As anyone in the US (and anyone outside the US who pays attention to global news) knows, the United States is holding presidential, US Senate, US House, and certain state and local elections on Tuesday, November 5.
Here, I’ll make my (perhaps tongue-in-cheek) predictions and reveal my preferences and recommendations (for those of you who haven’t voted yet especially):
US Election Predictions (In order of confidence)
Presidential Election
US Senate
US House of Representatives
Gubernatorial Elections
State Senate Elections
State House Elections
My Personal Preference
I voted for Donald Trump in 2016 (reluctantly) and 2020 (enthusiastically), campaigning for Trump in a swing state in the latter election. However, since 2020, two things have changed:
I live in a safe state rather than a swing state now.
Trump has significantly backed off on opposing abortion and has come out in full force in favor of IVF, both of which are morally unacceptable.
For that reason, I looked into which third-party candidates might be much closer to my views on core moral issues and, critically, which of these candidates were certified to receive write-in votes (none of the ones with ballot lines is good enough). Voting for a write-in who is not certified to receive votes would be, in my view, pointless, as I want there to be a public record of one more vote for a pro-life candidate (such that, hopefully, someone in the GOP sees the opportunity to gain back more voters by standing on principle against abortion and IVF).
I narrowed my search down to presidential nominee Randall Terry and vice presidential nominee Stephen Broden of the Constitution Party (for which I briefly considered voting even in 2020, as it had ballot access where I was living at the time) and presidential nominee Peter Sonski and vice presidential nominee Lauren Onak of the American Solidarity Party.
Frankly, the Constitution Party is a better overall fit for me, and I might have chosen it this year if it had achieved ballot access in my state, but I learned that it is not certified to receive write-in votes in my state this year, so I selected the American Solidarity Party’s Peter Sonski and Lauren Onak, who are certified to receive write-in votes where I live.
I will vote Republican down-ballot, and I would even encourage friends of mine living in swing states to vote for Trump if they care about abortion (as the GOP at minimum will almost certainly not expand it, will allow states to restrict it, and will stop enforcing abominable restrictions on pro-life activism like those of the FACE Act, which Kamala Harris would use, as past Democrats have, to put pro-life activists in prison).
In any case, I wish we had a pro-life Republican nominee, but that’s what I’ll be voting for next time we have primaries.
To those of you who are eligible to vote and haven’t yet I offer a word of encouragement: it’s a meaningful part of citizenship, and it’s your chance to make your voice heard, especially in the lower-level local and state races, where your vote will count even more and where decisions about your day-to-day life are made.
Anyway, enough for now: I’ll share my reflections on the election when it’s done.
I really loved the last part of the post: it is crucial to vote. Everyone has a voice and it is important to make it heard. I cannot wait to read about your reflections after the election.