Brenda Glassman says sexism played a role in loss to Sam Pyatt

 DEROSA, E. Des. -- She was favored to win but ended up falling short.

Brenda Glassman's loss in East Deschire's Tuesday primary election is her second defeated attempt for federal Senate.

And now, twice unsuccessful candidate is blaming her loss to former Gov. Sam Pyatt, at least partly, on sexism.

"There's no doubt in my mind that Sam Pyatt ran a sexist campaign against me," Glassman told the Hansboro Laureate newspaper Sunday afternoon in a telephone interview from her home in the central part of the state.

"They [the Pyatt campaign] played up the gender issue. They portrayed me as more liberal just because I'm a woman. They portrayed me as weaker because I'm a woman. They made comments about my clothing and my appearance. They made comments about me at the Spring Skeet Shootout earlier this spring about how I couldn't operate a gun as well as Sam could. They made comments about how I was too "grandmotherly" to be a good senator. They just turned my gender into a big issue when really gender shouldn't be an issue at all," Glassman told the Laureate.

Sexism within the party's membership also played a role in her loss, Glassman asserted.

"There is a deep current of sexism in the Conservative Party, particularly in the more rural areas and 'red states' like East Deschire. In those places, the Conservative Party is dominated by men. And even many women voters are reluctant to vote for women. Even female voters favor the male candidates, which is oddly paradoxical. It's just because of Conservative culture and conservative values on gender, I guess," she said.

Reporter Don Levin from the Laureate pointed out that women have had some success in East Deschire, most notably current Senator Nancy Lindselli and former Senator Denna Halitz.

"Yes, that's true we have elected a handful of Conservative women in East Deschire. But it's also true that those women were running against other women. It's very rarely happened in our state that a Conservative woman has been up against a Conservative man. My primary race with Sam Pyatt was one of the first occasions where we had a Conservative primary election that centered around gender and sex. And I think it unfortunately became more about that than the actual issues," Glassman added.

Despite her anger at the perceived sexism aimed against her, Glassman says she still lost the election fair and square.

"I don't dispute the election results. Sam won fair and square. I respect the will of the voters. I'm not going to contest it or say it was a 'stolen election.' But I am going to stand up and say that sexism is wrong. Especially when it's aimed at strong Conservative women like myself. We should be encouraging strong Conservative women to stand up and come out of the shadows. For far too long, they've been reluctant to come forward. And instead of encouraging them, we have a candidate and a party that is really pushing them back into the shadows trying to mute them and silence them. And I think that's wrong, so I will continue to speak out against that," she said.

The Pyatt campaign responded in a written statement, telling the Laureate newspaper that the former governor was "stunned" that Glassman felt discriminated against.

"Sam Pyatt is shocked and stunned by the allegations made by Brenda Glassman. Governor Pyatt is committed to gender equality, and has always been committed to uplifting and elevating Conservative women in the party's ranks and dialogue. At no time was there ever any intention of mocking Brenda Glassman because of her gender or any attempt to demean her because of her status as a woman. Governor Pyatt is open to speaking directly with Brenda so that these concerns can be heard and discussed in a constructive manner," the statement said.

Glassman finished just behind Pyatt in Tuesday's primary.

The former governor ended the night with 53.5% to Glassman's 46.5 percent, respectively.

Pyatt won a majority of counties, doing particularly well in the western half of the state, from which he hails. Pyatt also did well in the state's eastern metropolitan centers.

Glassman did well in a handful of rural counties. She was in contention in the state's most populous counties, but didn't win any major population centers.

She has yet to decide if she will endorse Pyatt in the general election.

The primary race between the two candidates was particularly nasty, with Glassman declaring her candidacy first, and Pyatt personally lobbying Glassman to drop out and make room for his candidacy.

"I announced I was running first. I was the first one in this race. He didn't join the race until later. And then he met with me and tried to convince me to drop out and run for secretary of state instead. His people all leaned on me and pressured me to drop out. But I'm not a quitter and I'm not a pushover. I stood my ground and decided I was staying in this race no matter what," Glassman told the Laureate.

In the end, it wasn't enough to win. But Glassman says even though she lost, she isn't leaving the political arena any time soon.

"I didn't win. OK, so what. Lots of people lose. That doesn't mean I'm going to fall back and disappear. I'm going to remain very active in East Deschire politics and in speaking up and standing up for East Deschire families and conservative values."

Sam Pyatt now advances on to the December general election, where he will face incumbent NAT Senator Portia McLendon.

*********************

Primary Election Results -- Federal Senate, Conservative Party Nomination

✔️	Sam Pyatt	53.54%	403,592
	Brenda Glassman	46.46%	350,240

Ellsworth, Edwards headed for run-off in E. Deschire gubernatorial primary

 DEROSA, E. Des. -- The crowded Conservative primary for East Deschire governor is headed to a run-off election.

None of the six candidates received 50 percent of the primary vote, so the top two will advance to a run-off election held next Tuesday.

Attorney General Mark Ellsworth secured first place in the initial count, with 21.6 percent. 

It was a close finish for the second spot in the run-off, with University of East Deschire men's basketball coach Duke Edwards clinching the spot with 17.5 percent, respectively.

Not far behind Edwards was Hansboro Mayor Bill Engstrom, who took 16.5 percent, followed by Christen-Kerr Mayor Phil Qwenberry with 15.9 percent.

Fawnton businessman David McKinley came in fifth place with 14.3 percent, and former Iraq War and Afghanistan War veteran Tim Hutsell with 14.2 percent, respectively.

