Tonight, I”m part of the process to pick a political candidate to run in an upcoming special election that will happen on November 8th. Fortunately, the candidates are pro business and know what it's like to be entrepreneurial. That is something that we desperately need in our State Capital.
This position is a Senate seat that is being vacated by the current politician who is being appointed to a special position by the Governor. The appointment is going to a candidate that is of an opposite party as the Governor which caught many people off guard.
Still, this could be a huge opportunity as the opposing party has the majority in the senate with 26 seats. If this election switches parties, the Senate becomes deadlocked at 25 seats each.
More importantly, it sets the stage for the party to retain the seat next year during the normal elections and helps if the party can pick up more seats at that time.
Because I have a major influence in who the candidate is, I chose to speak to the candidates individually before meeting with them face to face tonight. I had several questions and each candidate has strong points and weaknesses.
Ultimately, no matter who it is, will face a tough challenge as the state has a significant role to play in this election due to the closeness of the parties.
At this point, I will be making my final decision right before I actually vote. I want to hear what both candidates have to say. They are both strong people and they have good intentions. They both went into their campaign position speech, to which I stopped them and asked them the reality question, “How do you plan to beat your opponent, if you are chosen to represent the district.”
No matter which candidate is selected, the next six weeks are going to be extremely busy. I hope that the winner of the vote tonight is up to the challenge.