Democratic Arizona Senate candidate and former U.S. Surgeon General
Richard Carmona is distancing himself from President Obama, even though
Obama reportedly handpicked Carmona to run for office.
Carmona’s beeline from the president is characteristic of his betrayals of past political patrons, insiders say, and makes him the latest in a series of Democratic Senate candidates to disavow Obama during this election cycle.
Carmona claimed in an interview on June 4 that he has no personal or political relationship with the president.
“Let me set the record straight, OK,” Carmona said in the local television interview. “I have no connections to President Obama.”
But Carmona was “personally recruited” by Obama to run for retiring Sen. Jon Kyl’s (R., Ariz.) open U.S. Senate seat in 2012, according to reports.
Obama called Carmona last September 23 to “encourage him to run,” according to a Democratic strategist quoted by Politico.
Carmona also said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray joined Obama in encouraging him to enter the race.
Carmona announced his candidacy last November.
“I think Dr. Carmona has a very big ego, and I think his ego was scratched very hard by President Obama and his people,” said Arizona Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash, who has known the candidate for more than 20 years.
“Gabby Giffords was originally going to be the Democratic candidate for that seat. Arizona Democrats don’t have a very deep bench. They didn’t have anyone to take her place. So they turned to Dr. Carmona, and I think they pressured him very hard, out of a desperation to find their candidate,” Ash said.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/the-doctor-is-out/
Carmona’s beeline from the president is characteristic of his betrayals of past political patrons, insiders say, and makes him the latest in a series of Democratic Senate candidates to disavow Obama during this election cycle.
Carmona claimed in an interview on June 4 that he has no personal or political relationship with the president.
“Let me set the record straight, OK,” Carmona said in the local television interview. “I have no connections to President Obama.”
But Carmona was “personally recruited” by Obama to run for retiring Sen. Jon Kyl’s (R., Ariz.) open U.S. Senate seat in 2012, according to reports.
Obama called Carmona last September 23 to “encourage him to run,” according to a Democratic strategist quoted by Politico.
Carmona also said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray joined Obama in encouraging him to enter the race.
Carmona announced his candidacy last November.
“I think Dr. Carmona has a very big ego, and I think his ego was scratched very hard by President Obama and his people,” said Arizona Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash, who has known the candidate for more than 20 years.
“Gabby Giffords was originally going to be the Democratic candidate for that seat. Arizona Democrats don’t have a very deep bench. They didn’t have anyone to take her place. So they turned to Dr. Carmona, and I think they pressured him very hard, out of a desperation to find their candidate,” Ash said.
Read more: http://freebeacon.com/the-doctor-is-out/
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