We have about two dozen candidates for president this year, right? Those are only the ones we know about! I ran into Luke Holmes today and he told me about 1963 (I think) when there were 14 candidates for president at the SBC. What a mess that would be! An Ophrah Winfrey convention – “You get a nomination. You get a nomination. Everyone gets a nomination!”
In reality, there are only six candidates that we are aware of, who have publicly announced their intent to seek the office. I have talked to several people today and there seems to be more confusion about who will be elected than I have ever seen in my years. No one knows who will win, much less who might make the runoff.
Question #1 – How will the runoff work?
I’ve asked several people and most do not know. If no one gets 50% plus one votes, does the runoff consist of the top 2 vote-getting candidates, or those candidates whose votes make up a majority?
Candidate 1 gets 25%. Candidate 2 gets 17%. Candidate 3 gets 14%. Is the runoff just Candidates 1 and 2 as the top 2 vote-getters or is it 1, 2, and 3, as vote-getters who get over 50%?
The most definitive answer I received is that it is those candidates who comprise 50% of the vote, but no one knows for sure.
Question 2 – Who will win?
No one polls, but opinions seem to vary. Most think that Clint Pressley is the most likely winner. I spoke to several who planned to vote for Bruce Frank but were unsure how well he would do. David Allen represents the fundamentalist/Paige Patterson contingent that used to go by the CBN (we haven’t heard that term recently – is CBN still active?) and is likely to make a runoff at least.
The oddest thing I have heard since arriving here is “buzz” about Dan Spencer. I will be brutally honest. I dismissed him, because a) I hadn’t heard of him and b) I assumed he was a Mega Metro candidate. Several people have spoken to me about him, in glowing terms. Evidently, he is a good man, highly supportive of Cooperative Program causes, a likely would make a solid SBC president. With a stirring nominating speech, he might surprise us.
When I left Tekamah, I could not remember his name. I am now seriously considering voting for him.
I cannot remember the last time that I did not know who I would vote for as president the night before the election. Maybe Bruce. Perhaps Dan Spencer of Sevierville, TN. I could vote for Mike Keahbone. Who knows.
This should be an interesting convention.
