- Jul 20, 2001
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Yes, I did.
Ladies, and gentlemen, let's welcome Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
The former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum.
Former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee.
And former New York Governor, George Pataki.
I wonder who his supporter will go to?
Offhand, I'll guess Christie or Kasich. Some could drift toward Rubio or Bush.
Just for listening to the man here and there over the years, Pataki would mostly have attracted sane voters. He's more or less an "establishment" candidate like Christie, Kasich, Bush or even Rubio.
Huckabee, Trump, Cruz -- they all have a more volatile following. A following that is noticeably more paranoid or angry.
One correction: He isn't out, he's merely suspending his campaign. If the other 37 candidates should flame out, Pataki and his supporters (aka Mrs. Pataki) are positioned to sweep in.
It does, I was just being snarky. By suspending his campaign, Pataki can be a kingmaker, deciding whom to gift with his campaign contributions (which, again, are unlikely to amount to much more than Mrs. Pataki's discretionary cash plus the buy-in from any odd lobbyist with either an extremely big war chest or extremely unpopular wants) rather than returning the unspent portion. In theory he can buy himself a position. In practice, with Hillary likely to cruise unbloodied to the nomination and the leading Republican not needing or wanting Pataki's thousands, not so much. But as long as he is still formally in the race, he can also keep it and use it for travel, advocacy, or donations to other races.I vaguely recall reading something that the suspending the campaign jargon has to do with being able to keep unspent contributions.