On November 2, the Green Party of Maine, the Constitution Party of Montana, and the Vermont Progressive Party, all elected state legislators.
- The Maine Greens re-elected John Eder, who had first been elected to the legislature as a Green in 2002. The result was a surprise, since in 2003 the legislature had redrawn the lines and abolished Eder’s district. Eder then moved, and walked precincts in his new district for the last several months, and won again in a 3-party race. Eder polled approximately 54%.
- The Constitution Party appears to have elected Rick Jore to the Montana legislature, but one vote. There will surely be a recount, so his victory is not certain. This race was also a 3-person race.
- The Vermont Progressive Party elected six members to the Vermont house. Previously the party had four members. The six winners on the Vermont Progressive Party ticket are Bob Kiss, David Zuckerman, Sarah Edwards, Sandy Haas, Winston Dowland, and Dexter Randall. When the Progressive Party first started winning legislative seats in Vermont, all their victories were in Burlington. Now, however, 4 of their legislators (all but Kiss and Zuckerman) are from other parts of Vermont. Haas and Dowland won in seats that usually elect Republicans.
There may be other minor party victories to state legislatures as well; any others discovered will be added. Let us know if you are aware of any additional wins.
While not a third party candidate and not victorious, Independent Sheila Bilyeu received 86,643 votes (5.99%) in the US Senate race in Oklahoma.
More details at http://www.sheila4senate.com/
Sheila’s name may sound familar because of the press she has received some national press attention (http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/entertainment/10035387.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp) and because of her earlier candidacy for the Green Party’s presidential nomination.
It appears that all of the non-Burlington Vermont Progressive Party candidates won as fusion candidates with the Democrats, presumably after winning the Democratic primaries as write-in candidates. This is possible in other states, including states like Pennsylvania where fusion is not otherwise permitted.
Another Maine Green Independent candidate in Portland, Jeff Spencer, is behind by 28 votes in the initial count, so the final count could conceivably put him ahead.
It’s a shame that the LP can’t win any state house seats.
Does anyone know if the CP candidate survived the recount?
Great website. Been a longtime supporter of campaign law reform issues. I only hope that all those third party presidential candidates spend their time and money in building multi-party interest group/coalitions behind issues such as IRV, PR and ballot access.
Edward, yes! PR should be the top issue for all third parties. Right now it’s rarely vocalized. There’s little awareness of PR in the US. Please someone start a group like that.