Democrats seized the U.S. House, but that momentum hasn’t reached Evansville.
Here, it’s going in the opposite direction.
In 2008, 56 percent of Vanderburgh County voters went straight-ticket Democrat. Ten years later, in last month’s election, that dropped to 45 percent – about 3,000 voters less. In that same time span, Republicans went from 42 percent to 53 percent – or about 4,000 more.
That’s just one problem the local party faces as the 2019 election looms. The biggest? They don’t have a candidate for mayor.
A recent story by the Courier & Press’ Tom Langhorne featured a long list of prominent Democrats saying “no†to a possible run against Lloyd Winnecke.
State representative Ryan Hatfield? No. County commissioner Ben Shoulders? Pass. City Councilman Jonathan Weaver? Don’t think so.
Those creepy nutcrackers standing amid the Christmas decorations on Main Street? They didn’t seem interested either.
Local Democratic chairman Scott Danks claims the party will find a strong candidate. But he admitted it won’t be easy.
After all, Winnecke has steamrolled his last two opponents. And as of 2017, he had at least $500,000 in campaign funds. That number has only grown since then, and there’s no telling what kind of cash he’ll have to work with by the time November rolls in.
A Democratic win would be a huge upset no matter who steps forward. But even if the party can’t win, the 2019 election presents a giant opportunity.
Now is the time to find a candidate who speaks to Evansville voters who usually sit out of city elections. Only 20 percent of voters cast a ballot in 2015 – that’s a gargantuan slab of untapped potential.
You could get a lot of those folks on your side in a few easy ways.
Protect their wallets
Vectren – soon to be CenterPoint – charges the highest residential electrical rates in the state. Yet the company has been immune from political criticism for years thanks to its healthy campaign contributions and status as a major area employer.
But Evansville residents are drowning in bills. It would be nice for a mayoral candidate to acknowledge that and vow to oppose any future rate hikes.
Just do anything to speak to the army of city residents who are struggling financially – 21 percent of whom are living in poverty.
I doubt any of those people care in the slightest about a swanky Downtown hotel in which they could never afford to stay.
Find an outsider candidate
It’s all the rage, man.
Every person who turned down possible mayoral runs were white men who are already ensconced in area government.
Evansville has never had a non-white, non-dude top executive. It’s time to change that.
Address neglected areas
Downtown Evansville has seen a lot of improvements under Winnecke. But most city residents don’t live there. And I’ll bet there are a lot of voters who feel like their neighborhoods have been ignored.
Talk with folks in Center City or Howell. See what people in the Diamond-Stringtown area have to say.
There are loads of unheard voices in this city. Act as their megaphone.
Find a way around the money
Granted, in American politics, that might be like asking a gunshot victim to find a way around the bullet.
University of Evansville political scientist Robert Dion summed it up this way.
“People typically don’t want to give big contributions to somebody who has no money,†he told the Courier & Press. “To get off the ground is a challenge, because to get those big donors early on, you have to have a really compelling case. And it’s hard to have a compelling case when you don’t have any money.â€
Essentially, to get money, you need money. Otherwise, you’ll never have the money you need to get more money. Who says the system is broken?
The only thing that could overcome a mound of dollars is a major surge of voter excitement.
Eighty percent of registered voters in Evansville felt like there was no point in voting in the 2015 election. Show them they’re wrong, and you might have a shot.
