In Douglas County, this year's commissioner race is going to come down to the three R's. That's the three primary races to select the Republican nominees for county commission. The primary will determine who leads this county for the next four years.
Sure there's D's in the race, too, and even an IA, but the political landscape in the county named for Lincoln's Democratic opponent in the Lincoln-Douglas debates is overwhelmingly Republican.
According to the Douglas County Clerk's Office, as of June 2 there were 16,272 registered Republicans living in the county. Only registered Republicans may vote in their primary races.
That compares to 8,914 Democrats and 5,893 voters registered in other parties, including some far more conservative than the Republicans.
If every single non-Republican in the county combined to vote for a candidate, which will never happen, it would still require 1,465 Republicans to stay home or cross over for a win.
As a result, it will be up to those 16,000 plus Republicans to determine the course of our county for the next four years.
Their turn-out for the primary election will essentially determine the majority on the county commission.
Fortunately, it has never been easier to cast a ballot. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is a month from now. Forms to request an absentee ballot are available at the clerk's office or online now and must be in by Aug. 5. Early voting opens July 26 and will be open for two weeks, with special dates for areas all around the county.
Here's hoping that we'll see an improvement over the turn-out at previous election's primaries.
