There are scores of variables that can impact the outcome of an election, and some are more critical than others. Who has the greatest number of lawn signs in a community? Whose spouse is more likable? Is the candidate a military veteran? Where do the candidates stand on hot-button social issues? And depending on the voter, any of these issues can play a huge role in determining how one votes.
But there is one item that will trump all others when crunch time arrives, particularly when it comes to the coveted ‘independent voter’: while huge swaths of the electorate will vote strictly along party lines even if the candidate of their party is an eggplant, there are a substantial number of voters who actually vary their votes.
And make no mistake: those voters will overwhelmingly prioritize a single aspect of a candidate’s qualifications, his or her performance.
Eleven weeks from today will be the midterm elections, which promise to be the most consequential in a generation.
This means eleven weeks from tomorrow, as pundits on cable news networks and talk radio weigh in on their post-election analysis, the attention of political strategists will have already begun to look forward two years to the 2024 election, with particular attention being paid to the presidential election. And there is one potential candidate who continues to receive good news regarding his actual results: Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
According to Governor DeSantis’ office:
“Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to a historic 2.7 percent in July as the state’s job creation skyrocketed. Florida’s July 2022 unemployment rate is the lowest since February 2020 and this level has only been reached three times since Florida began recording unemployment data in 1976. Florida’s private sector employment grew by an outstanding 70,000 in July 2022, doubling the nation’s job growth rate over the same period.”
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To a large extent, the individual economy within a state is driven by the overall economic results in the country. For instance, if the entire nation were to sink into a depression, it’s highly unlikely that a singular state would be able to keep its head above water and continue with an economic boom. Conversely, if the country experiences an economic resurgence, most states will follow suit at some level, regardless of state and local factors.
But there are indeed certain influences within a state that can set it apart from the overall economic goings-on in the rest of the country. Taxation on corporations and small businesses, for instance, can either attract or repel investors. The same can be said for the presence or absence of specific regulatory practices.
While the Biden Administration continues to whistle past the graveyard and insist that everything in the American economy is hunky dory, those of us out here in reality know better. More than any other statistic, Team Brandon will point to their jobs numbers as they gaslight us about wonderful economic conditions.
But those unemployment numbers they tout are fraught with underlying signs of doom, and the rest of us know it.
We see the actual impact of inflation on our bank accounts. We can sense the dour mood in the county as we talk with friends and neighbors. We understand that real wages, thanks to inflation, are plummeting, not increasing. So, when a state like Florida, under the exceptional leadership of Governor DeSantis, achieves real prosperity instead of the imaginary variety, Americans take notice.
Who will be the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party in two years? It’s difficult to say right now, but Mr. Biden must be considered the frontrunner, and even if he’s not, the ultimate Democratic nominee will have no choice but to own Biden’s results.
Biden, after all, didn’t achieve this mess we are in all on his own. He had plenty of help from Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and the rest of the Democrats.
Who will be the presidential nominee for the Republican Party in two years? Again, that answer is still very much up in the air, and Donald Trump must be considered the most likely candidate at this point. But number two on that list is undoubtedly Ron DeSantis.
And if Governor DeSantis does indeed find himself running for the highest office in the land, he will have something to hold up for all voters to consider that no Democrat will: exceptional economic results.
By Jordan Case
Jordan Case offers opinions from the unique perspective of both entrepreneur and parent and is a regular contributor to The Blue State Conservative. Jordan does not participate in the cesspool of social media.
This story syndicated with permission from The Blue State Conservative