Filing has almost closed for Montana 2022 primaries. In the Libertarian primary, three candidates filed for U.S. House, second district: Samuel Thomas, Roger Roots, and Sam Rankin. Contested primaries for minor parties (other than presidential primaries) are rare, and it is even more rare for there to be as many as three candidates. Here is the candidate list for non-legislative filings.
On March 14, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Gettleman denied a request from the Illinois Green Party to intervene in Libertarian Party v Yarbrough, n.d., 1:22cv-578. This is the case over whether the Libertarian Party is entitled to a primary to choose nominees for Cook County Commissioner. The Libertarian Party won injunctive relief earlier this month.
The Greens had intervened, seeking to establish that they are entitled to elect Cook County township officers throughout the county because they are a qualified party in the Metropolitan Water District, which covers almost all of Cook County. But Judge Gettleman denied intervention for the Greens, because he said the issues are also different; also he said the Greens filed too late. Here is the four-page order.
The Constitutional Accountability Center has filed this amicus in the 4th circuit in Cawthorn v Circosta. It argues that the 1872 Amnesty Act was never intended to be prospective, but only retroactive. Thus the Center argues the U.S. District Court decision, stopping the North Carolina challenge to Congressman Madison Cawthorn, was erroneous.
UPDATE: here is a press release from the Constitutional Accountability Center.
Ordinarily, New Jersey requires 100 signatures for U.S. House, for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties. However, in years after redistricting, the law says only 50 are needed. There are no filing fees in New Jersey.
The only other states with statutory lower requirements in years after redistricting, for U.S. House, are Illinois and Florida. In Illinois the requirement in years after redistricting is 5,000. In Florida the petition in lieu of filing fee is substantially lower than in normal years.
The Constitution Party has a national committee meeting in Erie, Pennsylvania, on April 29-30. Alan Keyes is the speaker for the Friday evening session. This is somewhat surprising, because Alan Keyes and the Constitution Party parted ways in 2008. Keyes had sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2008, but after he was defeated at the convention by Chuck Baldwin, his supporters left the meeting and then organized their own party, America’s Independent Party. The new party then nominated Keyes. The California unit of the Constitution Party disaffiliated from the Constitution Party and became the only ballot-qualified party that nominated Keyes.
See the announcement here, at the party’s national website.
The American Independent Party in California had two rival state conventions in 2008, and the faction loyal to the Constitution Party had a bigger attendance of state central committee members than the other faction did. But California Secretary of State Debra Bowen recognized the Keyes faction anyway, and since then the California AIP has never nominated the Constitution Party’s presidential nominee.
