Carly Fiorina’s decision to bow out of the presidential race makes Congresswoman Candice Miller three-for-three in endorsing truly terrible presidential candidates.
Miller (still known as “Candy” to her longtime Macomb County constituents) endorsed Fiorina back in September when the former business executive’s campaign began to take off. On Wednesday, she pulled out of the race while wallowing in single digits in the polls, unable to qualify for presidential debates.
This sequence is very reminiscent of Miller’s choices for the White House in 2008 and 2012.
In fact, the Harrison Township Republican’s two previous choices for the White House – Rudy Giuliani in 2008 and Rick Perry in 2012 – each mounted efforts that are often cited as the worst Republican presidential campaigns of recent decades.
Read more about the Candy Curse
Miller backed Giuliani very early in the ’08 contest, in February 2007, at a time when the former New York City mayor was atop the polls for the GOP nomination. Giuliani experienced a spectacular collapse, finishing a disastrous third in the January ’08 Florida primary. He quickly withdrew from the race. Was it the Candy Curse?
In September 2011, Miller endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was riding high in the Republican polls at the time.
Perry’s prospects soon plummeted and led to a distant fifth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. He tried to recover but his precipitous slide soon led to the abandonment of his White House bid. The Candy Curse had struck again.
Fans of politics and sports might equate Miller’s embrace as the equivalent of an appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
The idea of a curse may sound silly. But it’s worth noting that in each case Miller endorsed early and she was certain that her choice was destined for the Oval Office.
When the lawmaker endorsed Giuliani nine years ago, she praised him as “a true leader.”
When she backed Perry four years later, she said he was “the leader we need to get Michigan and America working again.”
In her September video announcement supporting Fiorina, she said the candidate offers “bold, decisive leadership.”
As Miller prepares to retire from Congress, in 2020 she may be nothing more than a former politician. Yet, there are larger, mysterious reasons for future candidates to avoid her embrace.
