Less bravado, more details and ideas

By The Gazette Editorial Board

Tuesday's dismal primary election turnout may not have been a surprise. But it is a disappointment.

Primaries offer voters a chance to shape the general election - a chance most Iowa voters again decided not to take advantage of this year.

That's true every election cycle, but especially disappointing in a time when the local, state and federal elected officials we elect will be asked to make some tough decisions on our behalf. It's an opportunity missed, and that's a shame.

But now the race is on, and the surviving candidates should do their best to capture voters' attention not with petty political tricks, but reasoned discussion about issues that matter.

Give voters real answers, not rhetoric, candidates. Give them a reason to vote in November's general election.

And pay attention, voters, to the ideas the candidates express, not political bickering. Your informed participation is a critical component of our representative democracy; your future depends on it.

Unofficial election results show in Johnson County, where there were no contested local races, only 10 percent of eligible voters cast a primary ballot.

In Linn County, that number was just more than 17 percent, although some down-ballot races had much lower returns.

Only about 1,000 Democrats weighed in on Jim Houser's contested race against challengers Eric Johnson and Paula Gunter for Linn County supervisor - 3 percent of the 31,868 eligible voters in the district.

And overall, what little buzz there was generated Tuesday was driven by Republican contests - Democrats had only a handful of primaries around the state.

In the race for governor, more than 227,000 Republicans cast ballots - the highest primary turnout in nearly a decade. But the number doesn't look so impressive when you consider there are more than 572,000 active Republican voters in the state.

The turnout hasn't deterred both gubernatorial candidates, as an example, from trading trash talk - saying they're ready for a fight over the coming months:

“Let's let the race begin. I cannot wait,” Gov. Chet Culver told reporters as he cast his primary ballot Tuesday.

“Tonight, Iowa voters have decided that our state is ready for a comeback, and I'm ready to lead that change,” Republican nominee, four-term former Gov. Terry Branstad, said after winning his party's nomination that night.

But voters don't need more bravado to motivate them to cast ballots up and down the ticket, they need details and ideas - how candidates would work to balance tight budgets or address the thorny issue of property tax reform. Details about issues such as immigration, education, government transparency - the list goes on.

So let the campaigns begin - on the issues.