For the second time, the Green Party has won a state legislative election in Arkansas. Fred Smith, the Green Party nominee for State House, 50th district, was elected yesterday. His only ballot-listed opponent originally had been the incumbent Democrat, Hudson Hallum. However, Hallum resigned from the race because of an indictment. Smith might still have been defeated if the Democratic Party had rallied behind a write-in candidate, but the Democratic Party did not find anyone else to run.

Smith himself was a former legislator. When he was in the legislature in the past, he was a Democrat. He is also a former member of the Harlem Globetrotters. See this story.

In Maine, independent incumbent Ben Chipman, who has been closely associated with the Green Party and who was a member of the Green Party until he became an independent in 2010, was re-elected to the State House as an independent candidate.

The presidential vote in Wibaux County, Montana, is: Mitt Romney 421, Gary Johnson 98, President Obama 25. The percentages are: Romney 77.4%, Johnson 18.0%, Obama 4.6%. These figures are accurate and have been confirmed by the County election administrator. Wibaux County is at the eastern end of Montana and borders North Dakota. Thanks to Austin Cassidy for this news.

Two politicians who have staked their reputations on advocacy of top-two primary systems have been defeated. In Washington state, according to this story, it is likely that Republican Rob McKenna has lost the Governor’s race. McKenna is the current Attorney General, and a very strong supporter of top-two in his state. He personally argued in the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of Washington state’s top-two law in 2007. This year, he used his influence in the Republican Party to persuade the party not to put its name on the cert petition filed by the Washington state Democratic and Libertarian Parties. UPDATE: McKenna conceded on November 9.

In California, former Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado, who forced the California legislature to place Proposition 14 on the ballot at the June 2010 election, has lost his Congressional race. The California Secretary of State’s web page shows that with all precincts reporting (although many absentee and provisional ballots remain to be counted), Maldonado polled 45.2%, losing to incumbent Democratic congresswoman Lois Capps, who has 54.8%.