There’s more than president to vote for

Thankfully, the presidential race, one of the most contentious and bizarre of all time, is coming to an end. The Tuesday, Nov. 8, election day is less than two weeks away. In my 50 years of being involved in the political arena, I have never seen anything like it. One of two flawed candidates, up in age, and both sporting negative approval ratings from voters, will occupy the White House. Couldn’t we do better?

It appears that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will make history, becoming the first female president – if the polls are accurate. Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, whose campaign has spiraled out of control, now says the election is rigged, a claim debunked by almost everyone except his surrogates. Trump’s supporters are threatening a "revolution" should he lose the race.

In the final debate, where Trump needed a big win, he didn’t get it. His performance was the best of the three debates, but so was Clinton’s. Trump couldn’t help himself. He denied that he would accept the results of the election and called Clinton "a nasty woman."

Not a way to win over female voters or undecided independents.

Louisiana doesn’t have much say so in the overall scheme of things. The latest poll reveals that Trump has a seven-point lead in the state and will likely win its eight electoral votes. The same holds true in most of the states of the Deep South, where anti-Clinton and anti-Democrat sentiment run deep. The Republican Party has all but abandoned Trump, leaving him with his core base of supporters. What happens to the party after the election is anyone’s guess. And Republicans are concerned about downballot races and its party keeping control of the Senate and the House.

Be that as it may, there are some other important races on the ballot, which should be incentive enough to go to the polls, not the least of which is the race for the open U.S. Senate seat. You will have to wade through the list to find your candidate because there are 24 candidates on the ballot.

The conventional wisdom is that a Democrat and a Republican will wind up in the runoff, which takes place on Dec. 10. At least, that’s what the latest poll seems to be saying. A recent poll by JMC Analytics has Democrat Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell in first place with 23.5 percent of the vote. The other Democrat in the race, New Orleans attorney Caroline Fayard, is at 9.4 percent. So the conclusion of the pollster is that Campbell, who is from Elm Grove in Bossier Parish, will be in the runoff.

The fight, therefore, is taking place among Republicans to see who will go up against Campbell. Three candidates of the other 22 candidates are poised to take the second spot. They are state Treasurer John Kennedy with 15.5 percent, U.S. Rep. John Fleming with 14.5 percent, and U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany with 14.4 percent. Any one of the three have a legitimate shot, and whoever can motivate their supporters to go to the polls will likely wind up in the runoff.

There is also on the ballot the race for the Fourth Congressional District seat to replace Fleming, who is running for the U.S. Senate. So, it is a rare open seat. There are eight candidates to choose from. Because there have been no polls – at least to my knowledge – done on the race, it is difficult to determine who the frontrunners are.

Here again, it seems to be shaping up for a Republican versus Democrat runoff since only one Democrat – Shreveport attorney Marshall Jones – is among the field of candidates. Should that be the scenario, there are five Republicans vying for a runoff spot. They are Dr. Trey Baucum of Shreveport, former state Sen. Elbert Guillory of Opelousas, Shreveport City Councilman Oliver Jenkins, Shreveport attorney Chris John and state Rep. Mike Johnson of Bossier.

There are two No Party candidates on the ballot as well, but they have been non-competitive because of a lack of campaign funds. They are Kenneth Krefft and Mike Halverson, both from Shreveport. But give them credit for entering the race and doing the best they could with the resources they had.

Caddo will also elect a judge to the Juvenile Court to fill the vacancy created when Judge Shonda Stone was elected to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal. But not everyone in Caddo gets to vote in this election – just those who reside in the judicial subdistrict. The candidates are Ree J. Casey-Jones, Trina Chu, Andrew Randall Jr. and Carlos D. Prudhomme.

There is a race for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal taking place in Bossier and eight other parishes (not Caddo). Twoterm Judge Jay Caraway, who has held the seat for 20 years, is being challenged by Bossier-Webster District Judge Jeff Cox, who has held his seat for 12 years.

In addition, some municipalities have elections on the ballot. And there are six Constitutional amendments to be voted on. So, it would be wise to do a little homework before going to the polls. Writing down who you will vote for and how you will vote on the amendments will speed up the voting process. But the most important thing is that you take the time to vote.

Lou Gehrig Burnett, an award-winning journalist, has been involved with politics for 44 years and was a congressional aide in Washington, D.C., for 27 years. He also served as executive assistant to former Shreveport Mayor “Bo” Williams. Burnett is the publisher of the weekly “FaxNet Update” and can be reached at 861-0552 or louburnett@comcast.net.