Thursday, September 08, 2022
Political Mayhem Thursday: Candidates on the fringe
Things were looking pretty good for Republicans in the mid-terms not so long ago, and it may well turn out that they make gains in the elections in November. But in a lot of places they are hampered by candidates on the fringes who won primaries but are unlikely to win what otherwise would be winnable races on the general election.
That's certainly true here in Minnesota, where the Republican candidates for governor and lieutenant governor now trail the Democratic incumbents by 18 points. The gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Scott Jensen is an anti-vaxxer who seems obsessed with Ivermectin and has a lot of trouble staying on message. His running mate, former football player Matt Birk, is even more fringe-y, in that it seems he may actually be a resident of Florida (or at least likes it better there, except in the summer). I mean, c'mon, Republicans! At least nominate candidates from the correct state!
Some Democrats are rejoicing over the opportunities this creates for them, but in truth the nation as a whole benefits from having two healthy parties that present different but honest policy positions rooted in the common good. I'm very nostalgic for the 2008 presidential campaign, when both general election candidates (McCain and Obama) were good honest public servants who would have done a good job.
If Republicans stumble in the mid-terms, it may jar them back to a reality that isn't dominated by Donald Trump's whims of the moment.
Or maybe it won't.
