Arizona Democratic Senate candidate Richard Carmona struggled to draw a crowd in his hometown Sunday, forcing organizers to switch to a smaller venue.
On Sunday, the Carmona campaign had scheduled an event in Saddlebrook, a Tucson-area retirement community and Carmona’s hometown. The Carmona campaign originally planned to hold the event at the Desert View theater, capacity 470 people, but switched to a much smaller room across the hall. Pictures obtained by the Free Beacon show Carmona campaign posters were taped to the windows of the room, so as not to allow any view inside, along with a sign declaring no audio or video recording was allowed. A Republican tracker reported only 75 people attended.
The abrupt venue switch recalls President Barack Obama’s failure to hold his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte’s Bank of America stadium. He instead opted for an indoor—and much smaller—venue. While the campaign claimed that weather was a concern, observers believed the Obama for America team was more afraid of the optics of empty seats than the threat of lightning bolts.
The latest Rasmussen poll of likely voters shows Rep. Jeff Flake up six points over Carmona, 50-44. The Carmona campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.