Before we dive into this project, it’s best that you understand some important points. There is a difference between the person and the politician. The person you’d barbecue hamburgers and drink beer with on a pleasant weekend afternoon must be to a greater or lesser degree someone different when they hold a political office.
In my long reportorial career, I’ve never allowed myself to get too close to someone in political office although there have been a few social occasions in which the notebook was put away and the other took off the necktie and the political title.
We know Mike Kehoe is a personable guy; you don’t become a successful car salesman if you aren’t. Niceness aside, his first two years as Governor have not been good. He’s 0 for 5 or 6 on ballot issues in the last three months. For some, he’s been a touch or more too Trumpy. He’s been an integral part of a Republican-dominated state government that has descended too deeply into ideology and has been clubbed bloody by voters in August and November.
He seems to recognize that. He issued a statement after the elections last week calling for “thoughtful reflection and honest conversations” about what’s next. What’s next might involve finding an issue or two that will strike enough of a public chord to move the first two years closer to the backs of voters’ minds.
“Taking real action on the policies that help families afford to pay their bills, improve the education of our children, and ensure our communities are safe matters much more than well-delivered lines in campaign commercials,” he said the morning after, continuing, “These are the issues that matter most. These are the issues that our party can deliver on.”
—even though it hasn’t delivered on them so far and a cold look at state finances raises questions about how Republicans can afford to reach the goals he set out in his statement.
He says he will run for a second term. But there are within his own party some people who think he can be taken out. None has announced plans but here are four who might see him as vulnerable and see themselves in his office in 2029, assuming some Democrat doesn’t have a better idea.
Former Attorney General Andrew Bailey has resigned his federal job as assistant director of President Trump’s FBI. He’s back in the state and playing it cool for now but a lot of Republicans are giving him sideways glances.
State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, just elected to a second term, might consider his re-election in a blue wave state a solid credential for something bigger in two years.
Lt. Governor Dave Wansinger might find it hard to ignore 2028 to achieve a higher ambition.
And there is Catherine Hanaway, our latest high visibility Attorney General, the first woman to hold that job and the only woman to be Speaker of the House, a recognized leader who helped bring Republicans to legislative power. It’s easy to forget how young she was when she did that. She could be the most formidable possibility among them.
Let’s watch all five of them for a year—less actually because none can wait that long to make a move. A legislative sessions is rapidly approaching. It will provide time and public exposure for Kehoe and his party to turn things around.
But we also know that this year’s election issues have given Democrats big piles of ammunition to fire in 2028.
If you like to watch politics, this coming year will be great entertainment.
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