A significant amount of Americans are unable to name their governor – just ask your friends. A survey reveals that one out of every three people cannot correctly identify who represents them locally. It gets chalked up to laziness and ignorance, but it’s worth asking just why some of us are so unaware. Americans do care about politics, but because our newsfeeds, social media and daily conversations are dominated by national issues, state and local leaders often get overlooked. The problem isn’t intelligence – but a lack of visibility.
There are many reasons why governors tend to become invisible. The main one being that national news stays in the spotlight. Major news outlets, that are usually more accessible than local ones, cover the Capitol relentlessly, while statehouses are usually left unmentioned. Social media feeds into this with an algorithm that favors viral content. That’s why you end up reading about some national hot take rather than the breakdown of your state’s new education bill.
Education is another factor. We are taught the basics of how the federal government works before even leaving elementary school, which is important – but not any more than learning the power governors have. Because of this, people assume leaders in Washington make all the big choices, when in reality what your state representatives decide usually impacts your life more directly.
It’s incredibly important to know about the people who determine your state’s policies on schools, healthcare, public safety and more. Ignoring state politics has real consequences. Whether it be about COVID-19, abortion access or minimum wage, these overlooked governors are pulling the strings.
When you don’t know who represents you, you’re less likely to vote locally and even more likely to just not care. That low engagement creates an environment where decisions are made with little public input and almost no accountability. This fuels an even deeper political divide and eroding trust in the government because people don’t know who to point fingers at. When things go ignored they don’t just go away, it just means there’s fewer eyes watching when it matters most.
So, vote locally. Pay attention. Make decisions that allow you to become the most informed citizen you can be. You can’t demand better from your government if you don’t even know who is running it.
