Here’s another story where politics and gaming collide. And no, it doesn’t involve former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The former president of LucasArts, Jim Ward, is running for Congress.
Ward is running on a platform that sounds eerily familiar. “The right kind of change” (which would seem to imply that Obama’s is the wrong kind). The 49 year old former executive is a native of Rockford, Illinois, and is running for the 5th Congressional District in Arizona. The seat is currently held by Democrat Harry Mitchell.
“It’s time politicians who just want to be politicians got out of the way and let people who have run businesses, created jobs and made decisions they’ve had to live with, go to Washington and straighten out this mess,” according to the election site for Ward. “I’ve got that skill set along with the ability to make the right kind of change. I hope you’ll agree.”
The 5th Congressional District has been drifting away from the GOP for four straight election cycles. J. D. Hayworth won in 2002 with 61 percent of the vote, only to see his numbers decline to 52 percent in 2004. He lost his seat to Harry Mitchell in 2006 by 4 percent as Democrats took a majority in the House and Senate. Mitchell then held the seat in 2008 as an incumbent by a margin of 10 percent. It seems pretty unlikely that this seat will be changing parties in 2010. Who knows though. Maybe Mr. Ward will advertise on Xbox Live like President Obama did in the 2008 election.
