As many readers know my wife is from the Philippines. They just had their Presidential election. Their politics are obviously very different than what we have in the upcoming runoff a rampant social media post about candidate evaluation seemed meritorious, and is a good guide to try and evaluate candidates for the upcoming election. That post suggested evaluating candidates as follows:
- Why is the candidate running?
- What do you think the candidate will do if elected? How did you reach this conclusion?
- How will they accomplish their campaign promises? Is what they are promising even possible?
- What is their legislative record? Are their campaign promises in line with their past behavior?
This seems like a good starting point to evaluate the candidates for the upcoming election. To that list I would add the following:
- Is the candidate electable in the general election?
- For county wide races, how will they reach independents and moderate democrats to obtain enough votes to overcome the baseline +10 democratic status in Harris County?
- Will the candidate be a good messenger for our beliefs?
We have a great opportunity to flip some county wide seats, and Judge Hidalgo seems vulnerable. However, we have to take a moment and do a cold analysis on the candidates to see who is the better candidate for the election regardless of if they are the closest to our beliefs. Ideological purity is great if it isn’t a determent to being elected. We have too much at stake this cycle to let the opportunity pass us by.
I don’t hold strong opinions in the races, other than against Wayne Christian. He steadfastly engages in pass the buck speeches regarding the power fiasco last year. A true leader has a the buck stops here mentality. I will vote for Paxton over Bush. Paxton has his ethical situation, but he has been an effective Attorney General, and other than the Bush name – which is double edged in November – Bush is an especially weak candidate.
I’m also still undecided on the county judge race. Ideologically Alexandria del Moral Mealer is the better choice, but Vidal Martinez seems far more electable. Glad to hear anyone’s pitch for either candidate. The best way to reach me is degeyterlaw@gmail.com.
Primary season can get emotions high, and it’s easy to become pot invested in a candidate. The heat of the primary can skew our thoughts. Given the importance of this cycle to the county, please take the time to look at the criteria above and make sure the candidate you support is the best choice from a cold analytical standpoint. That’s what swing voters will do in November.