Kurt Evans reminding people again that he intends to challenge Thune next year, with some calling for his spoiler candidacy. I don’t think that dog is going to hunt.

I noticed this weekend on one of the other blogs that Kurt Evans is reminding people again that it’s his intent to run against US Senator John Thune.

The speculation wasn’t that he actually stood a chance at winning, but was over how useful Evans could be to Democrat in acting as spoiler to Thune, in hopes of him duplicating the circumstances that triggered Thune’s loss to Tim Johnson way back in 2002, where Evans received 3070 votes, which was about 6 times the 500 vote margin of victory.  As noted by Dakota Free Press:

So Democrats, consider the possibilities. Suppose John Thune right now holds the same margin over any given Democrat by which Rep. Kristi Noem beat Corinna Robinson last year, 67% to 33%. If Kurt Evans can do half as well with the Independent label as Larry Pressler did in last year’s Senate race, he pulls Thune down below 60%. To win, a Democrat would only have to beat 46% instead of 50%. Eventual Democrat, Evans climbs a quarter of your electoral hill for you.

Read that here.

Of course, that’s speculation that erroneously assumes many things. First, that Thune will have a Democratic challenger that has yet to even be hinted at, as Democrats are quickly approaching “the point of no credibility” in getting someone announced, on the ground, raising money, and generally doing those things that are anathema to Democrats; campaigning.

Secondly, it also assumes that Evans can remotely approach the 9% that the author say could make a difference for Democrats by being their anointed spoiler in hopes of spoiling the race again. Because unlike Pressler who had statewide recognition from having been elected to Washington for decades, Evans might literally be one of the worst candidates to grace the ballot in history, and the intervening years have not been kind to his curriculum vitae.

As well documented, Evans’ background is rife with incidents that would cause most South Dakotans to cringe.

During the last election, on more than one occasion, Evans used highly charged and bigoted language as he criticized people on the basis of their Catholic faith:

• “It looks like Crony Catholicism”
• “I meant what it says…. the situation looks like Crony Catholicism.
• “I believe authoritarian Catholics and Mormons are generally more prone to cronyism than traditional libertarian Protestants.”
• I believe it’s wrong to use pejorative labels that devalue and dehumanize other people, but last month I referred to Pat Powers as a ‘Mary-worshipping douchebag‘ in an anonymous comment at South Dakota War College.

Not exactly statements out of Dale Carnegie, especially as far as Catholics are concerned.

Evans also faces questions over accusations of stalking, including a ban from the SDSU campus after his last race against Thune:

• In 2003, a judge issued an order prohibiting Evans from approaching or contacting a star player on South Dakota State University’s women’s basketball team. Evans claimed in a newsgroup post that the Basketball player (as well as others) accused him of stalking behavior because of innocent romantic advances, which led to the ban issued by the judge.
• There was similar oddness written about in a Christian music newsgroup, allegedly by someone writing as Evans about Evans’ interactions with Christian musical artist Rebecca St. James.

In one of those newsgroup articles, allegedly written by Evans, the author claimed that because Rebecca St. James’ father wouldn’t return his call, it somehow had an association with what could be one of the biggest black marks on his record – claiming that he went to jail for hitting his mom in 2006.

Read that here.

It’s my understanding the charges were dropped at the time, as they sometimes are in cases of domestic violence. But when statements describing it are written by the candidate, as this one supposedly was, they can expect to read it again.

The quixotic attempted spoiler candidate from this past election, Larry Pressler, may have had a reputation for oddness, but he never threw out statements of religious bigotry, found himself on the wrong end of accusations of stalking, nor confessed to the Internet that he hit his mom.

So, as for wistful thinking that Democrats could stand a chance if they could find a candidate and have Evans whittle down at the needed margin for victory? I think there’s more of a chance UFO’s will land and alien visitors will announce themselves as real.

Because I just don’t think that dog is going to hunt.