Starting in 1971 with the first election of a Chautauqua County Legislature that was in compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court decisions of the early 1960s requiring legislatures to be reapportioned to achieve “one man one vote,” Chautauqua County was a place of thousands of swing voters.

Swing voters are people who vote for a Republican for one office but then vote for a Democrat for another office.

Sometimes swing voters say “I vote for the person, not the party.”

Back in November 2000, Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, lost her Senate race here in Chautauqua County to her Republican opponent by 4,300 votes. In that same election, Democratic State Assemblyman Bill Parment won re-election in Chautauqua County over his Republican opponent by 11,700 votes. There was a swing of 16,000 votes that November of 2000.

In 2004, John Kery, a Democrat, lost his Presidential race to George Bush, a Republican by 6,000 votes in Chautauqua County. In contrast, Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat, won re-election in Chautauqua County by 6,000 votes. There was a swing of 12,000 votes in Chautauqua County in 2004.

In 2010, (nationally the “Tea Party” year and a terrible year for Democrats) Andrew Cuomo lost his bid for re-election as Governor in Chautauqua County by 8,300 votes. In contrast, Senator Charles Schumer won again in Chautauqua County by 4,100 votes. There was a swing of 12,400 votes in Chautauqua County in 2010.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate for President, lost Chautauqua County by 9,400 votes. In contrast, Senator Charles Schumer won re-election in our County by 7,000 votes. There was a swing of 16,400 votes in Chautauqua County in 2016.

The November 2022 election in Chautauqua County was an historic break from a 50 year record of swing voters in our County.

Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat from Buffalo, lost her bid for Governor in Chautauqua County to her Republican opponent from Long island by 10,500 votes. For the first time since his first run for the Senate in 1998, Senator Charles Schumer lost big in Chautauqua County. Senator Schumer lost by 7,500 votes to his Republican opponent.

In 2022, there were only 3,000 swing votes out of almost 44,000 voters.

Senator Schumer won Chautauqua County as a Democrat in 2004, 2010 and 2016 by an average of over 5,500 votes. Suddenly in 2022 Senator Schumer lost Chautauqua County by 7,000 votes.

It does not appear that Senator Schumer changed in any significant way over those years. He was always a Democrat from Brooklyn.

The likely answer is something has changed in the politics of Chautauqua County.

It appears that in 2022 more Chautauqua County voters voted for the “party” over the “person” than in the past 50 years.

Ironically, as political parties as political organizations, have become weaker, there are signs voters have become more “tribal” than at any time in our memory.

It would appear, as a result, that more “good, qualified” candidates are losing to “bad, unqualified candidates” simply because of their party affiliation.

In November 2022 there was one contested New York State Supreme Court race in the 8th Judicial District here in Western New York. The Democratic candidate, the Hon. Shannon M. Heneghan was voted “Well Qualified” by the Erie County Bar Association. Her Republican opponent, a Buffalo City Court Judge, attorney Joseph C. Lorigo, was voted “Not Recommended.”

In Chautauqua County the “Not Recommended” Republican candidate for Supreme Court Judge beat the “Well Qualified” Democratic candidate by 9,000 votes (26,465 to 15,460).

Was the election of 2022 in Chautauqua County an aberration? Or have Chautauqua County voters in the thousands given up on voting for the “person” not the “party”?

A downside of a more or less permanent disappearance of swing voters in Chautauqua County is a less competitive politics in our community.

In general Americans believe competition is good. We generally believe competition gives us better products and services than a monopoly does.

A lack of competitive politics in Chautauqua County has negative effects.

It is harder to convince good, qualified candidates to run for town, village, city or county offices if the individual candidate’s qualifications do not matter to the voters.

Chautauqua County needs every good qualified person we can elect to public office to help us do better as a community.

Fred Larson is a 1973 graduate of the Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, a 1976 graduate of Yale Law School, was a Chautauqua County Legislator from 1985 to 1993 and in 2014; and a Jamestown City Court judge who retired in 2021.