He started first out of the gate as a snow-white outsider with enough money to run a campaign for governor out of his own check book, but Billy Harper has since dropped way back in the field. After spending gobs of money to run commercials during the 2006 campaigns, his own bid has not seemed to catch fire.
In fact, Harper created his own political baggage by claiming credit for the Kentucky Education Reform Act. Otherwise, his positions on school choice, taxes, spending, and economic development have been the stuff of dreams for conservative Republican primary voters.
He has run a "positive" campaign, waiting for his two better-known opponents to rip each other apart. It hasn't seemed to be an effective strategy, but in a low-turnout three-way race, very strange things could happen. Could Billy Harper shock everyone as the next Jesse Ventura?
If he could re-introduce himself effectively to voters and take ownership of a fresh issue like market solutions to rising health insurance premiums, maybe, just maybe, he could slip into contention in the final stretch.
