We’ve Got a Series of Weird Elections
In the Current Races Both Nationally and Locally
The most significant news recently was, of course, the decision of the President to withdraw from the campaign at the last minute after he had won most of the primaries. The surprising impact of that was the explosive growth in energy, money, and endorsements for the Vice-President. However reluctant he may have been, the Democrats had read the polls correctly that he was a drag on the campaign.
The Vice-President will be back in Raleigh again this week along with her new VP selection. Biden and Harris have made numerous visits to the state, which is an indication that they think the state is in play. The strategy for the past two elections has been to gain control of the votes of the Electoral College rather than the popular votes. This is an archaic system that should be replaced, but the inertia to maintain the status quo reigns.
Trump has signaled that he is not concerned about getting the votes because his minions already have set up the processes to rig the election. Each state sets its own procedures, security standards, and oversight. If they can get enough election officials to favor Trump, he posits that the actual votes won’t count. That’s a scary proposition, but I have no idea of how it might play out.
The North Carolina Republicans have adopted the strategy that they can just ignore the latest revelation of the outrageous behavior of the current Lt. Governor. They think that people will forget as the media moves on to the next news cycle. His extremely violent language in person is muted in his campaign ads. The current Attorney General has led a relatively low-key campaign and declined to challenge most of Robinson’s crazy rhetoric.
To me, the most challenging contest is between the candidates for the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The Democrat has extensive experience of having served as Superintendent of local schools. The Republican is a proponent of home-schooling and has no experience with the public school system. Diversity, Education, and Inclusion and Critical Race Theory are key issues in the race.
The candidates for North Carolina Attorney General both are currently Representatives in the Congress. The Republican focuses on immigration and marijuana, and the Democrat focus on serving as the state’s top legal officer. Immigrants would have to come from a border state, and legalization of grass produced mixed results according to the Democrat.
The candidates for North Carolina Lt. Governor face an uphill battle to get any media attention in what is in most cases a forgotten race. The Democrat has the advantage of name recognition as daughter of a famous former governor.
I lack the space to comment on the other candidates for political offices.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.