Did you know...? Get to know the candidates then vote!

Printed above are the first two of six questions that were asked of all the Democratic and Republican candidates for Governor in Nebraska for the May 10 primary. The remaining questions will be printed in the next two issues of the Chief.

With nine candidates in the Republican race, it is more important than ever that you, as a voter, get to know them. How can you do that from a 30-second sound bite, whether it be a positive or negative ad?

It is not like there have been debates that you can attend to see and hear the candidates in person. Some candidates are having Meet & Greets but when you work, how do you drive the miles and take the time?

Voting is an important right that we all have. Right now, in the state of Nebraska, it is very important that you know what each of the candidates stand for so you can vote.

The Custer County Chief has taken action for you, our readers, to help you make an educated decision on who to vote for. We are not trying to tell you who to vote for but instead, providing information so you can make up your mind for the May 10 primary.

The idea came about in mid-March when I grew tired of the 30-second ads on TV not really telling me what I need to know about each candidate but rather making me mute the sound.

I will tell you, it is not easy to send a candidate an email. The list I downloaded from the Nebraska Secretary of State’s website shows their names, addresses and phone numbers; some have email addresses and some do not. For those who did not have an email address, I phoned to get it. I was ready to send them a letter in the mail, but did not have to as they did get back to me with the information.

First, I want to say the Democratic candidates received the same correspondence that the Republicans did. As a voter, if you are registered Democrat, answering the six questions is just as important to you. How are you to know which of the two to give your vote to on May 10? I am sorry they did not feel the readers of the Custer County Chief are important enough to reply to the questions.

Second, I am disappointed that Republican voters don’t have answers from all nine candidates. It has been listed if they replied or not.

With nine Republicans in the running, can you see how if your spouse and you each vote for a different candidate how it could affect the outcome. Chip and I have talked. Usually we vote as we wish. However, we feel this time, we need to talk about it and vote as a united front as a household to make a difference.

I encourage you to share this information with your family members who do not get the Chief. This is a topic that we as Nebraska voters need to be talking about. Do you know how you will vote? Historically the candidate from the Republican party chosen in the primary goes on to be Nebraska’s next governor. If we are not talking about this now, in November will it be too late for the future of the State of Nebraska?

Get ready to read for the next three weeks. The questions for the next two weeks have been listed; just in case you wonder why we did not ask about a topic. Of course, there are probably more than six questions that should have been asked. Read over these, then maybe you will want to reach out and ask the candidate a few more questions on your own. Let’s make this primary an informed primary starting with the readers of the