Just two short weeks after Roll Call named Patty Judge one of the worst Senate challengers in the country and noted she is ‘not yet a credible candidate,’ the Judge campaign is in an outright tailspin.
Judge started rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, demoting her campaign manager and bringing in a new operative to try to fix her failing operation:
- “If there is a telltale sign that a political campaign is not hitting on all cylinders, it is a leadership change at the top. Patty Judge, the Iowa Democrat hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, last week demoted her campaign manager, Sam Roecker, and installed Joe Fox as his successor. Fox has worked on several congressional campaigns in multiple states the past decade or so.” (Brian Cooper, “Shake-Up: Judge Demotes Campaign Manager,” Dubuque Telegraph Herald, 7/17/16)
But after an embarrassing fundraising performance, Judge is going to have trouble making payroll for her new staffer. The latest fundraising report indicates Judge is at a 26-to-1 cash on hand disadvantage to Chuck Grassley after her own account dwindled to a paltry $228,000 with $60,000 in debt.
With Chuck Grassley holding a double-digit lead over Judge, how much longer will Washington Democrats hype their hand-chosen candidate before cutting their losses?