Johnson staffer on seeking endorsement from 3rd place finisher: We had hoped to secure his endorsement, but without any financial strings attached.

From the ajc:

[John] Coyne came in at a distant third in the Democratic primary for U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney's 4th Congressional District seat.

Coyne believes he helped Johnson get the exposure he needed to force McKinney into the runoff. For example, Coyne said, he gave Johnson someone to debate on television twice when McKinney was a no show.

"She would have trumped him if I was not in the race," Coyne said.

Coyne said he is refusing to endorse Johnson because the two could not agree on a host of issues. Coyne said he offered to work in Johnson's congressional office should Johnson win the election. He said the two also discussed whether Johnson could help him pay off his roughly $30,000 campaign debt. Coyne said Johnson never followed up with him.

Deb McGhee Speights, Johnson's campaign spokeswoman, confirmed that Johnson sought Coyne's support.

"We had hoped to secure his endorsement, but clearly we would like to do so . . . not with any strings attached," she said.

Now as he watches from the sidelines, Coyne predicts McKinney will clobber Johnson in the runoff.

"He made a serious mistake by not calling me back," Coyne said of Johnson. "She is going to beat him like a dog."
_______________

McKinney got 47 percent of the vote, while Johnson picked up 44 percent. Surely it has occurred to Coyne that had he not been in the race, Johnson may have prevailed without a runoff.

And after reading what Coyne had to said about the price tag of his endorsement, I am glad Johnson opted not to "call [him] back."