At the beginning of August it was an 18% gap (with other Republicans still in the mix).
Above is a podcast with an interview of Smiley. Tough gal, smart.
She and her husband got married at 22 iirc, he was injured in the army and blinded, she was 23 iirc. When the government called her she was working as a nurse in Washington state. Her husband was being flown to Washington D.C.
Right after the phone call she quit her job, packed a bag and got a one-way ticket to D.C. to meet her husband. The next day she was going over paperwork with the officers and they wanted her to sign his discharge papers. He was blind and would never see again.
She said no. He has to have something to look forward to and to live for - and that was his military service. She stayed with her husband for a long time while he was in the hospital (6 months or more??). After a few days of her sleeping in the chair in his room they were going to kick her out. She said “You must have some place in this vast hospital where I can put down a sleeping bag!” They found a spot in the basement for her.
She helped her husband fight the red tape, he stayed in the military. He wanted to teach at West Point but he had to get more education so she helped him with that. (She wrote the images of graphs on his back so he could learn them!). He ended up teaching at West Point for quite awhile.
Obviously they are are both smart and tough and strong-willed. My wife doesn’t think she stands a chance. I think she does. Murray has been around for 30 years. Smiley says “Look out Murray - there’s a new mom in town.”
thank you for filling us in. 18% to 6% is quite a move