Are any other voters suffering from political campaign fatigue?
With the Election Day primary extended one month due to the public health emergency, I’ve been barraged even more by candidates’ campaign mailings, contentious social media posts, accusations from rival candidates and too many promises that will never be fulfilled. Not to mention direct requests from some local candidates to write disparaging comments about other candidates.
“Voters need to know what’s happening behind the scenes!” one Lake County candidate told me last week.
Other candidates expressed dismay with how they say they were wrongly portrayed in previous newspaper stories about their political race or stance regarding key issues.
By the time the polls close Tuesday night, we will finally get a reprieve from all the political rhetoric in races across Northwest Indiana. That is until we have to endure it again leading up to the general election in November. Because our region is heavily Democrat, primary elections seem to be more cutthroat between same-party candidates.
There are multiple “scandals,” I’m told, involving Democratic candidates for high-profile public offices, including the race for Indiana’s First Congressional District to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Gary. Some candidates’ staff members began contacting me months ago to voice allegations against opposing candidates.
“Did you see who’s endorsing their candidate?” one campaign staffer asked me in February. “He’s got a shady past. Look at his track record. I’m just saying.”
I’m just saying that most voters are fed up with all the politics, both locally and nationally. We’re suffering from “election stress disorder,” a term I first read about in Psychology Today. And this was before the pandemic rocked our psyches.
Symptoms include underlying feelings of anxiety, disgust or depression when exposed to campaign coverage, or a preoccupation with political coverage and the inability or difficulty tuning it out. Sound like someone you know? This isn’t about party affiliation. It’s about political affliction.
“The Democrats keep calling me,” joked Jason Medley, a social media reader.
Maybe he wasn’t joking. They keep calling me, too. And emailing me.
“Republicans are at it, AGAIN,” states one email from a national Democratic committee I had never heard of.
“Hey there, Democrats are showing their true colors,” states an email I received from the Republican National Committee.
Ugh.
“Jerry, we have JUST DAYS to go until the primary election next Tuesday… and it’s all hands on deck,” states an email I received from a campaign for “Dr. Chuck.”
“Dr. Chuck is running in a crowded field, and it’s a competitive race. Every vote is going to count. Will you help ensure that we leave no stone unturned?” the email states.
Who the hell is Dr. Chuck and why doesn’t he use his last name in the rest of the email? I had to look up his congressional race in another part of our state.
“I know you agree we need a proven real-word leader like Dr. Chuck fighting for our Hoosier values in Congress,” the email states. “We need a ‘Doctor in the House.’ I hope to hear from you!”
You just did.
Political endorsements are huge for candidates, but for most voters, myself at the forefront, I don’t pay too much attention to which group or organization endorses which candidate. I view it as a public display of political muscle. We’ve got our supporters, you’ve got your supporters. Let’s flex them and see who can beat the other on Election Day.
I’ve also seen more campaign signs plastered in every corner of our region. Global health crisis or not, stay-at-home orders or not, deadly virus or not – politics fears nothing. One of the few silver linings from this pandemic is that it also restricted many candidates and their sidewalk-friendly supporters from knocking on our doors.
In place of those personal meet-and-greets on my front porch, I’ve received a few dozen snail-mail political fliers that I should have saved for a photo for this column. Fortunately, a reader named Sandy Skalba shared with me a similar photo from her recycling bin.
“This was just from one week,” she said. “I know which candidates are not for saving the trees.”
“Several full-color mailings several times a week, straight to the recycle bin, then wash my hands,” said Bill Cawley, of Hobart. “Imagine the poor postal worker who has to sort all this crap.”
Most political fliers get delivered, received and recycled without voters fully reading their content, which often comes down to highly-polished, fancy-font mudslinging. Allegations that he wrongly said this, she wrongly did that. Pleas to look at the opponent’s record of mistakes and missteps. And a lot of “gotcha” accusations for voters to sort through.
“I am so tired of the mailings, especially since I already voted in April,” added Luz Maria Perez.
Several readers reached out to tell me that they also have placed a ballot, thanks to early voting since May 26 and mail-in absentee voting. According to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office, a record 546,000 applications to vote by mail were submitted to election officials for the primary election.
The democratic process is indeed a privilege to be a part of for most voters. But as with most things involving politics, the process too often gets hijacked by power-hungry candidates with personal agendas, not public concerns. Yes, even amid a once-in-a-lifetime public health emergency that has challenged us in so many ways.
As one reader told me in all seriousness, “I need more stimulus checks in the mail, not more political mail.”
