elections – Page 2 – Carol A. Spencer

The Value (or not) of Endorsements

Candidates love to share their endorsements. Why? They believe you’ll find a name among that list that you admire, and thus will vote for that candidate.

But should you? My husband, who has also been involved in the political world for many, many years, says “Endorsements are only good on the back of a check.” I agree.

What difference does it make if a beloved former (or current) governor or legislator, or well-known local, endorses a current candidate? That “former (or current)” or “well-known” won’t be serving in office. They don’t vote. The candidate, once an officerholder, does.

Will that former or current elected official, or well-known local, have significant influence over the actions and votes of the candidate? Will that endorser’s influence exceed that of the voters? Yes, it will. And, if campaign contributions flow from that endorser, my “yes” is iron-clad.

Endorsements List Don’t be awed by endorsements. Rather, ask yourself, “If that endorser opposed a measure I support, who’s opinion would the candidate (now officeholder) weigh more heavily?” When it comes to a vote and the chips are down, if donations are involved, the endorser wins, the voters lose. It’s rarely the other way around.

The TX House vote to impeach Ken Paxton is but one example. All but 5 Republicans who took money from Dade Phelan voted to impeach: 49 of them. Did that accurately reflect the wishes of their constituents? Not likely.

Another example: Let’s say managing excessive growth is your highest priority (as it is for many in Bastrop County). Along comes a candidate’s literature stating that they are endorsed by major residential and commercial developers or a law firm that makes a good deal of its money from representing developers or a real estate PAC or an entity with which they have a business relationship.

Once in office, will that candidate vote with the wishes of his/her constituents or the endorser? What if that endorser helped fund the campaign? You know the answer.

The only caveat in this is if you research the endorser’s background or votes during his/her term of office and find you’re majorly in agreement with the endorser’s stands on current issues. But you must do that research specifically regarding current issues. I repeat: current issues. A good example of this is a Trump endorsement.

It means nothing if you agreed with that endorser’s stand on the war in Iraq, but disagree with his/her current stand on school choice, casino gambling, water, immigration or any other issue facing the county or state.

And remember, current elected officials who endorse often have their own agendas: which candidate can or will help me the most when I run for re-election or which candidate is likely to win, making me look like a winner?

The only endorsement worth anything is that of the voters, your endorsement. You have the power. Don’t be swayed by a list of allegedly important names.

Know Before You Go

There’s an election coming up on March5. Early voting starts February 20. How will you choose which candidates align with your beliefs?

Find your sample ballot.

You can do that on BastropVotes.org. Enter your last, first names and your birthdate. You’ll get this screen:

If you were to choose the Republican ballot, and IF you live in Precinct 1, you’d get this ballot. If you live in a different precinct or choose a Democrat ballot, your ballot will have different choices. Depending on your printer, choose “print to fit”, black & white printing, and print single sided (turn off duplex).

Sample Ballot 2024 Primary Page 2 — Sample Ballot PG 1

Sample Ballot 2024 Primary Page 1 — Sample Ballot PG 1

Go through the ballot and check off or circle those races where you already know who you’ll be voting for.

Did you know you can take the sample ballot into the polls with you? You can. Just don’t leave it behind after you vote.

I typically do not pay attention to a candidate’s materials. Many candidates hire political consultants who design their websites and mailings. They sometimes do polling to see what issues resonate with voters. Then they “wordsmith” every line and every sentence. It’s important to “watch what they do, not what they say”.

Follow the money.

County & Local Candidates

Case full of money The first thing I want to know about a candidate is who has donated to them.

County and local candidates file their finance reports with the County Elections Administrator. You can find them here: https://www.bastropvotes.org/elected-officials/campaign-finance-reports/ Candidates must report all donors over $110 from any one individual in the reporting period. You’ll get a pretty good idea of the source of their campaign funding.

Sometimes, though, candidates fail to file these reports. That’s a violation of law, totally refutes any comments they make about transparency (in my opinion).

The Texas Ethics Commission sets the required dates for finance reports: quarterly were due January 16, the 30-day prior were due February 5, and the 8-day prior are due February 26. ALL candidates must meet these filing deadlines.

