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By Deb Boelkes
Do you ever make the effort to investigate who is contributing to the candidates on your ballot before you decide how to vote? I do, and it’s often quite stunning.
I once saw this meme posted on social media: "Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like NASCAR drivers, then we know who owns them", commonly attributed to Robin Williams. The idea would be hilarious if it wasn’t so appropriate.
A few years back, when our Congressional district boundary lines changed because the 2020 census dictated reapportionment of an additional district in our state, our county was left without an incumbent Congressman. As a result, a surprising number of people stepped forward to throw their hats into the ring. Ultimately, three contenders qualified as candidates—by paying the $10K+ filing fee or by submitting an in-lieu-of-filing petition containing verified signatures of 1% of the registered voters in our geography—including:
- Our State Senator who was term-limited from running again for that position. He was endorsed by one of our US Senators, our State Attorney General, and our state CFO.
- A retired US Navy Chief Petty Officer who after obtaining a Doctorate degree in Management became a college professor and stock trader. He was endorsed by a former US Secretary of the Interior, a veterans’ organization, and a disabled veterans Political Action Committee (PAC).
- A health insurance benefits contract administrator who openly admitted he was not a politician—but had a servant’s heart—and was not endorsed by anyone of note.
Uncovering who funded these candidates was...
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