Georgia on our minds: Make your voice count
Maybe we need to pipe in some Ray Charles music.
We are a little more than a month away from the spring Primary Election. Don’t hit the snooze button. Yes, these somewhat mundane exercises in our constitutional rights, in which we nominate candidates for each party for a variety of elected positions at the county level, as well as municipal, school board and magisterial district judge posts are often more fizzle than sizzle.
That’s even more so in non-presidential years.
Compare that with the national headlines emanating from Georgia the past few days, where all eyes have been focused laser-like on a little-known Congressional race.
The special election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District to replace Tim Price, who joined President Donald Trump’s administration as health secretary, normally would not raise many eyeballs. The district has long been a Red stalwart, home of conservative Republicans. Just last November, Price cruised to re-election with more than 60 percent of the vote.
That was before President Trump. Everything is different now. The crowded field of 18 candidates in the special election quickly escalated into a referendum on the first 100 days of the Trump Presidency. Upstart Democrat Jon Ossoff, with little more on his resume than a background as a congressional staffer who did not live in the district, was threatening to do the unthinkable: Send a Democrat to Washington to represent the region. Cue the Ray Charles music. Clearly, President Trump had Georgia on his mind.
The Tweeter-in-chief went on social media no less than six times in the days leading up to the special election to remind Republicans what was at stake and take a few jabs at Ossoff.
That only added to what was already a heavily hyped election.
If Ossoff had been able to capture 50 percent of the vote, he would have won the seat in what has traditionally been a solid red, conservative Republican district.
There was a ton of hype surrounding the possibility of Democratic newcomer Jon Ossoff, a 30-year-old former congressional staffer. If Ossoff had been able to capture 50 percent of the vote, he would have won the seat in what has traditionally been GOP friendly turf. It didn’t happen. Ossoff fell a few points shy and now will go to a runoff against the top Republican vote-getter, former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel. They were the top two finishers in a field crammed with 18 candidates.
Democrats are crowing that this near-victory in what has been a solid Republican stronghold for decades - Price won another lopsided victory here just this past November - is a sign of growing disenchantment with Trump.
The president is claiming victory, saying Ossoff failed to win the seat outright and will fall against Handel when the two square off in the June 20 runoff.
Make no mistake, Trump’s name was not on the ballot in Georgia, but the vote was all about him.
Almost makes you look forward to our next congressional election in these parts, looming out there in November 2018. Three Democrats already are lined up to challenge Pat Meehan. A fourth from Chester County also is entering the fray. It will be interesting to see how much support Meehan wants - or gets from a White House he clearly has serious disagreements with on key issues. Remember, Meehan was one of the few who asked Trump to step down after that video of him disparaging women surfaced.
He also rode the fence, not showing his hand for or against, the push to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with the Republican American Health Care Act. It was not until Trump and Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the bill, admitting they did not have the votes for passage, that Meehan admitted he would not have voted for it.
For now all we have to look forward to here in Delaware County is a fairly routine Primary election on May 16, where parties will fill their slates for County Council, county row offices, along with municipal, school board and magisterial district judge races.
Maybe we should start pumping in the Ray Charles music to Delco to liven up these races.
Make no mistake, these races are very important, despite the fact that voters likely will stay away in droves. This is where the choices are actually made, where parties nominate their candidates that will appear on ballots in November.
In the magisterial district judge race, it might be even more important. That’s because these candidates often file on both tickets in the hopes of winning both parties’ nominations, in effect derailing any challenge in November. In other words, if you don’t vote in the primary, your choice might already be made, and your voice will be made meaningless should you take a powder and decide to wait until the fall.
Make sure your voice is heard. No, your vote will not echo off Stone Mountain in Georgia. But it will be heard in the Delaware County Courthouse, as well as your town’s government, and your local school board, where it very likely could have more effect on your everyday life than anything that happens in the nation’s capital.
Or Georgia either, for that matter.