Elect People You Can Turn Your Back On!

Weekly Opinion Editorial

Campaign Cycle Favors Incumbents!

by Steve Fair

     Campaign filing is complete and there are a bunch of people running for elective office in Oklahoma in 2020.  At the top of the ticket, Oklahoma’s senior U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe is up for re-election this cycle and he drew ten opponents-three Republicans, four Democrats, two Independents and one Libertarian.  In the state senate, 8 of the 24 senators up for reelection drew no opponent.  In the state house, 39 of the 101 state representatives filed unopposed. That is 38% of the legislators won’t face an opponent.  It’s healthy for incumbents to face opposition because it forces them to explain their votes to their constituents.  When they don’t draw an opponent, they assume their constituents think they are doing a bang up job- which may or may not be true.   More often than not, incumbents didn’t draw an opponent because people aren’t paying attention to politics. 

     With COVID-19 and people quarantined, campaigning is going to be a lot different, especially for the primary races.  The primary is Tuesday June 30^th.  The last day to register to vote to participate in the primary is June 5^th.  The deadline to request an absentee ballot in June 24^th.  Early voting for the primary will be Thursday June 25^th, Friday June 26^th and Saturday June 27^th at your county courthouse.   Go to https://www.ok.gov/elections/OVP.html to request an absentee ballot.  Three thoughts:

      First, this election cycle favors the incumbent.  With candidates not being able to campaign face to face, name recognition becomes a huge advantage.  Candidates challenging incumbents should have considered that before running.  Incumbents win 95% of the time in normal circumstances.  That will go up under current conditions.  Anyone has a right to seek any office they want, but if your chances of winning are slim, perhaps you should withdraw before the ballots are printed.  Many people run against an incumbent because they have ‘a bone to pick’ with the elected official.  That is never the right motive and rarely do those looking for revenge win an election. 

     Second, voters should carefully scrutinize, analyze, examine, and inspect candidate’s campaign material.  Incumbents provide voters the advantage of a track record and their voting record and decision making is fair game.  Challengers have the advantage of telling you what they will do(or won’t do) without a track record.  Recognize campaign material for what it is- propaganda for the candidate.  In every campaign, candidates are trying to do two things- define themselves and define their opponent.

     Third, the best elected officials are those who have the following attributes.  (1) They are capable and fit for office.  They are not a novice.  Just because someone wants a position doesn’t mean they are qualified for that position.  (2) They possess the right temperament for office.  They can take criticism and don’t avoid questions from constituents.  (3) They are accessible.   They don’t avoid their constituents.  Sadly, many elected officials only come out when they are up for re-election.  (4) They are faithful.  They have a track record of being trustworthy. 

     The primary election is just 2 ½ months away.  Expect the campaign material to start hitting your mail box in the next couple of weeks.  Make sure you connect with candidates by phone, email,  or social media.  Ask them hard questions and cast your ballot for someone who you can turn your back on.