ASTILLON, Well. -- As Wellington chooses its first new governor in eight years, Conservative gubernatorial candidate Bob Kozzy says the state needs a strong leader.
In a sit-down interview with the Starksmin Frontiersman newspaper, Kozzy insisted Wellington is at a crossroads as its economy recovers from COVID-19 symptoms.
Comparing himself to maverick US President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt from the early 1900s, Kozzy said he is a bit unconventional but possesses strong leadership skills.
He called his NAT opponent, former Gov. Pierre Carten, a 'weakling,' and compared the young, photogenic Carten to another former US president, John F. Kennedy.
"Pierre is JFK. He's good looking, he's charismatic, the media adores him. But he's all style and no substance. When it comes to policy, Pierre has none of his own. All of his policies are the Nationalist Party's liberal, progressive policies. He does whatever the Nationalist Party tells him to do. Whatever Jim McCaren, Debbie Madronas, Allison McGint, Jenna Duvan tell him to do, that's what he'll do," said Kozzy.
He sees himself, however, as a bit of a renegade.
"I'm more of a Teddy Roosevelt. I come in swinging. I say things that aren't politically correct. I tell it like it is. I don't always do what my party tells me to do because I'm my own person and I have my own policies. I will always do what's right for this state, not what my party tells me. I might not be as good looking and telegenic as Pierre, but I'm a leader, he's a follower. That's the difference," said Kozzy.
His comparison is a bit of a stretch, considering Roosevelt was a widely popular president and Kozzy is a former one-time federal senator.
But his penchant for bucking his party, his history of sometimes losing his cool during interviews with journalists who frustrate him, and his willingness to chart his own unconventional path do make him a maverick within the Conservative Party.
Carten, on the other hand, has sought to portray himself as a steady hand compared to Kozzy's volatility.
"Bob Kozzy is a bit unstable. He's like a pot of boiling water. He's OK right now while he simmers gently on the stove, but he could erupt at any time. That's not a good quality for being governor. We need someone who is calm, who is stable, who won't explode but who will govern with moderation," he recently told a Lunden Plains television station.
Both candidates are locked in a tight race, as they both vie to succeed Conservative incumbent Gov. Wade Quanson, who is stepping down after two terms.
Quanson has declined to endorse either candidate out of tradition.
"It wouldn't be appropriate for me to take a side, because whoever wins is my successor and I want to have a positive working relationship with them," he said.
However, the out-going governor won his position back in 2014 by beating Carten, and Quanson has previously said flattering compliments about Kozzy, so it's likely his allegiance lies with his party's chosen successor.
Recent polls have found Carten doing well in urban areas like Califor, Lunden Plains, and inner-Starksmin, while Kozzy fares better in the suburbs and dominates in rural counties.
"This election, like so many, is going to come down to the suburbs, where swing voters live. They're usually low-tax, fiscal conservatives but socially liberal, so both campaigns will have to compete for that group of voters," said Dr. John Smalley, a political science professor at the University of Wellington--Starksmin, who has been closely following the race.
Both parties have dumped millions of dollars into the race. Kozzy has raised about $26 million, Carten has raised roughly $21 million. Outside groups on both sides have also thrown millions into advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts.
Carten is seeking to become the first governor to win, then lose, and then win a second term. Tony Ritonio, a Conservative from Kalnier, is attempting the same. If they win, they'll be the first individuals to earn that distinction.
As the race heats up in the closing weeks of the campaign, both candidates are relying on their running mates to help clinch the deal with voters.
Liz McKinn, who is the current lieutenant governor under Quanson, is running with Kozzy. She herself ran for governor against Kozzy, but lost in a large field of candidates.
She has had a relentless campaign schedule, criss-crossing the state to rally Conservative voters.
Carten's running mate Nikolas Mjeden, the former Starksmin mayor, has had a similarly hectic schedule, speaking at NAT rallies in every county.
Both campaigns have private jets for their candidates' use, and both candidates have utilized them to jet back and forth among the state's four largest metro areas: Califor, Lunden Plains, Starksmin and Belshiad.
Dr. Kerry Rudgley from Dulkalow University rates the race as a "toss-up."
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