In his 11/19/21 speech to an angry crowd following that famous unfortunate Chuck Morse vote, Senator Giuda, who voted correctly, said, “money is the mother’s milk” (of campaigns). We know that there are “haves” and “have-nots,” but it’s not just that dichotomy, I would say it’s more like a Punnett Square because there are those who can fundraise and those who can’t. And within the latter, there are those who know that and thoughtfully select an expert to hire.
I am not an expert, nor will I pretend to be one, but I do know that money for expensive campaigning and how it’s procured was a big part of Lily Tang Williams’s decision to do a redo of her House race, despite my hopes that she would aim higher for that upper chamber. I thought she would make a great candidate for the federal senate, having acquired name recognition in that darling “more important district,” but alas, her decision was made several weeks ago.
I will pause for a moment to put in a shameless plug for her fundraising. See my above remark about Senator Giuda’s comment. Even if it’s just $5 or just $1, it gets a new in-state name counted in this new election cycle as a donor. You might not think it’s important, but there’s a reason behind the “no amount is too small” saying. Out-of-state donors, influencers, and outlets look at records and numbers, which include the number of donors. And now, back to talking about future federal races. That’s races, plural, meaning not just the 3 to be had in 2026, but 2028 also. Read that again, and I’ll get to that in a moment.
If Vikram Mansharamani were a team player, he could have thoughtfully built on the name recognition he established in 2022 as a statewide candidate. He could have helped Lily, not only with some funds, but also as a visible supporter while drawing attention to himself in a tasteful manner. Had he done that, the answer to next year’s senatorial primary question “who is Vikram?” would be “that businessman who helped Lily,” similar to Hamlen after she won her primary. Instead, Vikram primaried Lily and collected endorsements from lots of the snooty elite, including much of the (state) senate. Many thanks to Daryl Abbas and Carrie Gendreau for not endorsing any candidate and to the three senators who did endorse Lily (Murphy, Avard, and Ward).
When the numbers were in on primary night, I was in Lily’s living room with other supporters when Vikram “made the call.” We were all quiet as instructed to be and listened in as his nonverbal message was clearly “I’m only doing this because I have to and I’ll be damned if I make any of my money or other resources available to you.” His unsportsmanlike behavior didn’t end at midnight, either. He skipped the Unity Breakfast, and the good alderman, Joe Kelly Levasseur, who also lost his primary, had something to say in a tweet that’s worth revisiting.
Snotty little crybaby. It’s obvious his mommy spoon fed him from birth and told him how great he is every day of his spoiled life. She should have spanked him a few times and taught him some manners. Sorry little loser. Grow up and endorse the winner chump.
— josephkellylevasseur (@joekellynh)
So here we are, with filing time for the 2026 federal races just a year away, and the Rs scraping the bottom of the barrel by considering retreads and almost perennial losing candidates. I’m NOT impressed. And back to what I said earlier, though one should not dwell on “what could have been,” Vikram could have been a viable candidate for that open seat. Interestingly, he appears to think people will have forgotten about his adult sulking because Ballotpedia shows him already planning a 2028 campaign. You can click on the link, but I’ve taken a screenshot just to “save the receipt” with today’s date. Who knows how or when that might come in handy between now and 2028?
