As the candidate recruited, funded, and promoted by Washington, D.C. insiders, she’s struggling to gain any support among grassroots Democrats in Iowa. And she won’t be helping her case later today when she skips out on a televised primary debate in Eastern Iowa.
Both the Des Moines Register and Huffington Post have noted that Judge is facing a serious challenge from her left in the primary.
On the wrong side of both environmentalists and labor groups, Judge is doing herself no favors by ‘spitting in the face of democracy’ as opponents like State Sen. Rob Hogg continue to gain momentum with primary voters.
– Debate Organizer: Patty Judge ‘Spitting In The Face Of Democracy’ “Candidate Judge has been staying busy but not by attending the forums. The presumed front-runner has skipped several already and likely won’t attend many of the remaining ones. All the Democratic candidates were invited to meet on Sunday, May 15, in Des Moines, at a debate hosted by the political action committee STAR-PAC…On Monday, May 16, several candidates have indicated they’ll attend a debate hosted by the Quad Cities Alliance of Retired Americans (QCARA) at St. Ambrose University in Davenport…Organizer Bob Babcock, a member of QCARA, said, ‘I’m hearing from voters that any candidate who refuses to participate in an open debate like this is “spitting in the face of democracy” but all I know is that all of the voters deserve to get to know all the candidates.’ (Adam Burke, “Patty Judge Ducks Some Dem Senate Debates,” Little Village Magazine, 5/13/16)
Will Judge be sunk by grassroots momentum behind her opposition? Will she sink herself by refusing to talk to voters? One thing is for sure – she’s moving in the wrong direction.