That means Ellsworth and Edwards will face each other on Tuesday's run-off, in what is expected to be a close contest.

Both men are strongly conservative and have deep roots in the Harvest State.

Already though, lines are being drawn between the two.

Edwards was immediately endorsed by Engstrom and Qwenberry, who are both viewed as "moderates."

Their support has led the Ellsworth campaign to characterize Duke Edwards as a "faux-Conservative."

"How do you know Duke Edwards is a liberal masquerading as a Conservative? He was just endorsed by two liberal candidates, Phil Qwenberry and Bill Engstrom," said Mark Ellsworth at a campaign gathering in Dresden, a small farming town 70 miles northwest of Derosa.

"Duke Edwards says he's 'honored' to be endorsed by Bill Engstrom and Phil Qwenberry," Ellsworth told the crowd. "But we know that an endorsement from those two liberals just confirms what we already knew about Duke Edwards -- he's not a real Conservative. He's a fake. He's a phony. He has no backbone. He'll bend to whatever political winds blow against him or whatever the establishment tells him to do."

Campaigning in Sherlance County in the state's southeast Sunday, Duke Edwards hit back at Ellsworth.

"Mark Ellsworth is all about gimmicks and stunts," Edwards told the crowd at an apple festival in Cleland, a small agricultural town 100 miles southwest of Christen-Kerr.

"[Ellsworth] files frivolous lawsuits against the Nationalists and Jim McCaren. Lawsuits he knows have no chance of going forward or winning. He files them just to piss off the liberals and to make his hardline supporters happy. And then he lies to the voters and tells them all the 'wonderful' things he's done to help them. In reality, all Mark Ellsworth does is just fan the flames and build his own reputation with the far-right. He doesn't actually do anything meaningful that helps East Deschireans. It's all about Mark," said Edwards.

While the mainstream Conservative Party seems to be coalescing around Edwards, the hardline far-right appears to be rallying around Ellsworth.

Tim Hutsell, the former veteran and far-right activist, threw his support to Ellsworth, calling the attorney general "our only hope" to beat incumbent NAT Gov. Val Hennemott in December.

Businessman David McKinley, who has taken a hard stance against vaccines and government spending, has so far declined to endorse either Edwards or Ellsworth, saying he would support either one.

But the Grassadellia Conservative Union (GCU) has thrown its support to Ellsworth. The National Rifle Club (NRC) has also.

Moderate Conservatives fear Ellsworth's controversial style and his tendency to commit gaffes will hurt the party's chance of winning the governor's mansion.

"Mark Ellsworth is a buffoon. Everyone in the East Deschire Conservative Party knows it. They may not all say it, but they all know it. He's a buffoon. If he wins the primary, Val Hennemott will have a good chance of winning re-election. And this is a governor's seat that the Conservative Party should easily take over this fall," said Mark Cohn, a Conservative political operative who has worked on past campaigns for Phil Qwenberry and Jim Reebis. Cohn is not involved in any campaigns in the 2022 election season.

The more fervent Conservative voters fear an Edwards nomination, however.

The popular college basketball coach has never ran for office before, and up until last year, his political leanings were not even known. Many assumed Edwards was left-leaning.

"Duke Edwards is untested. He's unknown. He's uncertain. We don't know if he will adhere to Conservative values or not. If he wins, will he remain true to the Conservative cause? Or will he sell out to Nationalist and the liberal media?" said Doug Kennin, a Conservative consultant who has worked on past campaigns for Nancy Lindselli.

Polls have shown both men either even or ahead of Hennemott in a head-to-head fall match-up.

But it's unclear which candidate will fare the best during Tuesday's run-off, particularly in the state's western reaches, where neither candidate has roots or a well-spring of support.

"Duke is from Christen-Kerr, Mark is from Doylestown. Neither one has much connection with the western half of the state, so it will be interesting to see who does better on that side of the divide," said political science professor Dr. Don Ivanhoe from Merritt College in Derosa.

The Hennemott campaign hasn't publicly said much. The governor congratulated Ellsworth and Edwards on advancing to the run-off, but that was the only statement she or her campaign has released.

Sources close to Hennemott say she and her team are privately hoping the more bombastic Ellsworth wins the run-off election. Nationalists believe Ellsworth, with his divisive demeanor, will be easier to beat in December than the more tame Edwards.

But while Edwards is not as controversial or driven by political stunts, the coach is outspoken, frequently known to curse at press conferences and to avoid political correctness.

"Both of them (Ellsworth and Edwards) are outspoken and divisive. The difference is Ellsworth is seen as more unintelligent and simple-minded, while Edwards is seen as a little sharper and more normal," said one Conservative analyst, who asked to remain anonymous so as not to negatively affect their consulting business.

The Conservative Governors Association (CGA), headed by North Ceona Gov. Ty Jaimeson, has said it will vigorously support whoever wins the run-off election. However, sources within the CGA say that privately, Jaimeson prefers Edwards.

"No matter who wins, Val Hennemott is not going to have an easy path to re-election," said Dr. Ivanhoe. "The governor is a Nationalist in a Conservative-leaning state. She presided over COVID restrictions that negatively impacted the economy. And inflation is rampant right now. Those are difficult headwinds for any governor to contend with."

******************

East Deschire Primary Election Results -- Governor, Conservative Party Nomination

✔️	Mark Ellsworth	21.56%	166,079
	Duke Edwards	17.47%	134,600
	Bill Engstrom	16.54%	127,387
	Phil Qwenberry	15.94%	122,786
	David McKinley	14.29%	110,109
	Tim Hutsell	14.21%	109,444