Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign stop at the Franklin Pierce University Fieldhouse, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016, in Rindge, N.H. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) Hamilton County Democrats have an interesting dilemma in the March 1 election, for which early voting begins tomorrow.
If they want a say in their local Criminal Court judge race or in the selection of the Republican candidate who could be the next assessor of property, they'll have to eschew their vote in the Democratic presidential primary between former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
That's because no Democrat qualified for the Criminal Court race, and the only Democrat in the race for assessor of property, Mark Siedlecki, is running unopposed. Three Republicans vie in each race.
Many on the left may not worry about their presidential primary vote since Clinton, at least in last month's Middle Tennessee State University poll of Volunteer State voters, had a commanding lead over Sanders. The socialist candidate lost by a razor-thin margin in Iowa's caucus last week and is likely to win today's New Hampshire because of his status as a next-door-state candidate, but his brand of give-away politics (which is more generous than Clinton's brand of give-away politics) is not likely to play well in the South.
That's not to say Clinton is universally loved by Democrats in the region. It's that she's all that's left. A poor campaigner, she's been described by liberal, or progressive, columnists as "tone-deaf," "flawed" and "tarnished." Plus, she still has a possible indictment by the Federal Bureau of Investigation hanging over her head involving the intentional use of an unsecured email server for government work, and the specter of the death of four United States operatives in Benghazi, Libya, in a 2012 terrorist attack that she knowingly blamed on a video.
Indeed, Democrats may cede the presidential primary victory to Clinton, take seriously the candidates in the local races, and have a little fun in the Republican presidential primary. Were they organized enough to do so, which they are not, they might all get together and vote for former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, who has yet to make a blip in the race.
Or, they could decide to vote for the weakest candidate their side might want to face in the fall, or, even, the best candidate, figuring, if their side doesn't come out on top, they should want the best Republican for the country.
In the end, the votes of Hamilton County Democrats in the Republican primary probably won't affect the outcome among the current top three presidential contenders, businessman Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, but they could determine the outcome of races involving individuals who could affect their lives at the local level.