I’m not speaking so much of what we usually associate with this phrase, the money and influence that comes with office. What I’m speaking of is the ability incumbents have to address issues with a depth that challengers can’t hope to match.

We asked J.D. and Jim questions about education, roads, education, taxes, education, economic development, education, and candidates for Governor. What was clear from the conversation was that Jim could speak to the issues with much more specificity than J.D. could. J.D. has some good credentials, but beyond that, he didn’t differentiate himself in any significant way.

Some of this, of course, is just the candidates themselves, but much of it comes from Jim’s incumbency. He’s been intimately involved with all of these issues for the last four years and thus can speak to them intelligently. More important, he can report on actions he’s taken and what the results were. He could also speak about the practicalities that affect specific issues and which bills passed or failed and why.

J.D. came across as a nice guy with good credentials, but beyond that, he just couldn’t speak specifically about anything. Some of that could probably be overcome by study and sitting down to formulate specific policies. But for the most part, J.D. didn’t stand a chance if the choice comes down to which candidate has a better understanding of the issues. At several points J.D. even turned to Jim and said something like “what did happen there?”

As a consequence, I was sitting in my living room wondering why J.D. was running. In order to compete against an incumbent, you have to offer a clear choice for something different. To win, of course, that something has to be important to the voters. Because J.D. just couldn’t say why he was a better choice than the incumbent, the choice came down to who understands the issues and in that the incumbent has a clear advantage.

As I write this, I’m at the Utah County convention where we just finished legislative district caucuses and elected Jim with over 75% of the vote. I suspect that the 25% who voted for JD had never seen them together—when I did, the choice was clear. As a result, Jim won’t need to run a primary election and as far as I know he’s unopposed in the general election. I pleased. Jim’s represented us well in the past and I’m confident he’ll continue to do so.