County Republicans will face real choices in a number of races in the May primary, including U.S. senator, governor, county commissioner and, most likely, County Council. They may see competitive races for some legislative seats. If the presidential nomination is still in play – and that’s a big “if” – that race will dominate attention.
At the bottom of their ballots, though, will be dozens of competitive races that will draw scant attention, despite their potential importance.
The precinct committeemen Republicans – and Democrats – elect in the May primary have key roles in getting out the vote on Election Day, among other duties. But the GOP races may have more significance than the Dems because the precinct committee people elected in 2012 will in turn elect the county party chairs in 2013. While Democrats have difficultly keeping the position filled, GOP Chairman Steve Shine faced opposition in 2009.
Indeed, in the 19 years Shine has been GOP chairman, Democrats have had no fewer than seven chairmen.
But the schism within the GOP – from the national level down to the local – is no secret. Mainstream Republicans who understand that moderate voices win elections often find themselves at odds with the tea party/right wing faction, which eschews compromise and working with the other party.
Shine hasn’t declared whether he will run again – that vote is a year away. While he might appear vulnerable given the party’s fourth consecutive loss in the city mayor’s race, Republicans gained a 6-3 City Council majority, swept the New Haven offices and made inroads in the typically Democratic Woodburn and Monroeville offices. And when the party chair vote comes in 2013, Republicans will be much more focused on what happened in November 2012, when the GOP stands a very good chance of winning the governor’s office, U.S. Senate seat and a sweep of county-level offices.
If Republicans choose the more moderate Mitt Romney as their presidential candidate, that will be good news for Shine, particularly if Romney wins the presidency.
In any event, if opponents push to get anti-Shine precinct committeemen, they should remember that precinct committeemen do more than elect a party chair.
They work, and the most effective ones work hard. They support the party’s nominee, and for precinct committeemen aligned with the tea party, that means working for Richard Lugar if Lugar beats Richard Mourdock in the Senate primary.
Of course, the chair election is a long way away, and many things will happen over the next year. But the people who file to run for precinct committeemen over the next 3 1/2 weeks could well make a decision affecting the local party’s future.
The money
On Wednesday, voters and politicos will learn more about the financial shape of both local parties as well as how much Tom Henry and Paula Hughes spent on their mayoral campaigns when candidates and committees submit 2011 financial reports.
