B
Bronwen
Guest
It's that time again--not only national elections, but a slew of local ones here where I live. This year, I have noticed something extremely strange. I wondered if it is happening in other communities.
A lot of candidates who are unknowns are not declaring their party affiliation on their signs and billboards. I checked--almost all of them are running as either Republicans or Democrats, but they aren't putting it on their signs. I think that's downright strange.
I checked with a friend, and neither party requires their candidates to declare on things like flyers, billboards, or posters exactly what their party affiliation is. They still have to declare on ballots, and on any materials which are either mailed or hand delivered to homes, but they don't have to on their "mass marketing" materials.
The same friend, who happens to be running for her old seat in the state Senate, told me that this year a lot of people are really afraid to declare their allegiance. The ones who are declaring it openly are all people who are incumbents, because people already know which party they belong to. The others, who we don't know, are preferring to keep an air of mystery. I asked her if she knows why, and she said she has heard a few people say they don't want voters to associate them with their party, but they also don't want to run as independents, because it's almost impossible to get elected here if you are an indie. (Just so you know, my friend is a Dem, and she has always run as a Dem, and the sign we have on our front lawn has a little donkey on the corner).
Is this happening in other places? Why do you suppose people are afraid to declare their allegiance openly? Are things so polarized right now that people running for local office feel the need to not tell people about their party affiliation up front?
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank you.
A lot of candidates who are unknowns are not declaring their party affiliation on their signs and billboards. I checked--almost all of them are running as either Republicans or Democrats, but they aren't putting it on their signs. I think that's downright strange.
I checked with a friend, and neither party requires their candidates to declare on things like flyers, billboards, or posters exactly what their party affiliation is. They still have to declare on ballots, and on any materials which are either mailed or hand delivered to homes, but they don't have to on their "mass marketing" materials.
The same friend, who happens to be running for her old seat in the state Senate, told me that this year a lot of people are really afraid to declare their allegiance. The ones who are declaring it openly are all people who are incumbents, because people already know which party they belong to. The others, who we don't know, are preferring to keep an air of mystery. I asked her if she knows why, and she said she has heard a few people say they don't want voters to associate them with their party, but they also don't want to run as independents, because it's almost impossible to get elected here if you are an indie. (Just so you know, my friend is a Dem, and she has always run as a Dem, and the sign we have on our front lawn has a little donkey on the corner).
Is this happening in other places? Why do you suppose people are afraid to declare their allegiance openly? Are things so polarized right now that people running for local office feel the need to not tell people about their party affiliation up front?
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Thank you.