DAYLE-LOCKE, NP -- Faced with the uncomfortable reality that both she and her running mate are too old, New Portsmouth's NAT candidate for governor, Welma Sidley, has chosen to drop her running mate Richard Crux, age 78, in favor of a younger running mate, 51-year-old former Lt. Gov. Michael Barrett.
Sidley made the stunning announcement Friday afternoon at a hastily-arranged press conference in Dayle-Locke.
She said she appreciates Richard Crux and considers him a close friend, but her campaign "needs a younger perspective," she told reporters.
She also added that she and Crux had "critical differences" on how to run the campaign.
Sources within the Sidley campaign confirm that Sidley, a former governor and attorney general, was not seeing eye-to-eye with Crux, a former secretary of state.
"I think they both wanted to run the campaign their own way, and they had some 'creative differences,' you could say," said the campaign source, who asked for anonymity, so as to speak freely without retribution.
Crux is reportedly somewhat bitter at the pair's divorce, but he believes it's for the best.
"I think he knows their candidacy would never have worked, so maybe it's for the best," said the campaign source.
Meanwhile, the Sidley campaign is attempting to quickly move on from the campaign shake-up. Barrett, a well-known former lieutenant governor, has been prominently featured on the campaign's social media channels in recent days, and has hit the campaign trail running.
Barrett served as Sidley's running mate and lieutenant back when she was briefly governor, from 2021-2023.
But he was passed over this year, as many within the Sidley campaign, including the former governor herself, felt the campaign needed a new face to refresh the ticket.
However, Crux is not exactly a new face. He previously served as secretary of state from 2009-2013, but he hasn't run for office since. And at age 78, many within the state's NAT circles complained he was too old to compete with the Conservative incumbents, Gov. Barry Newkirk and Lt. Gov. Jane Reems.
The campaign source, who spoke to the NPF, said Crux is potentially planning to run for governor in two years, in his own right.
New Portsmouth is the only state that elects governors every two years. All other 23 states elect their governors for four-year terms.
Conservative incumbent Gov. Barry Newkirk was considered vulnerable, since he won the governorship in a surprise upset back in 2022, just barely earning more votes than Sidley.
Many political analysts, including some from the Conservative party, expected Newkirk to be a "one-term wonder," as conservative pundit Sally Feldman called him previously.
But a new poll released last week shows Newkirk actually leading Sidley by almost two percent -- still within the poll's margin of error, but much better than analysts had predicted.
The poll's release has caused some Nationalists to panic. A few months ago, most NAT leaders and activists were confident Sidley could win back the governorship. But now, many are having doubts.
"There are many Nationalists, probably about half, I'd say, who think Welma Sidley is done. She's sunk. She can't recover from the bad poll numbers, she can't recover from the old age issue, and she can't recover from swapping running mates so close to the general election," said another NAT source, who also asked for anonymity, so they could speak freely without professional consequences.
Sidley, age 80, is much older than her Conservative opponent Newkirk, who is 56. Sidley was 78 when elected governor, the same age as former Gov. Dale Rochey (N) when he assumed the governorship.
Should Sidley pull off another upset win this year, she would become the oldest person to be elected governor of New Portsmouth.
She is, to date, the second woman governor of New Portsmouth, and the first NAT woman governor of the state.
She's also the only governor to have only served one term. All other governors were reelected at least one time, though Sidley could change that if she prevails this fall.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment