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Vote for Tibbs in 2008

By Scott Tibbs, February 20, 2008

I filed on Friday afternoon to be a candidate for precinct committeeman in Perry Township. Earlier in the week, I filed to be a delegate to the Indiana Republican Party convention this summer. May 6 will be the 8th and 9th time my name has appeared on the ballot, since I will be on the ballot twice. The primary election will also probably change my winning percentage in elections, which currently stands at three wins, three losses and one tie..

The first time I was on the ballot was 2000, when I ran for state convention delegate and lost. I ran for state convention delegate again in 2002 and won, but my race for precinct committeeman ended in a tie - my opponent had exactly the same number of votes I did. I lost again when I ran for state convention delegate in 2004. I ran for the only delegate spot that was decided countywide, finishing last in a three-way race. Given my opponents, this was not a surprise. In 2006, I ran for state convention delegate again in my district and won, as well as winning an uncontested primary for Bloomington Township Board. (Two people ran for three spots on the November ballot.) I would go on to lose that fall, as I expected in a very heavily Democratic township.

After the primary, my win/loss record will go from 3-3-1 to either 4-4-1, 5-3-1 or 3-5-1, depending on whether I win both races, split them or lose both. Despite the long odds, 2006 was exciting, as it was the first time I had appeared on the general election ballot. It is a lot of fun to be able to go and vote for myself. The only result that was disappointing was the precinct committeeman race in 2002, which I would have won outright had I done just a little more campaigning for the spot. I will consider that a lesson learned for 2008.