By David Lindeman
Contributing columnist
Editor’s note: This column was written prior to Vice President Kamala Harris officially becoming the Democratic presidential nominee and her announcement Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be her running mate.
There is one thing we should all remember about politics: if you think you know how it works, you don’t.
That sure has become clear in the past couple weeks. After the Biden-Trump debate where Joe seemed to be not 81 years but 181 years old and the Trump assassination attempt and the Republican convention, lots of people were saying Donald Trump was unbeatable. Everything was breaking his way.
When you start to feel that way, it’s time to worry.
Trump felt so confident he picked J.D. Vance as his running mate, probably more because he knew Vance would be loyal (Mike Pence brings back bad memories) rather than any real value he brings to the ticket. Ohio is going to go for Trump no matter what and Vance doesn’t bring any added value to other Midwestern states — most people in Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin never heard of him before he became the vice presidential candidate.
Then the Democratic Party started acting way out of character. Democrats usually spend so much time arguing among themselves that they forget there’s a whole bunch of other people out there with votes. But wait — the whole Kamala Harris thing went off like clockwork.
First, Biden’s announcement to withdraw from the race was timed perfectly, taking attention away from the post GOP convention push. Then virtually all the Democrats lined up behind Harris to take his place. They just changed the name of the campaign and kept right on going.
Now Trump is the old guy. People like Simone Biles are saying things about Trump’s reference to immigrants stealing “black jobs.” The Donald even said for a long time he didn’t know Kamala Harris was black, which is a head scratcher (her mother is from India, her father from Jamaica).
What’s more, the Harris campaign raised $310 million in July, which is pretty amazing. Plus, the Republicans have been spending their cash running all kinds of advertisements while the Harris campaign is taking a more measured approach. That $310 million plus whatever else is coming will buy a lot of ad space in the next couple months. Why, people are now saying Harris has the momentum and is sure to win.
When you start to feel that way, it’s time to worry.
I don’t really have a horse in this race but I do know there are still three months until election day. Lots of things can, and will, happen in the next three months, including third party candidates muddying the water.
Everyone knows about Robert Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent, but no one can figure out who he might hurt at the ballot box. He has a history a activist environmental work but also leans to the right on hot-button issues like vaccinations.
There also is Libertarian Chase Owen and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. One on the right, one on the left so they tend to cancel each other out.
Then there are the fun candidates. Cornel West is a professor and philosopher and theologian who also is a socialist. When it comes to a stem-winding speech, this guy leaves the rest of them in the dust.
Independent V.I. Shiva Ayyadurai not only has a great name, but he also has four degrees from MIT. He may or may not have invented email, is keen on conspiracy theories and any votes for him won’t count — he was born in Bombay, so constitutionally he can’t be president.
I kind of like the independent ticket of Chris Garrity and Cody Ballard — I don’t know anything about either of them, but they’re both former Army Rangers, and that has to count for something.
If you long for the Return of Prohibition, you can support Prohibition Party candidates Michael Wood and John Pietrowski.
There are a bunch of other people running, too, but you won’t see most of them on the Ohio ballot. You have to get a bunch of people to sign your petitions and jump through all kinds of hoops to actually have your name on the ballot and it’s just too much work for most people. Who knew getting elected president could be so hard?
As for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, they will be on the Ohio ballot in November. Or at least, I think they will. These days, it seems like nothing really is certain.
David Lindeman is a Troy resident and former editor at the Troy Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected].
