Voter burnout is real. That’s why Virginia elections should coincide with mid-term congressional elections and presidential elections, as is the case in most states.
"Griffin won his primary because he outspent Litchfield, and benefitted from an anemic primary turnout. Why Litchfield’s army didn’t translate into more voters is one of the unsolved mysteries of June’s primary. Whatever the reason, the Democrats elevated Griffin to Mouthpiece No. 2."
Facts not entered into evidence.
It's never good in reality to write the ending before the story, though I hear it's good for fiction.
As I recall, Griffin's main motivation for entering the race was the very real possibility that Matt Strickland, as the MAGA candidate in the Rep Primary - where usually the most zealous wins - would likely be the Republican nominee. And as an ex-Marine, Griffin's curricula vitae would provide voters a serious distinction as compared to a liberal, just moved to the area lawyer from Massachusetts would provide to Strickland.
IMO, as someone who had previously donated to Ms Durant, the enthusiasm from Griffin for his campaign diffused when the threat of Strickland went away. He seemed to be just mailing it in. You heard very little from him from June until September, whereas Durant was plastered all over town, and folks like y'all were ringing Gary's bell whenever you could.
And even with that, he would likely have won if Ms Gary's vanity campaign had not siphoned off voters from him.
You want to make arguments regarding voter fatigue, ranked choice voting, donors buying votes, etc - sure, have at it.
Anyone supporting those things really ought to look at Represent VA and give them your support. They do good things.
But a 30 second ad on TV pretty much limits your scope of detail to make an impression. Anyone going to Griffin's website could have found much more details about his positions on other things if they choose.
Still, I'd say Gary's vanity campaign had more to do with who ended up winning than what ads either of the main candidates ran. Dems fall in love, Reps fall in line.
Just look at the story y'all reported on Election Day of the MW college student who voted for Gary though he knew it would harm Griffin. Was that Griffin's fault, or Ms Gary's if they wanted someone who was pro-life to be the representative, as they both did?
If there were ranked choice voting, I too would have happily have given Ms Gary my second choice. But to ignore reality and run anyway, in a winner take all system, as Ms Gary did - ended up exactly as expected.
For the most part this last election, I the standard ad was "[insert Dem name here] wants to defend police, and let criminals roam free" or "[insert Rep name here] wants total abortion ban". The scripts were do similar and so common, I couldn't differentiate who they were for. Generic and mind numbing, to the point where I just glazed when the string of them came on the TV. The one ad that stood out was David Trone. I'm not even in his state, but appreciated the "here's what I've done to support my constituents, and what I'll continue to do." Somehow, until we start getting civility and discourse in our politics, people are just going to continue to tune out. We are looking for ways to make government better, not to continually battle each other.
Also, who is Shaun Kenney? I don’t think you’ve ever described his background. He appears to be a far-right ideologue who rejects MAGA while parroting MAGA talking points. What is Kenney’s college degree?
Thanks, Shaun. I’d recommend taking a writing course at your nearest community college. Virginia’s community college system is great, and I think you’d benefit from it.
We can compare credentials, I suppose... but I've often discovered that those who feel a deficiency in their own education tend to try to project that upon others.
Always happy to grab a cup of coffee and chat. Wahoowa?
Voter burnout is real. That’s why Virginia elections should coincide with mid-term congressional elections and presidential elections, as is the case in most states.
"Griffin won his primary because he outspent Litchfield, and benefitted from an anemic primary turnout. Why Litchfield’s army didn’t translate into more voters is one of the unsolved mysteries of June’s primary. Whatever the reason, the Democrats elevated Griffin to Mouthpiece No. 2."
Facts not entered into evidence.
It's never good in reality to write the ending before the story, though I hear it's good for fiction.
As I recall, Griffin's main motivation for entering the race was the very real possibility that Matt Strickland, as the MAGA candidate in the Rep Primary - where usually the most zealous wins - would likely be the Republican nominee. And as an ex-Marine, Griffin's curricula vitae would provide voters a serious distinction as compared to a liberal, just moved to the area lawyer from Massachusetts would provide to Strickland.
IMO, as someone who had previously donated to Ms Durant, the enthusiasm from Griffin for his campaign diffused when the threat of Strickland went away. He seemed to be just mailing it in. You heard very little from him from June until September, whereas Durant was plastered all over town, and folks like y'all were ringing Gary's bell whenever you could.
And even with that, he would likely have won if Ms Gary's vanity campaign had not siphoned off voters from him.
You want to make arguments regarding voter fatigue, ranked choice voting, donors buying votes, etc - sure, have at it.
Anyone supporting those things really ought to look at Represent VA and give them your support. They do good things.
But a 30 second ad on TV pretty much limits your scope of detail to make an impression. Anyone going to Griffin's website could have found much more details about his positions on other things if they choose.
Still, I'd say Gary's vanity campaign had more to do with who ended up winning than what ads either of the main candidates ran. Dems fall in love, Reps fall in line.
Just look at the story y'all reported on Election Day of the MW college student who voted for Gary though he knew it would harm Griffin. Was that Griffin's fault, or Ms Gary's if they wanted someone who was pro-life to be the representative, as they both did?
If there were ranked choice voting, I too would have happily have given Ms Gary my second choice. But to ignore reality and run anyway, in a winner take all system, as Ms Gary did - ended up exactly as expected.
One wonders if that wasn't the point.
For the most part this last election, I the standard ad was "[insert Dem name here] wants to defend police, and let criminals roam free" or "[insert Rep name here] wants total abortion ban". The scripts were do similar and so common, I couldn't differentiate who they were for. Generic and mind numbing, to the point where I just glazed when the string of them came on the TV. The one ad that stood out was David Trone. I'm not even in his state, but appreciated the "here's what I've done to support my constituents, and what I'll continue to do." Somehow, until we start getting civility and discourse in our politics, people are just going to continue to tune out. We are looking for ways to make government better, not to continually battle each other.
Also, who is Shaun Kenney? I don’t think you’ve ever described his background. He appears to be a far-right ideologue who rejects MAGA while parroting MAGA talking points. What is Kenney’s college degree?
A Cracker Jack box.
Thanks, Shaun. I’d recommend taking a writing course at your nearest community college. Virginia’s community college system is great, and I think you’d benefit from it.
...and yet, here you are. Paying tribute.
Yeah, I should just ignore you. You’re a pseudo-intellectual and a terrible writer. Bye Shaun!
We can compare credentials, I suppose... but I've often discovered that those who feel a deficiency in their own education tend to try to project that upon others.
Always happy to grab a cup of coffee and chat. Wahoowa?
Finally got around to this one, below. Thoughts?