Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor:

In his letter to the editor last week, Ted Davis implies that if Wyoming did not allow so-called “switch voting” that Foster Friess would have been the Republican nominee, rather than Mark Gordon. Mr. Davis states that statewide there were 10,392 Democrats who voted in the Republican primary, and implies they most likely cast their ballots for Gordon, the more moderate candidate, thereby “stealing” the nomination from the candidate who would have been the choice of the party faithful.

I think I agree with Mr. Davis that a majority of persons who identify as Wyoming Republicans would have selected a candidate more conservative than Mark Gordon. Perhaps, given the outcome of the primary election, a majority of Republicans felt they were being forced to choose between bad and worse in the general election.

I would suggest, however, that moderate Republicans, though a minority in their own party, when added to the state’s Democrats, of which most are likely moderates, would create the majority needed to elect a moderate governor.

If I am right, this would explain why we’ve had three Democratic governors in recent history; when given a choice between a strongly conservative Republican candidate and a middle-of-the-road Democratic candidate, the moderate candidate wins.

Be careful what you wish for, Mr. Davis, because I feel quite certain that given a choice between Friess and Throne, the voters would have selected Throne. In fact, if the gubernatorial race were the only issue, I think I would be in favor of disallowing party switching, on the theory that the Republican faithful would frequently choose a candidate that failed to appeal to the more moderate general election voter.

There is so much more at stake, however. Disallowing party switching would do one of two things at the local level, given the low numbers of registered Democrats. Either the Democratic voter would be disenfranchised of voting for local candidates, or everyone would register as a Republican in order to attain the right to help choose the officials who run our county governments.

Bottom line is, in a democracy, leaders should be selected by a majority, not by one or another political party.

Ernie Reinhold