We’ve awarded Steve Dickerson this title before because he sometimes insists on being reasonable in the middle of a storm of legislative lunacy. Most recently he has sponsored bills on pharmacist-prescribed birth control, the preservation of DNA evidence in death penalty cases, and medical marijuana. But this year there’s an additional reason to be thankful for him — his Republican alternative. Dickerson’s opponent attacked him for being the only Republican not to ask the state to sue the federal government over the resettlement of Syrian refugees. The foe did so with a mailer that featured an ISIS flag flying from a suburban home, with a “Welcome” mat written in faux-Arabic, along with these words: “Does Steve Dickerson want ISIS living next door to your family?” Keep it up, senator. STEVEN HALE
Best Republican
Sen. Steve Dickerson
