Brack: For change, you’ve got to get out and vote

Commentary by Andy Brack | You might not think much of political yard signs at this time of year. They junk up the roadways. They’re little more than branding during a time when we can’t get away from bright colors, fonts and logos that assault our senses.

But while mere yard signs may not win elections directly, they remind voters about candidates. And maybe they do something else – maybe they’re a kind of mirror for enthusiasm during an election. Seems reasonable that voters might not think a candidate without signs really wants a job as bad as the guy with yard signs – and maybe that does translate into a vote.

In our ongoing Listening Across America trip across the country, hearing from voters about what’s going on politically as the midterm elections approach, we’ve noticed something in lots of red states from South Carolina through New Mexico – not too many yard signs. Maybe it’s a bit early. Or maybe – just maybe – Republicans aren’t as enthusiastic about what’s ahead. (Only when we reached Hurricane, Utah, did we see a bevy of yard signs – which made us think about how they may actually be an election barometer.)

So far in our travels, people who align as more Democratic seem to be invested more in election outcomes. Many of the Republicans we’ve met – from a doctor in Alabama to a businessman in middle Texas to a retiree in New Mexico – seemed to think that the change from a Republican Congress was just a matter of time. Everybody – regardless of party – complained about high gas and food prices. And these common themes seemed to connect Americans more than divide them.

For example in Texas, Republicans control state government and have an overwhelming GOP majority in the Lone Star State’s congressional delegation. But a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, James Talarico, seems to be ahead in the polls.

Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, an El Paso native who ran for president in 2020, says he sees the enthusiasm gap.

“Maybe every election is a change election to some degree, but where we are here in Texas, Republicans have held power for more than three decades,” he said just before meeting with students at the University of Texas in Austin. “They have every single lever of power. There was no one for Republicans to blame for high diesel and gas prices, for low wages, for the ICE roundups that have not just broken up families, and put fear into communities, but have killed people throughout this state.”

The fluctuations being experienced by Americans are owned, he said, by Republicans, which may lead many voters to want change.

“There’s really just one answer – the Democrats, and thank God, those Democrats are also putting up very strong candidates who are adept at not just pointing out the failures of Republicans, but describing this very positive aspirational vision for this state and our country. So this is absolutely a change election, and I think that’s why Democrats look so good.”

But O’Rourke, who narrowly lost a 2018 U.S. Senate election to Ted Cruz, also hears from Democrats who worry whether this cycle’s enthusiasm is real because they’ve had their hearts broken in the past.

“They’re asking, before I get my hopes up again, is this really happening? And, you know, the answer is, we won’t know until the night of November 3rd. But in my life, I’ve never seen conditions so positive for Democrats as they are right now for our Senate candidate, for our gubernatorial candidate, but maybe just as importantly for the down ballot, congressional and state House candidates, as well.”

We’ll know soon enough. But if you want to really make a change, you’ve got to ignore any gray skies or lethargy and get out to the polls on Nov. 3.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Statehouse Report and the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.