Running for president as an outsider can, in some circles, be an advantage. But it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.
Illinois businessman John Cox is running for the Republican nomination. He’s never held federal or state elected office. and it’s a challenge for him to get voters and the media to see him as a viable contender.
Cox recently spent a few days in the state and crossed paths with New Hampshire Public Radio’s Jon Greenberg, who filed this report.
SFX – Let’s give them something to talk about …
Alicia Rossman, 2005 winner of the Miss Stratham Fair competition, served up an earthy rendition of a Bonnie Raitt classic at the Tri-Town Republican picnic. There were fifty or so party members from the towns of Stratham, North Hampton and Exeter gathered at a park pavilion. There were platters of watermelon, brownies and thick slices of cake. And working his way from voter to voter was a silver-haired man in a suit, Republican presidential candidate, John Cox.
“Hi there, I wanted to say hello real quick …â€
As an officially declared candidate, Cox has been reaching out to voters one by one longer than anyone else in the race. He kicked off his campaign 16 months ago. Since then, he has been to every county in Iowa, made 15 trips to South Carolina, and visited New Hampshire over a dozen times.
At this moment, he is about to engage Exeter voter, Harold Haller. Harold sports a Mitt Romney sticker and is talking to a young man wearing a Rudy Giuliani T-shirt. Undaunted, Cox turns to the Giuliani staffer.
“I know you're working for Rudy, I'm not going to change your mind, but that's ok. When Rudy drops out, by the way, you're welcome on my staff.â€
Cox turns back to Harold.
“I want a conservative agenda, Harold, I don't know if you're a real strong conservative or not."
"You're speaking to me..."
"Are ya? I'm a conservative Harold becuase I think conservative solutions solve problems.â€
This is how Cox wants voters to see him – as the sole true conservative in the pack. And it quickly becomes clear that he and Harold see eye to eye on many issues, such as immigration.
"I would exchange the people who cut in line for the people who are waiting in line. It's as simple as that. The people who are waiting in line deserve to get in, and the people who cut in line ought to go home and apply legally. And that's so simple."
Cox wants to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace the income tax with a national sales tax. He vows to veto any budget that is not balanced. He’d like to see vouchers in public education and he is a staunch opponent of abortion.
His conversations with voters are amicable. Winning their support is more elusive. Gail Giarrusso leans toward former Arkansas Governor, Mike Huckabee. For Gail, Cox might share her beliefs but she doubts his viability.
:35 "I’m looking toward my values, I also need to make sure it’s someone who can win the White House at the same time."
Cox is walking proof that it takes more than declaring yourself a candidate to be seen as a credible candidate. He has run and lost in his bids for his party’s nomination to congress and senate. He went to court to force the Fox network to include him in its nationally televised debates. The judge turned him down.
Cox remains upbeat but in talking about the future, there’s a strong note of the conditional.
"If I catch fire in October or November, nobody's going care that I wasn't in the debates in May and June. All they're going to care about is 'Is John Cox a consistant conservative who beleives in what he's doing?' And, 'is he gonna lead this country as a chief executive and get the job done?' And I hope I'll be able to convince people that I can do that."
So far, Cox has spent about $850 thousand dollars of his own money to fund staff in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. His strategy for winning? He says his personal money will keep him in the race through January. He says the August Iowa straw polls will force some Republicans out. And then he'll be the one true conservative left standing.
For NHPR News, I’m Jon Greenberg.
