So heres my quick analysis of the results in my district race. I got 965 votes, which represents 19% of the total votes cast of 5,012. That percentage is a historic high for a Green candidate in Delaware. The first thing to note is that the total is about 400 votes less than Ramone got when he had no opponent in 2010 (although the district was changed somewhat in 2012) But with 17,000+ registered voters, the turnout was around 30%, indicating that overall the voters were not excited by any particular race to go to the polls. On the one hand, it could be noted that I took votes out of his previous total; on the other hand, there were more than 1,000 voters who cast votes in the state-wide office races, who did not vote for either me or Ramone. While that indicates an ongoing dissatisfaction with Ramone among a segment of the voters, it also indicates that those people are not yet willing to cast a vote for a third party candidate. This was illustrated to me when one couple said they couldnt vote for me because they were Roosevelt Democrats and voted straight party line. They werent willing to engage with me or they may have found out that the idea of a Green New Deal is a lot closer to what Roosevelt accomplished than anything Democrats stand for nowadays. My conclusions are that Greens have a long way to go to convince voters we are viable candidates for a seat in the state legislature. We need to start even smaller than that office, with younger people who are committed to building the party long term. Only a record of success will overcome the inertia of party-line voting. While there is a significant segment which is willing to split their tickets, not enough are yet willing to cast a vote for a Green candidate. While I built some name recognition in this race, I am hesitant to think it could lead to success in a race this large. With a Democrat in the field, the odds would be even lower. Part of what disappoints me about the experience was the lack of voter involvement. There was only one deabate in which we participated and I had a total of less than ten minutes over a number of questions to make any points. The forum was not attended by the general public and there are no forums in which just the two candidates could debate on their own. The democratic process is no longer about an exchange of ideas, but mostly about spending money on advertising. The Green Party also lacks any ability at this point to put together a campaign team for GOTV efforts or fielding a presence at the polls.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Nov 2014 13:50:11 +0000
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