Former Tennessee congressman and Vanderbilt visiting professor Harold Ford Jr. has been making national headlines after announcing his thirty day leave of absence from Bank of America's Merrill Lynch. He plans to use this time to tour New York and decide if he will be entering the Democratic senatorial primary race against the incumbent, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
If he decides to run against Gillibrand, one of Ford’s biggest challenges will be convincing New York Democrats that despite his conservative position on social issues like gay rights and abortion, he is still a good fit for their state.
According to Political Science professor John Geer, Ford will have to run slightly differently in New York than he did in Tennessee as he will now be running in a Democratic context rather than a Republican one. Geer said that Ford has an ability to connect with voters from both states and has done so while standing by his views on social issues. Ford’s senior advisor for policy and communications in his 2006 senatorial campaign in Tennessee, Tom Lee says that the campaign in 2010 will be very much the same as that in 2006. “(Ford) has a compelling independent voice and is not trapped by political machinery. This is what people are looking for today,” he said.
Ford’s tour of New York has given him an opportunity to express this voice. According to Lee, he has been traveling throughout the state listening to the people and sharing with them his vision for a responsive Congress. Additionally, he has written several opinion pieces in New York newspapers to let voters know where his priorities lie.
Ford will have to raise enough money to be a viable candidate and compete with the $7.1 million Gillibrand has raised since her appointment in January. He has had success in the past with accumulating funds, raising $15 million in his 2006 campaign. According to Geer, much of these funds came from outside the state of Tennessee. “I don’t think anyone should underestimate him. He is an outstanding campaigner,” he said.
As a former member of the Vanderbilt faculty, Ford has increased the visibility of the university in the northeast and nationwide. Lee remarked on the benefits of Ford’s candidacy for Vanderbilt. “He understands Vanderbilt and the role it plays in the nation. It is only a plus if Ford decides to run and wins,” he said.
With the 2010 midterm elections being the next big national elections, New York alone should not attract student interest. Political Science professor Bruce Oppenheimer commented on the tendency to follow the election processes and then tune out of politics for the rest of the year. “Elections are only the beginning of the political process,” he said.
