates or anybody else for that matter. The voters of Harvannah know me, they know my positions, they know where I stand on the issues, so this notion that I avoided a debate because I was scared I'd lose is nonsensical," Magiscanti said.
In the end, Magiscanti's refusal to debate Mr. Danzinger didn't significantly hurt him at the polls. Voters interviewed at exit polls wanted a strong, well-known candidate who can defeat NAT incumbent Glenn Rosen.
At his election night celebration at the Nevington Boardwalk, Mr. Magiscanti appeared triumphant, telling the excited crowd "this is the first step on the road back to Mavocke."
"We sent a message to Mavocke tonight, a warning shot across the bow, if you will," Magiscanti said. "We are tired of the status quo. We are tired of the way John Morandi and the Nationalists are running the Senate. We're tired of the economic stagnation that's been happening under this administration for the past almost eight years. We are tired of politicians putting their own selfish interest first before the good of the people they have been sworn to serve," he said to applause.
Mr. Magiscanti was joined by his wife Ann, who serves on the Western Harvannah Metropolitan Council (WHMC).
Mrs. Magiscanti represents District 9, which encompasses Nevington and the eastern outskirts of Harlyne, where the couple reside.
In the coming weeks, Mr. Magiscanti plans to cross the state on a "listening tour," where he will hold town hall meetings and hear concerns from citizens.
Early polling in the race shows both Bourret Magiscanti and Glenn Rosen locked in a dead-even race.
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