Eric Ostermeier, whose blog Smart Politics frequently compiles historic facts about elections, now lists all independent U.S. Senators in U.S. history. He points out that there have never been more than two independents in the U.S. Senate at any one time, but that if Greg Orman wins in Kansas next month, there will be three. See here.
Ostermeier’s list doesn’t differentiate between Senators who were elected as independents, versus Senators who became independents while they were in office but were never elected as independents. Among those on his list, Wayne Morse of Oregon, Bob Smith of New Hampshire, and Jim Jeffords of Vermont never were elected as independents.
Ostermeier differentiates between independent Senators, and Senators who were members of minor parties. His inclusion of Dean Barkley as an independent seems questionable. Barkley, appointed to the U.S. Senate by Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, was a leader of the Independence Party and one of its founders. Ostermeier recognizes this to a certain degree, but he still chooses to list Barkley as an independent because a U.S. Senate record lists him that way.
Depends on one’s definition of an individual member of the Minnesota Independence Party.
An individual member of the Democratic Party is called a “Democrat.”
An individual member of the Republican Party is a “Republican.”
So, would it not be true that an individual member of the Independence Party would be called a “Independent?”
I doubt one would hear individual members of the Minnesota Independence Party calling themselves “Independenceers.”
Any other opinions?