Politics vs. Football: How New England Patriots' Disastrous Season Affects 2024 Presidential Primary

As the New England Patriots are enduring their worst season in 1993, Republican Presidential Primary candidates are taking advantage of the nightmare year.

Are the New England Patriots so bad that the ongoing Republican Presidential primary candidates do not need to worry about holding campaign events that potentially overlap with games? 

According to a recent article by Politico, that is exactly what is happening as the Patriots are enduring a disastrous 3-10 season, the franchise's worst since 1993. 

“It’s still a deciding factor even though it’s a bad season,” Fred Doucette, a current Patriots' season ticket holder and adviser to presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, said. “We still try to schedule around it … But it has a lesser effect than it would have had two years ago.”

2024 Republican primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (left) and New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick (right) / USA TODAY NETWORK

That certainly is saying something because even two years ago, the Patriots weren't where they were for the nearly two-decade-long run with legendary quarterback Tom Brady and co., but at the very least, they fielded a playoff team that looked like it had some potential to grow in the years to come.

However, fast forward to the present, and much of that development hope has been dashed. Firstly, the once-promising former first-round and Pro Bowl quarterback Mac Jones has been relegated to a seat on the bench after suffering a steep decline since his rookie season. 

Meanwhile, it can be argued that the rest of the roster surrounding Jones hadn't progressed. Offensively, it seems the Patriots have gone farther backward rather than forward.  

That has all led to the near-unwatchable product this season for Patriot fans, who have gone from supporting a team that was the gold standard to the franchise that is free-falling down the mountain. This led to Ramaswamy breaking what once could have been considered a "cardinal rule" by holding a campaign event in New Hampshire while the Patriots were playing the New York Giants. 

“There are definitely cycles where it’s like, OK, clear Sunday afternoon,” former New Hampshire GOP chair Fergus Cullen said. “It’s gotten so bad that the Pats are no longer clear-the-calendar events.”

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This begs the million-dollar question: How long does this last? 

The Patriots will be in action next Sunday as they host the Kansas City Chiefs. Kickoff inside Gillette Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. (EST).

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