Phil Puckett for Lt. Governor (#4/4)

By: Sam
Published On: 3/11/2005 2:00:00 AM

The last candidate that we will profile for the Democratic Lt. Governor nomination is State Senator Phil Puckett. Disclaimer: I do web advertising for and intern with the Chap Petersen campaign, but I do my best to keep this series as balanced as possible.

Senator Puckett has a long and distinguished past in several careers, and his biography is an asset to his campaign. He is currently the Vice President of Business Development for the First Bank and Trust Company, and is an insurance agent. He is a former teacher in the Russell County School System, and is a member of the Russell County Chamber of Commerce. He is a firefighter and is active in Little League baseball. He is also currently a Democratic State Senator from a fairly Republican area. His fundraising places him second among the Democratic contenders, as he has raised over $167,000, and has about $138,000 on hand, trailing only Chap Petersen in both categories. His very moderate voting record causes some to consider him the most electable candidate.

However, there are significant drawbacks to a Puckett candidacy. First and foremost, his campaign has been somewhat lackluster up to this point. Although he has raised a fair bit of money, he is fairly reliant on PACs and companies for his money, as a quick check of his campaign finance reports will show. He is strongly against abortion rights, and has been endorsed by a major pro-life Democratic group. This will help him win over Republicans in November, but could also be a major turnoff for the Democratic base. Inquiring minds would also like to know why he asked the Scott County School Board "for an opinion and position concerning the possibility of reinstating corporal punishment in the public schools." Senator Puckett's website does not have an issues section, so I am unable to either praise or criticize him for his stands on the issues.

Senator Puckett has an impressive past, but he needs to show that he is a candidate who can win. His leisurely campaign this far has left many wondering if he has the fire in the belly or the ability to run an effective winning campaign, but if he kicked his campaign up a notch or two, he might be a force to be reckoned with.

Note: The Puckett Campaign declined to comment on this article, even for issue positions or the question I posed to them.

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