Dodson for America

The Campaign Videos page now has all the recordings of Candidate Forums/Debates that I could find. Well, all the ones I participated in. Compare my responses to those of the other candidates and decide for yourself if you think I or someone else represents your views better.

You Never Know

Okay, story time. I was 20 years old and running for my first public office, a member of the Spearfish School District Board of Education. There were two open slots and when I saw that the only people who had filed were the two incumbents, I got into gear, got the required signatures and threw my hat in the ring. Because that's what democracy is all about, choices. 

I wasn't too surprised when I got the call on election night telling me I had lost. I was a kid. Running against one of the education professors at the college I was attending. It was a shot in the dark. What was surprising was the margin of defeat: 2 votes. (I did ask for a recount and in the final count, they found an additional vote for my opponent so the final total was a three-vote loss). And the next day when people asked how it went, I had at least 11 people tell me "Oh! If I'd known it was going to be so close, I would have voted." Thanks a lot.

But here's the lesson: You never know. You never know when it's going to be close. Although with 10 candidates on the ballot, there's a good chance this one could be close. Or you never know who actually has a chance of winning. Although, with (last I heard) 40% of voters undecided, any of those candidates, even the one who withdrew, has a chance to win.  You never know.

Another story, in 2016, everyone "knew" that Hilary Clinton had a lock on the presidential election that year. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania were solid blue states and Hilary was bound to take all three of them. Barack Obama had beaten Mitt Romney handily four years before. Apparently many Democrats didn't think it was necessary to spend the time to vote. Their votes didn't matter. And Republicans might have felt the same way; the outcome is a given, my vote doesn't matter. But the Republicans showed up to vote anyway. And they won. GOP vote totals in those states were very similar to 2012. If all the people who voted for Obama had shown up in 2016, the Democrats would have won, because Obama's totals would have still beaten the numbers Trump posted. The Republicans showed up and they won. Their votes mattered. Because they actually cast them.

You never know when your vote is going to matter. But that's not exactly true, because your vote always matters. When you don't show up, you are trusting others to make the decision for you. Don't do that. Make your voice heard. Vote, even if you firmly believe that your preferred candidate has no chance.

Because you never know.

Upcoming events

It's coming down to the wire now! Only two and a half weeks to go, early voting has started, and the last big events are on my calendar. Next week on 4 August, 7pm MDT, Wyoming PBS has a candidate debate (in cooperation with the Sheridan Chamber of Commerce) which will be broadcast live from Kinnison Hall, Whitney Center for the Arts at Sheridan College. You can still get tickets, but it will also, of course, be available on your local Wyoming PBS stations. 

Then on 5 August, Richard heads down to Rock Springs for a Meet and Greet at Western Wyoming Community College on The Western Commons. Unless you live in Crook County, this might be your last chance to see Richard live and in person.

And then, it's only 13 days until Primary Day. With so many candidates in the field, it's very possible that this race could be decided by a handful of votes. If you've ever thought, my vote doesn't matter, this is not that election! You should be sure you make your voice heard by casting your ballot, even if you choose not to vote for me. Even if you don't think your candidate has a chance, with the vote split 9 ways (or 10 if anyone votes for the candidate who withdrew) and undecideds running in the range of 40%, any of us has a chance if people show up. So make sure you vote, make sure your friends and family, perfect strangers, your next door neighbors the folks down at the grocery store (as long as they are eligible for the Republican Primary, make sure they all vote. The only wasted vote is the one that is never cast.

--Richard

WY League of Women Voters Candidate Forum

Last night was the candidate forum put on my the Wyoming League of Women Voters, Wyoming Public Media, and WyoFile, in which 8 of the 9 remaining candidates for the US House participated. It's a full 2-hour recording so don't say I didn't warn you. But there are some very interesting dynamics going on. First, compared to the forum in Gillette early in the race, people are not invoking Donald Trump at every turn. Some candidates have stopped invoking his name at all. One quite vociferously declared last night that he is *not* MAGA. More than one has come over to my position that fixing Social Security could be as simple as removing the income cap on Social Security taxes, including the one who forswore raising taxes on anybody in his opening statement. Others are still wedded to the agenda but one of them is more reticent about calling on the orange one. I feel like I'm having an effect on this race. Or at the very least, the people of Wyoming are not resonating with Trump worship as expected. But feel free to let me know how you feel and what you think. I'll add this video on the blog as well where you can participate in the comments.

Apparently, I'm "The Spicy One"...

So, Kevin Christensen and I featured prominently in a Cowboy State Daily article about the Wyoming GOP's process for vetting US House Candidates for possible endorsements. Most of the story is about Kevin's concerns about the Wyoming GOP and "Pay for Play" in the US House race. But because my answers to the questionnaire in question were--and I'm quoting here--"intriguing" I was asked for comment about the party's endorsement process. I guess I did find a way to stand out from the rest of the crowd! I'm "The Spicy One!"

Campaign announcement video