According to this article, there will be a U.S. Senate debate in Alaska that includes the Republican incumbent, her Libertarian opponent, her independent opponent, but not the Democratic nominee, Ray Metcalfe. It is not known why Metcalfe is not participating.
Why bother to participate in a debate anyways .The questions are probably stupid and insignificant anyways .If I was an voter in Alaska I wouldn’t care anyways .
Why was Richard Grayson denied ballot access? The State of Alaska said it was denied due to party affiliation.
The Alaska Democratic Party website has the picture of two candidates, the nominee Ray Metcalfe, and an independent Margaret Shook, who is described as being part of the Democratic coordinated campaign.
Metcalfe is the former head of the Republican Moderate Party, headed the Bernie Sanders campaign in Alaska and appears to be opposed to the election of Hillary Clinton.
In the only general election poll I could find, he had 9% support, which was barely ahead of Shook at 8%. If the debate sponsors had used a 15% criteria, the senate debate would have been Republican vs Libertarian with the spoiler 3rd-party Democrats not invited.
Jim, I decided to withdraw from the race once Metcalfe and another Democratic candidate filed on the last possible day. I’ve learned that the easiest way to get yourself off the ballot is to change your party affiliation; otherwise, you have to fill out forms and the elections officials make it hard to withdraw. So I re-registered as a Green Party member and then filed as a candidate for the Green Party primary and filed as a write-in candidate in the 8th congressional district of Arizona, where the Democrats were not running a candidate. Then, when another candidate filed, I attempted to withdraw but had problems with the secretary of state’s office until I refiled as a member of the Democratic party, at which time they took me off the list of write-in candidates. My only interest is to run where there is no Democratic party candidate. If I had been the only Democratic candidate in Alaska, I would have done what the party wanted Metcalfe to do: withdraw (as the Libertarian primary winner did) in favor of someone else, most likely Margaret Stock.
I have no desire ever to run for office again and am working in the Hillary Clinton campaign.
This blog grossly overestimates the importance of debates in elections. It also wondered why I was not invited to the Wyoming congressional candidate debate when I was the Democratic candidate in 2014. As I wrote in a comment, I was invited; I chose not to participate. The Dewmocratic U.S. Senate candidate, who chose to participate, got 17.5% of the vote; as the U.S. House candidate, also statewide, I got 22.9% of the vote, so obviously debates are not particularly effective.
Gary Swing, the Green Party candidate for Senator in Arizona, chose not to participate in the Senate debate between Sen. McCain and Rep. Kirkpatrick last weekend. It will not harm him and will probably help him, since he is getting support largely from Republican Trump supporters angry at Sen. McCain for his de-endorsement of Trump, among other issues, and who do not want to vote for a Democrat and do not have a Libertarian or a conservative alternative on the ballot. Appearing in a debate and discussing his positions would have cost Swing votes.
This blog really has no sense of what it’s like to be in a major-party campaign because it’s not written by or for anyone who has participated in election campaigns in a real sense. Except for you, Jim, the commenters here are largely the kind of cranks who make up the vast majority of supporters of political candidates outside the two-party system.
The Libertarian Candidate for the United States Senate race in Arizona is a write in .Also who is John McCain and Jeff Flake supporting for President .Anyone can answer that .Is there a secret alliance between some Libertarian leaning Republicans and Libertarians .Good question .Let’s have a Reporter in Arizona investigate that question.Why didn’t the Phoenix Newspaper endorse Gary ajohnson .Now Alaska may Gary could do what Ed Clark did or better .Many people don’t do polls or surveys .
Richard why are supporting a lost cause candidate Hillary Clinton.When was the last time Alaska voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.1964 when was Lyndon baines.Johnson was running for a dull four year term .I don’t know if Pre John Fitzgerald Kennedy won Alaska since 1960 was the first year Alaskan voters had the right to vote for President and Representatives to Washington that could vote on legislation.
All the candidates for Alaska US Senate were not invited to Barrow debates ,is this debate for those who are back by lots money only?