Stuart Rothenberg, political fortune teller and Roll Call political blogger, has published his annual “end-of-the-year awards.” The award categories range from the worst political decision of the year, which had Anthony Weiner’s name, or whatever, all over it, to the five most vulnerable incumbents up in 2014. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., made the list. Surprisingly, Sen. Mark Begich didn’t.
Perhaps that’s because Rothenberg doesn’t think much of Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, one of Begich’s main challengers, whom he gave an award for the most “interesting” candidate interview. According to Rothenberg, the interview was, “Memorable because the candidate couldn’t get his chip off his shoulder. Never has a candidate spent so much time complaining about an earlier article about him.”
Rothenberg was referring to an interview he conducted with Treadwell, among other GOP Senate hopefuls, in October. It’s unclear what exactly Treadwell’s specific beef was, but here’s what he wrote about Treadwell then:
Of the four,Treadwell was the most difficult to figure out, possibly because he spent so much of his time complaining about an article that my colleague, Nathan Gonzales, had written for my newsletter. No matter what question we asked, Treadwell somehow brought it back to what he regarded as an oversight or mistake in the article. He was clearly peeved, and that made him less affable and likable.
Rothenberg has yet to write anything about Dan Sullivan, the other GOP Senate candidate. Perhaps that’s because, although it’s been two months since he announced, finding Sullivan’s website or his contact information on Google takes about as long as it takes for the Senate to pass a bill, pre-filibusterer reform.
Rothenberg did, however, include GOP Senate candidate Annette Bosworth from South Dakota in his list of most interesting interviews. He called Bosworth charismatic and compelling, with “quite” a personal story. “But did it all add up?” Rothenberg asked. “Plus, I rarely see candidates who have absolutely no clue how to put together a winning campaign,” he wrote about Bosworth.
When you Google “Annette Bosworth for Senate” her website is on the top of the page. Just saying.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
