Blackfoot mayoral candidates’ last-minute push to finish line

This is the first runoff mayoral election Blackfoot has ever seen, and it’s less than one day away.

Candidates Dan Cravens and Paul Loomis are gearing-up for Tuesday’s election, tying together any loose ends as their final push before only one of them is elected as Blackfoot’s new mayor.

Both Cravens and Loomis said this past Thanksgiving weekend was filled with family, friends, and both family and friends helping them put up the last of the campaign signs while the candidates went door-to-door.

“With the six different candidates, it is kind of hard to be heard,” Cravens said. “So I have been really taking advantage of the opportunity to run against my opponent, one-on-one.”

According to the latest campaign finance reports, Cravens raised $8,482 in total contributions this election season and $1,980 between the October 21 and November 17 time period.

He said he is not doing anything differently to campaign during the runoff compared to his overall campaign.

“Really, just the same things we have been doing previously: making lots of personal contact with voters and going door-to-door since September,” Cravens said.

During the runoff period, Loomis also held tight to his own strategy he used during election season. He said he has not taken any donations and paid for his campaign out of his own pocket, totaling $6,020 for the overall amount.

“One of the things in my campaign was that I was going to come without preconceived ideas or hidden agendas and that’s the way I tried to keep it,” Loomis explained.

“I focused very much on an issues-based campaign, talking about the issues and possible solutions,” Cravens said.

Both Loomis and Cravens said today is now just a waiting game, with the last struggle is just getting voters to get out and vote.

On November 5, Loomis won 39.28% of the vote, and Cravens came in nearly 11 percentage points behind at 26.62% of the vote.

There is no possible chance at tomorrow’s election resulting in another runoff, but if the election results come in withing a few votes of each other, one of the candidates may ask for a recount. However, if the recount does not change the initial outcome, the candidate who requested it has to pay for the cost of the recount.

Polls will be open between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Voters need to remember to bring a photo ID with them.