Wisconsin state legislator Brett Hulsey, elected as a Democrat in 2010 and re-elected in 2012, is not running for re-election. He says he has left the Democratic Party and is now an independent. He had been elected from Dane County (the county that contains Madison).

He is running as a write-in candidate for Governor. See this story. Also, see this story. He feels that the Democratic nominee for Governor is not all that different from the state’s Republican governor, who is running for re-election.

On October 21, a Superior Court in Los Angeles County confirmed that California cities may use cumulative voting for their own elections. Santa Clarita had already agreed to use cumulative voting, but it had asked for a court ruling explicitly saying that cities may choose cumulative voting. Cumulative voting, for elections in which there are several winners, permits voters to cast either one vote for several candidates (typically three), or to give two votes, or even three votes, to a single candidate. See this story.

Thomas B. Edsall has this on-line New York Times column, exploring the political science research on the relationship between polarization, and strict campaign finance laws that hobble political parties. Thanks to the Center for Competitive Politics for the link.