Last month, Chris Cole, Constitution Party nominee for North Carolina State Senate, 41st district, polled 28.07% in a two-person race. He ran in the 41st district, which is centered in Charlotte.
Although it is not exceptional for a minor party candidate to poll as high as 28% in a two-person race, it is unusual in North Carolina. Cole’s percentage was the highest percentage for any third party candidate for North Carolina state office since 1912, when the Progressive Party was running.
The Salt Lake Tribune has this op-ed about the growth of the United Utah Party, written by two of the party’s activists. Thanks to Fairvote for the link.
Louisiana will hold special elections for U.S. House in the 2nd district and the 5th district on March 20. Both seats are vacant. Congressman Cedric Richmond will resign to join the Biden administration, and Congressman-elect Luke Letlow died on the evening of December 29 from covid. He was only 41 years old. See this story. Probably no one will get a majority in either seat, and there will be run-offs on April 24.
The effort to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom has 900,000 signatures, but it probably needs at least 1,900,000 to meet the legal requirement of 1,495,709. Recently a wealthy individual donated $500,000 to the effort. See this story. Thanks to Michael Cowles for the link.
In 2016, a lawsuit was filed against the New Jersey law that won’t allow out-of-state circulators for presidential primary petitions. That case, Arsenault v Way, 2:20cv-8174, is still pending in U.S. District Court. Originally the District Court Judge, Peter Sheridan, had upheld the restriction. On April 19, 2018, the Third Circuit remanded it back to Judge Sheridan. All documents were submitted in the remand as of August 2018, but the Judge still hasn’t acted. This is the only ballot access case that was filed in 2016 that is still pending.
