We are entering the final weeks of campaign season. Get ready for final pushes, August surprises, dirty tricks and fear mongering. It’s desperation season.
The first thing we see is the final push. The final push is the honest part of this ritual, even when it isn't pretty.
Candidates who have knocked on doors since March are cashing in whatever chips they've built.
Then there's the August surprise, Wyoming's version of the October surprise, just compressed into a shorter runway because our primary comes earlier.
The late-breaking story lands with just enough time to do damage but not enough for a real response, and it thrives on timing, not truth.
The governor's race got its own version this month: an ad from an unnamed out-of-state PAC claiming Eric Barlow opposed parental choice in education and was in favor of gender changes in minors.
Both claims were untrue.
Barlow helped craft the very laws that ensure parental rights in education and voted for the gender change prohibition. Corrections travel slower than lies.
A ramped-up version of the August surprise is the dirty trick.
In an attempt to discredit gubernatorial candidate Brent Bien, the Daily Mail ran a piece alleging Bien's campaign was caught following explicit profiles, including those of underage girls.
Bien immediately denied the claims, filed a complaint with the social media companies, and sicced his lawyers on the dirty tricksters.
Both Barlow and Bien seem to have weathered the ridiculous allegations, mostly because they were ridiculous.
In a last-ditch effort, U.S. House candidate Steve Friess attempted to frame the nine-candidate U.S. House race as a two-candidate race.
According to Friess, both Gray and Friess are tied for the lead in the House race at 16% apiece.
Friess is attempting to take advantage of Gray's unfavorable ratings, or as the rumors on the campaign trail call it, the ABC strategy — Anyone But Chuck.
Friess's argument is “hold your nose and vote for me,” or else your U.S. Representative might be Chuck Gray.
The Republicans may advance a House candidate who has received less than 20% of the primary vote.
Finally, there are the fear mongers. Mostly, they come in the mail.
If you get a mailer that falls into any of these categories:
1) The candidate wants to take your guns away.
2) The candidate has voted in favor of pornography and pedophilia.
3) The candidate performs abortions in a dark alley.
4) The candidate does not like Donald Trump.
5) The candidate wants space aliens to vote in elections.
6) The opposing candidate is dressed in a sheep costume, someone is trying to manipulate you with hot-button issues. Ignore them.
If the mailer says something too ugly to be true, it is probably a lie.
You can tell the offending mailer because it contains the words “supports,” “opposes,” “leftist” or “extreme.”
A couple of bizarre mailers you may see floating around are true.
Some Freedom Caucus members did spend an entire afternoon this year debating legislation outlawing “chemtrails.” The debate inspired a lot of aluminum foil hat jabs.
Some candidates are also spouting socialistic ideas, and it's not who you might think.
Those candidates who argue we should redistribute the government “slush fund” (the permanent mineral trust fund) to the taxpayers are really arguing for the redistribution of wealth (um, “socialism”).
If Wyoming were to return the money to the real taxpayers, they would return the money to the mineral companies who paid the taxes.
Invading the permanent mineral trust fund, whose income pays a huge chunk of Wyoming's bills, is nothing more than an attempt to buy your vote with someone else's money -- socialism.
None of these tactics are illegal. They are just ugly. And Wyoming voters, to their credit, have gotten pretty good at smelling them.
A mailer paid for by some high-falutin' name should get about as much respect as a used car salesman in a lime green polyester leisure suit.
None of these tactics work on a voter who does homework.
Wyoming is small enough, and neighborly enough, that most of us actually know something about the people asking for our votes. Ask around.
Wyoming typically rebels against candidates who run the dirtiest play.
Dark money tricksters need to know they may be hurting their own candidate.
The one good thing about desperation season: the candidate who did the work all along usually wins.
That's what is good and right about Wyoming.
Tom Lubnau served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2004 to 2015 and is a former Speaker of the House. He can be reached at: YourInputAppreciated@gmail.com
