The First Wives Club
By Wally EdgeAs Camille Andrews embarks upon a congressional campaign that may or not be a placeholder candidacy, she might consider the recent history of wives running for office while their husbands are also running.
When Nevada Congressman Jim Gibbons ran for Governor in 2006, his wife, Dawn Gibbons, ran for his open House seat. She finished third in the GOP primary with 25% of the vote, and Jim Gibbons narrowly won the GOP primary. And in 2002, Arkansas First Lady Janet Huckabee ran for Secretary of State and lost 62%-38% in the same election her husband, Mike Huckabee, was re-elected Governor by a 53%-47% margin.
In New Jersey, Helen Stevenson Meyner, whose husband was the Governor from 1964 to 1962, ran for Congress in 1972 and lost 56%-43%. But two years later, in the Watergate year, Meyner ran again and ousted Republican incumbent Joseph Maraziti by a 57%-43% margin.
The exception to the rule may be Hillary Clinton, who won a New York U.S. Senate seat in 2000, but her husband was from Arkansas.
Contributors
Wally Edge
South Jersey Democrats are touting Cinnaminson native Anthony Mazzarelli, the head of the emergency medicine department at Cooper University ... >
Bob Torricelli
Everybody needs to start a new job with a list of priorities and Chris Christie is no exception. There might be a thousand things that need to get ... >
Michael Patrick Carroll
Political discourse in America contains much in the way of intellect or intellectual honesty. One considers the Federalist Papers with wistful awe: ... >
Jeff Michaels
The NJ gubernatorial election result demonstrates that Governor-elect Chris Christie resurrected the center-right voter coalition of Republicans, ... >
Richard LaRossa
With a convincing win in defeating an encumbent Governor, why were there no coattails? >
Alan Steinberg
As in any transition, speculation is rampant as to whom Governor-elect Chris Christie will appoint as Chief of Staff, State Treasurer, and Attorney ... >
Dr. Joseph Marbach
Now that the dust has finally settled after the grueling campaign for governor, there are a number of lessons that we can draw from this ... >
Carla Katz
When he was growing up, Chris Christie's folks must have taught him that when he went to a new playground, he should pick a fight with the ... >
Joey Novick
There has been a lot of talk about putting the issue of marriage equality on the ballot in New Jersey. This is something that Assemblywoman ... >
Murray Sabrin
New Jersey voters repudiated Governor Jon Corzine's policies of the past four years on November 3rd. Republican Chris Christie and Independent ... >
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