Rupert Will Announce His Gubernatorial Decision Saturday

Word just came from Rupert Boneham's campaign that this Saturday he will announce whether he will choose to seek the Libertarian Party's nomination to be their gubernatorial candidate in 2012.  Boneham formed an exploratory committee for that race in late August (see my story here,) and put up a Rupert for Governor web page. At the time, he said that he would spend the several weeks visiting with Hoosiers around the state. He indicated that he knew he was ready for the Governor's race, but wanted to spend time with Hoosiers to see if they were ready to consider him a viable candidate.

It appears that decision has been made. This Saturday afternoon, Boneham has announced he will face the media and publicly announce what his decision will be. Rupert's press conference will be held at 2:00 at American Legion Post 64 on Holt Road in Indianapolis.

According to Boneham's campaign manager, Evan McMahon,

"Over the past couple of months, Rupert has been visiting with everyday Hoosiers and small business owners from all across the state. After hearing their stories and concerns and weighing those of his family and supporters, Rupert has come to a decision."

I fully expect we'll hear Rupert announce his intentions are, in fact, to seek the Libertarian Party's nomination, and McMahon's statements sure don't lead you to think otherwise.  If Boneham had other thoughts, I can't imagine there would be a press conference announced this many days ahead of time.  It seems like today's announcement of the upcoming press conference is well-crafted to allow plenty of time for the media, both locally and nationally, to grab hold of the story and build some anticipation.  (Of course, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently did just that in his announcement that he will not be running for president, so anything is possible.)

Rupert is, of course, famous for his appearances on several incarnations of the reality TV show Survivor.  In his personal life, Boneham is well-known for his youth mentoring program, Rupert's Kids, which, according to their website, is an

"organization dedicated to serving an easily overlooked population of youth: those that have become too old for the youth social service system, but are not old enough for the adult social service system. We teach these youth valuable skills and trades, while also empowering them to discover their inner strengths, passions and interests."

In the spirit of self-sufficiency, Rupert's Kids has never accepted any government funding (a fact that I'm sure is very popular among the Libertarians Boneham is seeking the nomination from.)

The big question since Boneham filed his exploratory committee has been whether his potential candidacy was serious, or if it was a publicity stunt.  When asked whether Rupert feels the media and the Hoosier voters are ready to take Boneham seriously, McMahon stated,

"This truly has been a tough decision for him. He has struggled with the unknown impact this will have on his family and community work. He's also been faced with a few hostile members of the media, that have done everything they can to discredit not only his potential campaign but also the legitimacy of other Libertarian candidates. But, he has also had a great deal of supporters calling and emailing the campaign. He gets stopped everywhere he goes by people encouraging him to take this stand for Hoosiers. It has been a rough couple of weeks."

Again, it sure sounds like Rupert's going to announce he's giving the green-light for a full campaign to start immediately.  Saturday's the big day.  I hope he runs.  It's going to make for a very fun and exciting 2012.