Richard Kimball
Encyclopedia
Richard Kimball is an American
politician
, and president
of the nonprofit organization Project Vote Smart
.
and the state's Corporation Commission
, Kimball ran as a Democrat
against John McCain
for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barry Goldwater
.
His campaign was subject to negative press from the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette
, both owned by McCain benefactor Darrow Tully
. One Gazette columnist described him as displaying "terminal weirdness." McCain ultimately won the election by a margin of twenty percent, and is now Arizona's senior Senator.
In his 2002 memoir Worth the Fighting For
, McCain described the race and his opponent:
According to the Project Vote Smart
web site, during his closing remarks at a debate, Kimball decided to forgo an attack on McCain in favor of this speech:
Kimball commented on the campaign to a reporter from the Arizona Daily Star
: "I was enormously depressed — not because I lost. It was because I spent all my time collecting money." He spent the months after the election traveling through Mexico, and has not sought public office since.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, and president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the nonprofit organization Project Vote Smart
Project Vote Smart
Project Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
.
Biography
In 1986, after serving in the Arizona LegislatureArizona Legislature
The Arizona Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. There are 60 Representatives and 30 Senators...
and the state's Corporation Commission
Arizona Corporation Commission
The Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Arizona Constitution. There are currently five members of the commission . Arizona is one of only a handful of states with elected commissioners...
, Kimball ran as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
against John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
.
His campaign was subject to negative press from the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette
Phoenix Gazette
The Phoenix Gazette was a newspaper published in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. It was founded in 1881, and was known in its early years as the Phoenix Evening Gazette....
, both owned by McCain benefactor Darrow Tully
Darrow Tully
Darrow J. "Duke" Tully, is a former publisher of The Arizona Republic and the Phoenix Gazette newspapers, published in Phoenix, Arizona. Both were owned by Central Newspapers, Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the time. Central Newspapers was founded by Eugene C...
. One Gazette columnist described him as displaying "terminal weirdness." McCain ultimately won the election by a margin of twenty percent, and is now Arizona's senior Senator.
In his 2002 memoir Worth the Fighting For
Worth the Fighting For
Worth the Fighting For is a 2002 book by United States Senator John McCain with Mark Salter. Published by Random House, it is part autobiography, part mini-biographies of others....
, McCain described the race and his opponent:
[M]y first race for the Senate was pretty close to a foregone conclusion. I led in the polls from start to finish. My eventual opponent, Richard Kimball, (...) was a tall, good-looking guy who shared his name with the hero of a popular 1960s television drama, The FugitiveThe Fugitive (TV series)The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
. He was a nice man and a well-intentioned public servant. But for all his fine qualities, he was not the first-tier candidate the Democrats had hoped to field.
According to the Project Vote Smart
Project Vote Smart
Project Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
web site, during his closing remarks at a debate, Kimball decided to forgo an attack on McCain in favor of this speech:
Understand what we do to you; we spend all of our time raising money, often from strangers we do not even know. Then we spend it in three specific ways: first we measure you, what it is you want to purchase in the political market place -- just like Campbell's Soup or Kellogg's Cereal. Next we hire some consultants who know how to tailor our image to fit what will sell. Lastly, we bombard you with the meaningless, issueless, emotional nonsense that is always the result. And which ever one of us does that best will win!
Kimball commented on the campaign to a reporter from the Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Daily Star
The Arizona Daily Star is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. The paper was purchased by Pulitzer in 1971; Lee Enterprises bought Pulitzer in 2005....
: "I was enormously depressed — not because I lost. It was because I spent all my time collecting money." He spent the months after the election traveling through Mexico, and has not sought public office since.
External links
- Project Vote Smart official website
- Uhls, A. (2004, September 23). Campus speaker urges smart voting. The Ithacan. Retrieved September 16, 2007.