Page 60 - The Indian EYE 081922

NORTH AMERICAN Newsline AUGUST 19, 2022 | The Indian Eye 60

OPINION

11 Reasons Why Paul DeGroot’s

Win was an Upset

Primary victory. It is the confidence,
not overconfidence which would lead
a candidate to victory.
7 MULTIPLICITY OF OTHER
RACES:
Several other parallel races and
media’s stereotypical bias marred the
undercurrent of the CD-11 primary,
ultimately resulting in a surprise.
8 OUTSIDER:
By ARUN AYAYGARI
Paul DeGroot is a political
outsider with no prior political ex-
n what could be termed as ‘the’ perience. This could have led his
major upset of the evening (wee
Ihours for CD-11), political un- opponents to adopt a more lackadai-
sical approach towards the elections,
known Paul DeGroot pulled an up- which ultimately benefited DeGroot.
set victory in the impending political
slugfest of the New Jersey’s Republi- 9 NEW FACE:
can Primary elections in the eleventh With DeGroot being a new and
Congressional district. The emotion unfamiliar face, media and the tradi-
and drama created on election night tional party infrastructure engaged
was not short of any general election, themselves in other races, ignoring
with AP not declaring until the next the potential tightness of the contest-
day. Unconventional victories like ed primary in CD-11.
these cannot be used as a fig leaf to 10 THE MORRIS COUNTY
undermine the growing hackneyed FIASCO:
evocation of automated county-line Here are 11 reasons vention and their traditional theat- Without getting into much de-
triumphs. why CD-11 was an upset. rics, the chutzpah with which Paul tail, it would suffice to say that the
Ever since the New Jersey Re- 1 MEDIA’S IGNORANCE: DeGroot silently, diligently, and con-
districting Commission redrew the Media seemed to have complete- fidently worked in the background manner in which the Morris County
convention was conducted in March
state’s Congressional district lines, ly ignored the underpinning compet- coupled with his “no looking back” 2022 left a bad precedent for other
focus has traditionally been on CD-7. itiveness in CD-11 primary, partly attitude, proved triumphant. conventions. This eroded voters’
What these elections have disproved due to stereotypical focus because of 4 THE PASSAIC FACTOR: faith in the result of the convention.
is the perceived myth of the county redistricting and reapportionment. Despite Paul DeGroot winning A good primary starts with a good
line being omnipotent. The slim mar- Not once has the media focused on the Passaic County line, the size of convention, or at least, it ‘should’.
gin between the winning percentage CD-11 leading to illusionary emas- Passaic County in the grand scheme
and the runner up is indicative of the culation of candidates who did not of CD-11 created an optical illusion 11 ABSENCE OF ESSEX
growing trend of voters who do not win the county line. Paul DeGroot that Passaic was not as strong a fac- COUNTY CONVENTION:
necessarily toe the party line. While has not only taken the derogation in tor. However, with Morris coming Despite Essex backing Tayfun
this comment might be interpreted stride but clearly turned non-focus close, Passaic proved to be a vital fac- Selen, the very fact that the conven-
as an offhand remark, candidates into a political plus. tor in the overall victory. tion was not conducted deprived Sel-
like Paul DeGroot offer indications en of solidifying his Morris victory
that the electorate is seriously con- 2 UNPOPULARITY OF THE 5 ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT thereby proving to be a blessing in
sidering non-traditional ways. This PICK: SPLITS: disguise for Paul DeGroot.
truth doesn’t have to be whispered It is not enough to just win the The anti-establishment split was DeGroot’s victory, inter alia,
sotto voce anymore. line. Working towards the victory is vivid not just in CD-11, but in rac- highlights the unconventional think-
This in no way makes the can- equally important. Only then would es like CD-7, where the percentage ing of the conventional base.
didates who win the line any less the voters take a candidate to the fin- difference between second and third Arun Ayaygari is an editor, strategist,
eligible, however, other eligible can- ish line. Winning the county-line is place was a mere 8.3. pilot, talk show host, and an avid read-
didates should not be subject to over- no silver bullet. 6 POSSIBLE er. His interests include American poli-
sight and should not be accorded 3 SILENT BACKGROUND OVERCONFIDENCE: tics, geopolitics, international relations,
traditional disadvantage. The CD-11 WORK: County column and prior expe- history, rocket science, and aerospace
GOP Primary was an upset in more Regardless of the county con- rience do not lead to an automatic engineering. Views are personal
ways than one.

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