Hall Long Campaign Staff Leaves, Supporters Dejected

The Delaware News Journal’s Meredith Newman reported Monday that Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long has parted ways with her campaign manager and fundraising consultant in a story published days after Hall-Long said she was auditing her previous campaign finance reports because there “may have been reporting issues that require attention.”

Newman further says that several unnamed supporters have grown dejected with the lieutenant governor’s prospects of winning next year’s Democratic primary, with some griping that she’s given them “flustered” and “contradictory” answers about why the audit is necessary.

From the article: “Brandon Cox and Jennifer Mueller, the former campaign manager and fundraiser, respectively, could not be reached for comment.  The campaign did not provide any specific details on what kick-started the need for a review, saying that “in the run up to the launch of the campaign, Bethany requested a review and now there is an independent audit of the reports in the works.”

Again, I am of the opinion that there is no way Bethany Hall-Long would have called up her Senate caucus or released a vague statement last week about this audit unless there was some sort of independent governmental authority investigating the alleged discrepancy. A competent campaign would quietly amend whatever filed reports were deemed deficient and speak on it only if necessary, after the fact, after the internal audit was complete and amended reports filed.

If there is no “there” there, no investigation and no major financial irregularity like emblezzement, then this was a wildly incompetent way to handle this situation. It has led already to two weeks of very damaging and disspirting stories regarding her campaign, leading to departures from campaign staff. Not a good look, not a good start.