One of Darlene Fitzgerald's long-time allies says she will have a tough race ahead of her as a Democratic candidate in the 2010 U.S. Senate race, but argues Fitzgerald is just the person to handle the burden.

"She is running as an extreme long shot. There are serious questions whether Darlene is cynical enough for politics," said Tom Devine, the legal director of the Government Accountability Project (GAP). "But, she is proving again that she throws all her energy into what she believes is right, whether it is quote-‘realistic' or not."

Devine and Fitzgerald have worked together for nearly a decade, as advocates for whistleblower's rights. GAP functions as the nation's foremost organization involved in that effort, and Devine initially encountered Fitzgerald after she went public with her criticisms of the U.S. Customs Agency - her former employer from which she resigned in 1999.

She resigned from her duties as a special agent alleging undue pressure from her supervisors after she questioned the suspension of a drug trafficking investigation. Since then, Fitzgerald has served as an activist calling for expanded rights for federal whistleblowers.

"She became one of the premiers of a wave of DHS [Department of Homeland Security] whistleblowers. We call them the Paul Revere whistleblowers who said "the terrorists are coming - we're not prepared!" said Devine. "She's been almost a personal hotline to other whistleblowers, making herself available to help them emotionally survive what can be a horribly traumatic experience when they are going through the retaliation."

A political novice, the whistleblower rights cause is admittedly central one to Fitzgerald's candidacy. She argues that protecting whistleblowers creates a barrier against corruption in Federal agencies.

Targeting corruption as a campaign platform?

With that in mind, Devine says her campaign could connect with voters already disenchanted with the federal government.

"Surveys have shown that the highest priority for likely voters in the next election is government corruption...Very few politicians offer more than lip service to those principles," said Devine. "Darlene Fitzgerald personifies the public servant who is far beyond that in championing the highest priority of voters. She has risked her professional life to fight government corruption."

Beyond the fact that the 2010 race is her first political campaign, Fitzgerald still faces an uphill fight, as Devine acknowledged. It is likely Fitzgerald will face established competition in the Democratic primary for the Senate seat, though, at this point, any competition is just rumored.

Incumbent Senator Jim Bunning (R-Southgate) has announced he intends to seek a third term. (Corrected)

Challenges of the campaign

With a central focus on whistleblowing and allegations of government corruption, Fitzgerald said in an earlier interview with PolitickerKY.com that some members of her own party are involved in activities she objects to, including lobbying - which she termed "legal bribery."

When asked if he thought the Democratic Party would be receptive to Fitzgerald's candidacy given that context, Devine was unsure.

"It all depends how much the Democratic Party has learned its lesson to start listening to voters instead of trying to use them. Democrats' political surges in the past have been short lived because too often the party thought they could rely on advertising slogans for what they thought people wanted to hear," said Devine. "If the Democratic Party has learned its lesson, they will start looking for leaders that are as idealistic as the voters are."

Though Fitzgerald has a recognizable foundation of support in the whistleblower support movement, Devine noted that, for the practicalities of traditional campaigning, that movement would likely be unable to provide extensive support to any political bid.

In addition to being legally unable to provide campaign donations to Fitzgerald, Devine said GAP and groups like it were not of the disposition to work in politics.

"Groups like ours don't have any expertise in running political campaigns," said Devine. "As good government specialists, that sometimes puts us at the opposite end of the political spectrum as campaigners."

Another whistleblower previously sought federal office in recent years, and Devine referenced that campaign effort to highlight the difficulties their candidacies face.

Running as a Democrat, Coleen Rowley challenged a Republican incumbent for Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District seat. Rowley previously gained fame as Time magazine's co-person of the year in 2002 for her role in highlighting intelligence problems within the FBI leading up to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

In her campaign for Congress, however, Rowley's history did not translate into a victory.

Devine said she was overwhelmed by opponent John Kline's sizeable campaign war chest.

"[Rowley] was just drowned in spending by the incumbent who pretty much had a blank check from the tobacco industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the defense industry. And her voice was drowned out by the loudspeaker of political money," said Devine.

"There is no ‘rational' reason to think that Darlene's campaign will be any different," he added. "But whistleblowers have changed the course of history by refusing to be limited by ‘rational' excuses not to get involved."

Corrected: Senator Jim Bunning has indicated he intends to seek office in 2010.