I voted at 10:45 this morning. The poll workers said the turn out so far was disappointing. The turnout was better for the Primary in March. I vote at Walt Disney Elementary School, and by 11 am for the three-way primary, 28 voters voted. This time for the run-off only 17 had voted.
If you haven't voted yet, you still have another seven hours. So maybe the voting will pick up later today. Or maybe Buchanan supporters are just sitting this one out.
I get emails from Hal Bailey who said his group plans to write in "Other" or "Buchanan," as a protest vote. Hal and Joan Buchanan live in Alamo, so that precinct might have a bigger turn out of non-voters.
Some voters are turned off by the nasty attacks on both candidates by unaffiliated PACs (Political Action Committees) with a stake in the outcome. They may have gone too far, especially Bill Bloomfield who has peppered my mailbox with attacks on Susan Bonilla.
Bonilla's mailers have been more pro-Bonilla than anti-Glazer, but there is enough vitriol on either side to make any rational voter queasy. One advantage for Bonilla is her supporters are coalitions of unions and professional associations, which means if those members all vote, that's potentially a lot of votes.
Bill Bloomfield, Glazer's main money man, has only one vote. No matter how much money he spent to bash Mrs. Bonilla, Bloomfield still gets only one vote. So a low turnout would, in my opinion, help Mrs. Bonilla.
I have nothing personal against her. She seems like a nice person and it wouldn't make a big difference if she is elected. I prefer Mr. Glazer because he fits my political preferences. I used to be a Liberal, but I swung over to the Conservative/Libertarian side, particularly where it involves big, wasteful Government.
Glazer is a fiscal conservative and social liberal. The national Republican Party has been infected by the religious right endorsing discrimination against women and gays. Glazer wants to cut back on government spending, but not on individual liberties.
So my prediction now is if the turnout in the southern part of the District is light, Bonilla will win. So those of you reading my blog, if you haven't voted yet and prefer Mr. Glazer, please vote. You have another seven hours and it will only take a minute or less to mark one oval on the ballot.