The Los Angeles Times has this editorial about a possible Bloomberg run for the presidency. The editorial says, “Having more choices on the ballot is usually a good thing.” That is significant, because both in 2004 and 2010, the Los Angeles Times supported top-two ballot measures, which confine the general election ballot to only two choices.
The Oregonian, Oregon’s largest newspaper, has this story with a video link about Kelly Gneitling, a founder of the Independent American Party. Gneitling is a sumo wrestler and he is part of the group that is occupying a federal office in eastern Oregon, in a protest over federal government land policies.
Gneitling challenges Governor Chris Christie to a sumo wrestling match. In 2014, the Independent American Party took over the Americans Elect Party in Arizona, and Gneitling was its nominee for State Senate in Arizona’s northeast corner. In a two-person race, Gneitling, with the Americans Elect label, polled 16.29%. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
January 26 is the deadline for presidential primary candidates to file petitions in Indiana. Indiana requires 4,500 signatures. Eleven Republicans and four Democrats filed petitions. The signatures will now be checked.
The four Democrats are: Clinton, De La Fuente, O’Malley, and Sanders.
The eleven Republicans are: Bush, Carson, Christie, Cruz, Fiorina, Huckabee, Kasich, Paul, Rubio, Santorum, and Trump.
Assuming all petitions are valid, this will easily be the most crowded Republican presidential primary ballot in Indiana history. The previous record for Republicans in Indiana was only four names. The number has been low in the past because Indiana has among the nation’s most difficult presidential primary petition requirements, and also because the primary is in May, later than most. Indiana has been holding presidential primaries starting in 1956.
Daily Kos has this commentary on the new Arizona initiative for a top-two system. The story says that John Arnold, who pumped a great deal of money into the 2014 Oregon initiative for top-two, is also funding the 2016 Arizona initiative. Arnold lives in Houston and is very wealthy.
Charles Wheelan, founder of the Centrist Project, writes here in U.S. News that the U.S. needs a multi-party system. The article is focused on Michael Bloomberg, and Wheelan makes his larger point toward the end of the article.
