06/06/13: Don’t rely on negative advertising

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

TUESDAY is Election Day. Too bad it wasn’t a couple of weeks ago.

The last weeks of any contest always seem to devolve into a mudslinging match. Campaigns use this time to put out for public consumption the negative information acquired through opposition research. There are a couple of reasons they wait.

First, the number of voters who are tuned in increases as Election Day approaches. Putting the information out late allows it to be disseminated to the largest possible audience most likely to show up at the polls.

Second, the later the information is released, the less time the target has to respond. Voters are left to try to figure out themselves what the truth is in the information they’ve been given. And there is almost always a kernel of truth.

A primary election, which is what we have Tuesday, can be especially brutal.

Unlike general election contests, in which the parties and other outside groups tend to do the mudslinging while the candidate remains above the fray, primaries generally force the candidate to do his or her own dirty work, at least for contests at the state level and below.

Of course, it goes without saying that what is considered “negative” is in the eyes of the beholder. Sometimes what is perceived to be negative is really just a recitation of the candidate’s record.

If you agree with the stances of that record, the re-publication of it isn’t negative. The problem is when the record is distorted, particularly when the candidate making the distortion has no record of his or her own.

The statewide primary to choose the Democratic nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general will be on Tuesday’s ballot. For those of us in Norfolk, the ballot will also include the contest for the commissioner of the revenue. Other localities — and parts of localities — will have other contests on their ballots.

Virginians do not register by party, so primary elections are open to every registered voter, although individuals will have to choose either a Republican or Democratic ballot in those locations where there are candidates for both, such as in the 85th House of Delegates district in Virginia Beach. (To find out what’s on your ballot, visit http://vjp.me/11EnCY9 )

Because turnout for primaries is usually low and because money is generally tight, candidates target the voters most likely to show up on Election Day. As one who votes in every election, my mailbox has been stuffed with campaign fliers over the last couple of weeks. In the avalanche, I’ve seen a lot of mail that can best be described as negative.

That mail focuses on why people should not vote for the candidate who is the object of the negativity. And no doubt for some, that is enough of a reason to vote against that person.

There is a second point that candidates should be able to address: why people should vote for them. Simply not being the other person is generally not enough, at least for me. I like to know exactly what the candidate brings to the table that is better than the other person. And, most importantly, I like to know that the candidate knows what job he or she is seeking.

Unfortunately, if the mail I have received is indicative, there’s far too little of those arguments being made.

I consider the lieutenant governor’s contest to be the most important one on Tuesday’s ballot. And not just because the winner will very likely prevail in November against the Republican nominee. The primary job of the lieutenant governor is to preside over the state Senate and to cast a vote in the event of a tie. The Senate is evenly split, with 20 each Republican and Democratic members.

With partisanship at an all-time high, current Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling cast 20 votes in the last session, fewer than his record-setting 32 votes in 2012 but still more than the previous record of 12 set by Don Beyer in 1997.

I think it is important to know how a candidate would have voted on those bills. The answer hasn’t come from the mail and TV ads, as far as I can tell.

Between now and Tuesday, I hope voters take a little time to learn about the candidates beyond the self-serving information being fed to us — and use what they learn to cast their vote for the best person for the job.