Now that Sen. Lisa Murkowski has conceded the GOP primary to Joe Miller, the political world is taking a closer look -- at Democrat Scott McAdams.
The virtually unknown Sitka mayor who will be going up against Miller on Nov. 2 is getting a lot more coverage these days from the press. The Sitka city clerk's office says it has been slammed with requests from reporters for background information on him. And he was on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show Wednesday night.
"I'm the only guy at the (Alaska State Fair) with a tie on," McAdams told Maddow, standing in the sun in a black suit, the "Peanut Potatoes" sign prominent behind him.
Everyone seems to want to know: Who is this guy, and can he beat the Tea Party favored-Joe Miller -- a Gulf War veteran, Yale Law School grad and friend of Sarah Palin's?
The answer to the first question is a work in progress. McAdams has only recently begun to campaign in earnest, hiring new staff and moving to Anchorage for the next two months. He's taken an unpaid leave from his job as director of community schools for the Sitka School District.
The second question may be a politically painful one for McAdams. National polls have put McAdams within striking distance of Miller -- the latest by Rasmussen Reports had him down by 6 points. Still, national experts are pretty much writing him off, the locals only a bit less so. In fact, there are still rumblings that Democratic power players are still trying to enlist someone else -- like Tony Knowles or Fran Ulmer -- to replace him on the ballot.
In over his head?
"McAdams, at least in my view, is in way over his head," says Jennifer Duffy, senior political editor for the Cook Political Report who follows Senate races nationwide.
Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, echoes that assessment. "I think Scott McAdams' chances are very, very slight," he said earlier this week.
Neither Duffy nor Sabato expect the national Democrats, in the form of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, to put much money into the Alaska race, primarily because cash is tight this year and it will be needed for more critical -- and winnable -- races elsewhere. Both point out that the seat was likely going to stay Republican anyway -- Murkowski was expected to win -- so Miller's primary victory didn't change the red and blue pushpins on the national map.
They also doubt that McAdams, a political novice, can raise enough money locally in just two months to counter the Tea Party Express' campaign checkbook, let alone what Miller likely will now bring in.
"I can't see Alaska electing a second Democrat to the U.S. Senate in what is going to be a very Republican year," Sabato said.
Local experts aren't as quick to close the door on a McAdams win. Carl Shepro, a University of Alaska Anchorage political science professor, says it all depends on what kind of campaign McAdams can run. McAdams has never run a statewide campaign before, he added.
"He's pretty much an unknown, so it's definitely going to take some money because he needs to improve his name image," Shepro said. He thinks a critical question is what the DSCC decides to do.
Local Democratic Party officials and McAdams' campaign staff say they haven't heard much from the DSCC about helping out. And for its part, the DSCC doesn't talk about its spending strategy, according to DSCC national press secretary Deirdre Murphy. The national group also is hesitant to say too much about any plans it may have for Alaska beyond a general comment on the race.
"Lisa Murkowski is the latest victim of a Republican Party cannibalizing itself, leaving Alaskan Republicans with Joe Miller -- a right-wing extremist who cares more about imposing a risky social doctrine than the economic concerns in his state," Murphy said. "Scott McAdams has an impressive background, real world experience and a deep understanding of the economic struggles of Alaskan families."
Campaign finance reports filed with the federal Elections Commission show McAdams had about $4,533 left in the bank as of Aug. 4, compared to Miller's $84,204.
But McAdams is listed as No. 4 on the "hot candidate" list at ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising website. Late last week, he'd raised about $19,000 through ActBlue; a check Wednesday afternoon showed he's now up to $64,231.
Building name recognition
Political strategists have been trying to put their fingers on what went wrong with the Murkowski campaign and why she was so caught off guard by Miller. They point to a lack of polling and that she let Miller get ahead of her in terms of defining who she is and her stand on issues, including refusing to match his negative campaign tactics.
The McAdams camp says it doesn't intend to let that happen. Heather Handyside, McAdams' new campaign spokeswoman, said with only two months to get McAdams' name recognition up and to raise money, the strategy will be to run an aggressive campaign from the beginning.
