Political scientist Norman Ornstein here writes about the 2016 Republican presidential nomination contest. He concludes by saying, “Somewhere ner half the delgates will feel jilted, and Cleveland will rock. But there are plenty of historical parallels for that kind of convention, from the Cow Palace in 1964 to Chicago in 1968. History may prove a guide, but it’s no longer clear where it’s pointing.”

The historical references are to the 1964 Republican convention in San Francisco that nominated Barry Goldwater, and the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago that nominated Hubert Humphrey. Both national conventions showcased lots of internal party dissent, and in both cases, the nominee went on to lose the general election. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

On August 15, the Veterans Party, which was organized nationally in 2013, met in Keystone, South Dakota. It nominated Chris Keniston of Texas for president, and Deacon Taylor of Colorado for vice-president. There were 20 attendees in person and 35 others by video conference. The party is ballot-qualified in Mississippi and working to get on in several other states. Only state chairs were permitted to vote, so one could call this a caucus.

Taylor is about to embark on a national speaking tour, traveling by motorcycle.

A previous Veterans Party appeared on the Florida November 2004 ballot for U.S. Senate and got 166,642 votes, but there has never before been a Veterans Party presidential candidate who appeared on any state’s ballot.

Joseph Morrissey was elected as an independent candidate to the Virginia House on January 13, 2015. Now he is running for a seat in the State Senate, in the regular legislative elections of November 3, 2015. The Washington Post has a very long and interesting article on him here, which contains information on his campaigning techniques.