State Candidates

State candidates file with the Texas Ethics Commission. Reports are public. Finding and viewing reports is a bit daunting at first, but doesn’t take long to get the hang of it. You use the simple search to find the candidate’s “filer id”. Once you have that, you can do an advanced search for all contributions for that “filer id” or candidate. You can download them as a spreadsheet and from there sort by donor. That will give you a very clear picture of whether a candidate is getting his/her money from out of state, from PACs, which PACs, or from individual donors.

Federal Candidates

Federal candidates are required to follow the rules set by the Federal Election Commission. They are different than state rules and have different filing deadlines. You can see a federal candidate’s donors by visiting the FEC Campaign Finance Data page online.

Generally…

Try OpenSecrets.org. This independent non-profit website will show you donations to state and federal candidates, or you can search by donor. The advanced search allows a more detailed “deep dive” into the data. OpenSecrets has launched a new lobbying data section. If you want to know who is influencing the elected officials that represent you, and those in leadership positions, spend some time looking around this website.

Money is important in politics. Races are expensive. But how much influence will large donors have over a candidate if elected? Once you know who the PACs are, do some research on the PAC. Who runs it? What are their goals? What other candidates receive money from them?

It takes some time, but isn’t your community, your state, your country worth it?

Conservative? Maybe not.

Online Research Often Exposes The Truth.

MAGA matters and those running for office know it. That’s why candidates, mostly Republican but frankly of both parties, claim to be “conservative”.

Football player tossing a football labeled conservative But, voter beware. Just because they say they’re conservative, they aren’t. They easily toss around the word “conservative” knowing that low-information voters are swayed by it. So, become a high-information voter using online resources!

They hope you don’t do your homework. I hope you do. There are many places to get information about a candidate. Campaign literature and websites are not places to go except to learn what the candidate wants you to know. To get to the truth, you must do some research.

Watch what they do, not what they say. I’ve said this for a long time about candidates, something I’ve learned through my 35+ years involved in political campaigns. People can say anything, but they can’t change the record.

Candidates can modify their social media posts, but few are likely to do that unless their comments become big news. Think of candidates and/or office holders that have been caught by salacious or offensive posts. You can learn a lot by a quick scan of someone’s posts. If they’re on X (formerly known as Twitter), that’s the best place to take a quick scan.

Candidates and office holders likely have to file financial reports with either the local election office or the Texas Ethics Commission or the Federal Elections Commission. Visit BastropVotes for local candidates. Visit the Texas Ethics Commission for district, judicial, or statewide candidates. Texas Ethics also has contributor information about Texas Political Action Committees (PACs). Visit the Federal Elections Commission for all federal candidates. A non-governmental source to “follow the money” is opensecrets.org where you can search by candidate, committee, or by donor. Open Secrets also has information about “dark money” groups, Super PACs and more.

If a candidate is an incumbent, their votes will tell you whether they’re actually a conservative or not. For Texas legislators, Texas Legislature Online is chock full of information. For a Texas legislative ranking, visit Mark Jones’ analysis in the Texas Tribune or The Freedom Index where individual legislators can be searched. For US Congressmen & Senators, visit FreedomWorks for an analysis of their voting records.

For example, my Texas legislator received one 50% ranking. How good is that? Prior to casting my vote, I’ll compare it to other rankings and any opponents. My US Representative has a session ranking of 100%, and a lifetime ranking of 94.4%. I doubt any opponent can beat that!

For those running the first time, keep an eye on their financial reports. “Follow the money” is always true in politics. Search online, especially LinkedIn for bios which will include volunteer and employment histories.

Always look at a candidate’s past voter history. See if it’s published on one of your local GOP club websites. If you can’t find it online, then ask your local GOP chair for the information.

If you can find the name of a candidate’s treasurer or campaign chair, search them as well. People typically take these roles for candidates who are like-minded and who the treasurer and chair want in office. You won’t find too many Republicans serving as campaign chairs or treasurers for liberal democrats, and vice versa.

Your vote is critical to the survival of our nation. If you, like me, consider yourself a conservative and vote accordingly, then do your job. Do your homework. Know before you go!