Doesn’t look like this will be a battle for the ages, but it certainly is a battle of the ages.
Andrew Yost is a year and a half out of high school — a teenager who juggles part-time farm work with a full load of college courses. Gus Douglass is old enough to be his grandfather — a gray-haired political veteran who was first elected when Lyndon Johnson was in the White House.
But the two have one thing in common: They are running for agriculture commissioner of West Virginia. Yost, 19, is the Republican longshot Nov. 2 against Douglass, 77, a Democrat seeking a record 10th term.
The race is the ultimate study in contrast, pitting youthful idealism and enthusiasm against decades of hands-on experience.
Yost voted for the first time in May, when he won the Republican primary. Douglass was in the middle of his sixth term when Yost was still in diapers.
In campaign photos, Yost wears a blue corduroy jacket that proclaims him a Future Farmer of America. Douglass runs a 540-acre farm with his son, and is a past national president of the Future Farmers of America.
Douglass has raised nearly $18,000 in donations this year and spent about half. By Election Day, Yost will have spent no more than a few thousand dollars on printing and mailing.
“When I say it’s a grass-roots campaign, I’m not just saying that. It really is,” says Yost, who has pledged to neither solicit nor accept contributions. “When I go into office, I don’t want to owe any favors. I can run the office based on my own integrity and what’s best for the people.”
Young Yost — no campaign website, miniscule chance, tons of spunk. Youthful energy and idealism, whether I agree with the beliefs or not, are things I’ve always admired. Whether his future is in agriculture or politics, I expect long-term success for Yost. The kid’s got moxie.