(Via @willstauff) Good for James Comer: “As you know, I have asked for a recanvass of all 120 counties to make sure that the totals are correct among the 220,000 Republican votes cast. If the results are accurate, I will congratulate and gladly endorse Matt Bevin.” As I noted yesterday, there’s a difference between a recanvass and a full recount; and it’s perfectly reasonable for anybody behind by only 83 votes to ask to make sure that the sums all add up. So what James Comer is doing here is to let people know that he is not planning to ride a dispute over the Kentucky Republican gubernatorial primary results all the way to the bitter end: instead, if the recanvass doesn’t show him ahead after all then Comer will be bowing out, gracefully*.
Which is the honorable thing to do. I’ll also note that I agree with this argument that it probably didn’t hurt Matt Bevin any either to have stayed strictly out of that epic personal brawl between Comer and Hal Heiner that marred the mid-primary season. To quote S.M. Stirling: “it’s surprising how often mercy has practical utility.”
Moe Lane (crosspost)
*Come, I will conceal nothing from you: I guessed wrong on this one. I expected a bitter rear-guard action. Would that I was always wrong in such a pleasant fashion.
The good thing about being a pessimist: All your surprises are pleasant ones.
Indeed, and that’s not a bad thing.
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I also suspect Comer wants a future and doesn’t mind picking up a Bevins endorsement…
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Mew
A tight race between two factions of the same party may produce bitterness; but the best to do is (a) acknowledge that the one faction won, and (b) work towards a common ground because (c) the factions are that closely matched.
You know – act like politicians.