There is so much political news to follow I am grateful I saw the story from Maine about a person running for state senate who criticized one of the Parkland student activists. The candidate’s remarks soon were all over the news and soon someone decided to run against him. Before his remarks he was running unopposed. Not only did he now have an opponent, I then read that he dropped out of the race!

Though some may find what happened to him terrible and an attack on his free speech, the point I want to make is that many in his area disliked his comments and some of them disagreed with his comments. It could have stopped here but one person couldn’t stomach the fact of him running unopposed (she literally said she would be sick if he won), and decided to run against him. Now, because of locals actively speaking out against his comments, he is out of the race.

Regardless of what you think about him, his opposition, or even the Parkland student activists, this story is a great example of what can happen when people speak out. Even those on the polar opposite of my political beliefs may agree that having unopposed candidates is not a great thing for democracy.

This story also reminded me that many people feel safe speaking unkindly of others. Instead of focusing on policy or political disagreements and telling someone why they disagree, people resort to personal attacks. Not necessary, especially if you are totally secure in your opinion or belief.

Imagine what our next elections would look like if we ensured that anyone running unopposed in state legislative or US Congressional races would have someone decide to run against them!

If you have time, see who is running in your local elections to represent you at your state house and the US Capitol. Are they running unopposed in their primary? Or in the main election? There are many people running for office right now who would have never envisioned that just one year ago.

Thanks for reading!