"Resting on our laurels and not being aggressive is not an option," Handyside said.
She said Murkowski's concession has sparked a significant increase in support for McAdams and the campaign is scrambling to keep up with it.
The press limelight does appear to have caught the McAdams' camp by surprise. Although McAdams has long been the frontrunner on the Democratic side of the Senate race, he is just now putting a campaign staff in place, setting up a headquarters and getting his political operation running. At least two aides to U.S. Sen. Mark Begich have taken a leave of absence to help out.
Handyside dismissed talk that McAdams might be off the ticket soon. She said no one has approached McAdams about stepping aside. "Scott McAdams is the Democratic candidate. He will be the challenger to Joe Miller."
Who is Scott McAdams?
McAdams is a burly dark-haired guy who looks every bit the football player he is. He said he got into politics because he was the Sitka high school football coach and had to go before the school board to try to get the then-club program deemed a recognized school sport.
He spent his early years in Petersburg, another town in Southeast Alaska, then moved to central California, where he graduated from high school. McAdams returned to Alaska and worked as a commercial fisherman in Petersburg, Kodiak and out in the Bering Sea before graduating with a degree in secondary education from Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka.
He's been married for 17 years to Romee McAdams, who is the tribal recruitment coordinator for the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Care Consortium. They have three kids: Kaitlin 16, Chloe 8 and Gavin, 5.
"I get my strength from my family," he said.
McAdams was elected to the school board in 2002 and then two years ago ran and won a three-way race for mayor. He's started touting that experience as an elected official, emphasizing in speeches and interviews that he's the only candidate in the race who's ever cut a public budget or voted on a public budget. Miller, a Fairbanks attorney, has never been elected to office.
McAdams also points to his tenure as president and a member of the Association of Alaska School Boards, his time on the Alaska Municipal League, and his chairmanship of the Southeast Conference of Mayors as giving him a head start on Miller in terms of statewide involvement.
In an interview, McAdams is low-key and deliberate, choosing his words and waiting for a reporter to finish writing them down before moving on. He says that, as a small-town politico and member of nonpartisan boards, he's used to a "greater spirit of collaboration as opposed to partisan bickering" and that he would work to tone down the rhetoric if the voters send him to Washington.
"Washington, D.C., is all about partisanship," he said. "It's about shaming, grandstanding and scapegoating your political opponent to receive chairmanships, as opposed to being driven by mission or vision."
That's a different McAdams than the one who took the podium at the Democrat's Unity Dinner in Anchorage the night after the primary. That McAdams was robust in his partisanship, rousing the crowd like a veteran pol with his roasting of Miller and the Republicans.
Still, McAdams vows to run a clean and decent race that will offer voters a distinct choice between the two men, their personal styles and their politics. "I think Joe Miller has proven in the course of this election that he will say or do almost anything to get elected," he said. "I think he ran a combative campaign against Lisa Murkowski that was unfair, dishonest and both Lisa Murkowski and Alaska deserve better than that."
McAdams hopes people will pay attention to the differences between him and Miller on the issues. He points out that Miller advocates the repeal of Social Security and Medicare, which McAdams does not. While Miller wants to wean Alaska off federal dollars and reduce federal spending overall, McAdams wants the federal government to continue investing in Alaska.
"We certainly do owe it to our kids to do the best we can to live within our means," he said. "Being a steward of our fiscal resources is important. But Alaska is a young state, and it should remain a place where federal dollars are used to develop our infrastructure."
McAdams supports safe development of oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as well as offshore in Alaska's Arctic -- a position other prominent Alaska Democrats hold, even though it runs counter to their national peers. He thinks Alaska's political leaders need to do a better job of convincing people throughout the country that it can be done is an environmentally sound and responsible manner.
"Ultimately, this campaign is going to be about ideas," McAdams said. "I think Joe Miller has been very clear in articulating the things he's opposed to, but I don't see much vision regarding how we develop Alaska."
Contact Patti Epler at patti(at)alaskadispatch.com.