Spring Planting

Spring is beginning to blossom, and the same goes for the coming political season. A fresh crop of candidates is emerging. Soon they will be so numerous, it will be hard to count them all.

Primary races have one purpose. To thin out the crop of candidates so only the strongest survive. And therein lies our first challenge. Find the primary candidates that we can help, and deny advancement to the ones we must keep out (or knock out) of the state legislature.

As many seasoned campaign veterans will tell you, there is often a lot of risk involved with primary races. They can provide easy victories, but they can also create lasting resentment. Unlike general elections, the primary season is a time with high rewards ... but also the possibility of high risks as well.

Suppose there is an incumbent who always votes against our freedom, and he's facing a challenger of unknown persuasion. There is a high return on this race, since anyone is an improvement over a persistent enemy. There isn't much risk, either. Even if the incumbent knows you're working for the challenger, it sends a signal that we aren't just sitting on the sidelines.

The same goes for a friendly incumbent who's challenged by an unknown candidate. Get out there and bust your butt, and let it be known you're in the game. Again, it will only help to build our reputation as an agile player in elections. And while it's okay to be fairly visible, NEVER antagonize the challenger. We have enough enemies already ... no need to create more.

But watch out for the open primaries, where there is no incumbent running for reelection. Even though you may help a friendly candidate's campaign, you'd better stay under the radar. It's hard to predict the winner of an open primary. If our candidate loses, the winner could hold a grudge against us. And then we're stuck with a persistent enemy who's just getting started in politics.

Many times both primary candidates will be friendly. Or conversely, both will be decidedly unfriendly. In either case, the less the candidates know, the better. Save it for the general election in the fall, when there will be other races worth getting into.

These are all general principles, since each race is truly unique. The best thing to do in all cases is to work with your SMRO as well as your local activists. They bring a tremendous body of knowledge to the game, with the big picture as well as important details.

This is a team effort, so the most important thing is to simply do your part, and help everyone reap the benefits of success.

-RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com