COLUMN: Don't be like my friend. Vote in the primary

Tuesday’s primary election is one of the most important in recent memory.

Because Republicans — who have become dominant in the past decade or so — have turned on each other and began running a GOP candidate against a fellow party member, things are getting dicey.

Now I’m not about to get into politics in this column. That’s not what I use this space for. But the facts are the facts.

In Sarasota and Charlotte counties, at least, we now have basically a three-party system.

So I asked a friend if they had voted or planned to vote Tuesday. They said “no.”

I questioned that. “Why not?”

“Well my vote doesn’t really matter,” they said.

“How do you figure? Remember the North Port City Commission primary that was decided by one vote in 2020?” I reminded.

“Yeah, but what are the chances of that happening again?” was the answer.

My friend suggested politicians are spending too much time raising big war chests and not paying attention to the voters.

“How often,” they asked, “do politicians come to your town and sit down to talk to people?”

Good question.

“How much is your property insurance?” they asked. “Do you really believe they’re doing what needs to be done to help us?”

Another good question.

“But, they have passed some laws and there are some new insurers coming to Florida,” I suggested.

“But, by the time my bill starts to go down I will have had to sell or give up my home and move out of the state, because there are no places I can afford to rent here,” my retired friend said.

“But why don’t you vote then for someone who might make a difference?” I asked.

“They’re all cut from the same cloth,” was the answer. “They don’t care about us.”

I didn’t agree with that. But I understood the perception.

Looking at a list of candidates I threw out a couple names that may have something new to offer.

But the conversation turned to local races — like school boards and county commissions.

“When did we begin spending a million dollars on a county commission race?” they pointed out to me. “And hundreds of thousands on a school board seat? Where does all that money come from? I could use some of it to pay my car insurance.”

I had no answer for that one. Mysterious PACs where the donors’ identity is almost impossible to trace have become a festering boil on Florida politics — and that’s the only political opinion you’ll get from me in this column.

So as my discussion with my friend began to wind down, I gave up hope of getting them to the poll Tuesday.

That’s not surprising. A typical turnout for a primary election in our tri-county area of Charlotte, Sarasota and DeSoto counties is less than 50%. There have been times when less than 30% of eligible voters bother to cast a ballot in the primary.

Here’s hoping, if you’re reading this, you’ve already sent in a mail-in ballot or voted early. If not, join me Tuesday in going to the poll and casting your vote.

It may make a bigger difference than you could imagine.

And then, at least, you have the right to complain about the outcome if it doesn’t go your way.