The "Electability" Card

Rudy Giuliani reiterates his claim that he is the most “electable” and competitive Republican general-election candidate in this AP interview:

“I think political professionals would tell you that if my opponents get the nomination, a day after the convention, no matter what they say, the Republican Party operation closes down in 20 states, and then we concentrate on the remaining states,” Giuliani said. “I think they would tell you that if I get the nomination, there’ll be a Republican Party operation in virtually every state, and then as the campaign goes on, we’ll assess where we are.”

Giuliani made a similar argument last Friday before the NRA and the Michigan Republican leadership conference. Giuliani presumably bases his argument on general election polling showing him competitive with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. But Giuliani never specifies what makes him competitive in “virtually every state.” Is it his social liberalism? His 9/11 celebrity? His forceful personality? His ethnicity? He never says. We saw in 2004 that “electability” can play a role in voters’ decisions. In order to win the GOP nomination, however, Giuliani will probably have to add more meat to the bones of his “electability” argument.

The “Electability” Card

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