On July 12, an independent Governor and three independent state legislators held a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. They represent the Centrist Project, which hopes to elect more independents in 2018. See this Roll Call story.
As of July 12, here are the number of registered voters in Oklahoma by party: Republican 937,698; Democratic 770,581; Libertarian 4,305; independent and other 288,807. The percentages are: Republican 46.85%; Democratic 38.50%; Libertarian .22%; independent and other 14.43%.
BAN last had an Oklahoma registration tally as of March 28, 2017. At that time the percentages were: Republican 45.80%; Democratic 39.27%; Libertarian .19%; independent and other 14.73%.
Howard Fischer, one of Arizona’s leading reporters for state government, has this sympathetic article about the July 10 decision of U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell to uphold the 2015 election law that keeps Libertarians off the ballot for congress and state office.
UPDATE: see this Associated Press story, which is also sympathetic. However, neither story mentions that Green Party candidates are not subject to the same requirements as the Libertarians.
On July 12, a Monmouth University Poll was released for the November 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial race. The results: Democrat Phil Murphy 53%; Republican Kim Guadagno 26%; “other” 6%; undecided 14%; won’t vote 1%.
The “other” candidates on the ballot are the nominees of the Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Parties, and two independent candidates.
On June 6, McLain, Mississippi held a partisan election for Mayor. Three candidates were on the ballot, all as independents. Small towns in Mississippi technically have partisan elections, but to avoid the cost and work of a primary, it is common for all candidates to run as independents.
Steve McCluskey, a member of the Libertarian Party, was elected with 66 votes. He defeated incumbent Mayor Clyde Sylvester, who had 31 votes; and also he defeated Tom Roberts, who had 28 votes.
McLain has a population of 441, and is in Greene County, in the most southerly part of Mississippi, on the Alabama border. Thanks to Cody Quirk for this news.
