Haynes Decision Not to Run, Good News for Dickerson.

The announcement by Senator Haynes that he will not seek reelection is very good news for Steve Dickerson.

Steve Dickerson

In 2010, Steve Dickerson ran against incumbent Democrat Senator Doug Henry in District 21 and garnered 20,696 votes to Doug Henry's 27,007, That was an impressive record given that Doug Henry is such a beloved figure. I live in District 20 and while I voted for Dickerson, it was hard to do.  I had always voted for Henry and I like Senator Henry. He is a moderate Democrat who loves this State and I think he is a wise man.  Nevertheless, I felt I had to vote for a qualified Republican challenger,  Even a good Democrat is part of the Democrat power structure that advances the agenda of the Democrat Party.

So, while I voted for Dickerson and against Henry, it was not with a lot of enthusiasm. Senator Henry has always had a lot of Republican supporters and I am sure many of them continued to support Senator Henry despite having a qualified Republican in the race. Also, because Henry is so well liked, Steve Dickerson could not run an aggressive campaign. He had to run while being gentle with Senator Henry. Also with Senator Henry being a moderate Democrat it was difficult to draw sharp policy distinctions. Still, Dickerson got 43% of the vote.

The redrawn district lines has put Steve Dickerson in District 20 where he was prepared to run against Senator Haynes who had held that seat since 1985.  Now, that Senator Haynes has withdrawn, Steve Dickerson will not have to face an incumbent. Also, the new District 20 will include more areas that tend to vote Republican making the new District 20 more competitive than in the past.

While I am assuming Steve Dickerson will be the Republican nominee, of course Dickerson could have a challenger for the Republican nomination. Whether the Republican nominee is Dickerson or some other Republican, the decision of Senator Haynes not to seek reelection is good news for the Republican Party. We can expect to see a real battle in District 20.

Steve Dickerson is 47 years old and an anesthesiologist in private practice. To learn more about Steve Dickerson, see this interview I conducted with him in July of 2010 when he was running in the Republican primary seeking the 20th State Senate District nomination. Also visit Steve's website.

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