2018 US Elections - My Ballot

Unlike many other Americans, I didn't have to be shocked into voting by the disastrous results of the previous election, as I already generally made an effort to vote, even in mid-term elections (though I may have missed one or two in the years I've been overseas). But as is true for many other people I know, this time around, there's an extra edge of urgency. Fortunately I got my ballot fairly early this year, so I was able to mail it back to the US in plenty of time. I don't want to make any predictions this time, as my last somewhat cautiously optimistic predictions didn't exactly pan out well (in my defense, most people and most polls made similar predictions - if only they had been right...). I of course hope that the Democrats do well enough to take back the House and Senate, but given all the gerrymandering, vote suppression, and of course all the lies and distortions funded by right wing money (not to mention the stubborn ignorance of a substantial portion of the voting public), it won't be easy, even if they win the majority of the votes. As for the people I'm voting for, given Texas's conservative tilt, it's unlikely that many of them will win except in the case of a few local races, though there are a few that have a shot in the statewide races.

My ballot this year is simplified considerably by the fact that there are Democrats running in all but one race on it, and there are no Green candidates at all. As I mentioned in my discussion of my votes in the previous election, while in theory I would be happy to see a progressive/liberal alternative to the Democrats, particularly one that advocated stronger action on the environment, this should not be at the cost of throwing the election to the Republicans, which is what would inevitably happen in most races in Texas if a Green candidate drew a significant number of votes. But this time, the only alternatives in most races are a Democrat, a Republican and in some cases a Libertarian. At this point, there is no way I would vote for anyone who identifies themselves as a Republican. The party is so far gone that on the national level, the so-called "moderate" Republicans are people like Susan Collins, whose voting record is in fact mostly very right wing, even to the point of voting to confirm a blatant liar, obvious partisan hack, and likely (former) sexual predator to a seat on the Supreme Court. No one with even a modicum of principles and sense should willingly be identified with the extremist disaster the Republican party has become. As for the Libertarians, while I tend to agree with many of them on a few specific issues, on many other issues they are as bad as the Republicans. Indeed it's only for the sake of thoroughness that I'm bothering to look at their positions. Really, for pretty much every race it just comes down to making sure the Democrat is not obviously terrible.

Indeed, this is an instance where I decided it probably makes sense to just vote a Democratic straight party ticket. What I ended up doing was filling in the ovals for pretty much every Democrat in a contested race and then going back and filling in the straight party oval for the Democrats for good measure. Straight ticket voting won't be an option in near future races, as Texas is getting rid of it (I suppose the Republicans who control the legislature decided that it helps the Democrats more than it does them). Normally, I wouldn't vote a straight party ticket, since as a matter of general principle I think it best to look at each race separately, judging each candidate on their individual merits, but I have become so disgusted with the Republican party that in the absence of a true progressive alternative (and not a spoiler) the Democrats are the only game in town. When the stranglehold that the Republican extremists have on Texas is finally broken there will time enough to start seriously considering alternatives to the Democrats.

Below I have listed the candidates in the main races and my choices, which were as noted above all Democrats. Though there actually is some variation in how terrible the individual Republican (and Libertarian) candidates are and how good (or mediocre or just lacking in information) the Democratic candidates are, I didn't bother going into detail this time around.

US Senator

Beto O'Rourke (D)

Ted Cruz (R)
Neal Dikeman (L)

My Vote –  Beto O'Rourke

US Representative, District 24
Jan McDowell (D)
Kenny Marchant (R)
Mike Kolls (L)

My Vote – Jan McDowell

Governor
Lupe Valdez (D)
Greg Abbott (R)
Mark Tippetts (L)

My Vote – Lupe Valdez

Lieutenant Governor
Mike Collier (D)
Dan Patrick (R)
Kerry McKennon (L)

My Vote – Mike Collier

Attorney General
Justin Nelson (D)
Ken Paxton (R)
Michael Harris (L) 

My Vote – Justin Nelson

Comptroller of Public Accounts
Joi Chevalier (D)
Glenn Hegar (R)
Ben Sanders (L)

My Vote – Joi Chevalier

Commissioner of the General Land Office
Miguel Suazo (D)
George P. Bush (R)
Matt Pina (L)

My Vote – Miguel Suazo

Commissioner of Agriculture
Kim Olson (D)
Sid Miller (R)
Richard Carpenter (L)

My Vote – Kim Olson

Railroad Commissioner
Roman McAllen (D)
Christi Craddick (R)
Mike Wright (L)

My Vote – Roman McAllen

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2
Steven Kirkland (D)
Jimmy Blacklock (R)

My Vote – Steven Kirkland

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 4
R.K. Sandill (D)
John Devine (R)

My Vote – R.K. Sandill

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 6
Kathy Cheng (D)
Jeff Brown (R)

My Vote – Kathy Cheng

Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals
Maria T. (Terri) Jackson (D)
Sharon Keller (R)
William Bryan Strange III (L)

My Vote – Maria T. (Terri) Jackson

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 7
Ramona Franklin (D)
Barbara Parker Hervey (R)

My Vote – Ramona Franklin

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8
Mark Ash (R)
Michelle Slaughter (L)

My Vote – None (this was the only race without a Democrat, and the other two choices were awful)

Member, State Board of Education, District 11
Carla Morton (D)
Patricia Hardy (R)
Aaron Gutknecht (L)

My Vote – Carla Morton

State Senator, District 16
Nathan Johnson (D)
Don Huffines (R)

My Vote – Nathan Johnson

State Representative, District 103
Rafael Anchia (D)
Jerry Fortenberry (R)

My Vote – Rafael Anchia