The four candidates for U.S. House, in the special June 24 election in Florida’s 19th district, will debate on the evening of June 19. The candidates are Republican Curt Clawson, Democrat April Freeman, Libertarian Ray Netherwood, and write-in independent Timothy Rossano. The debate is in Fort Myers and is sponsored by WINK News. See this story (scroll down).
How often are write-in candidates invited to debates?
They invited the write-in? That’s odd.
The same four candidates will face off in the general election in November. The media could use the results from the special election to determine which candidates would appear in those debates.
Florida treats write-in candidates more seriously than most states. They are required to file financial disclosure, and file well in advance of the primary election. If there are no write-in candidates, no write-in space is on the ballot.
In addition, if there are write-in candidates, other primaries can be opened up. In Florida, if all candidates are from one party, the primary is open to all voters, since the winner will be the only candidate who can be elected in the general election.
But a write-in candidate blocks this from happening. Since the write-in could be elected in November, the primary is no longer decisive. In the past, write-in candidates have been used to keep primaries closed.