Blaine Richardson, who had been seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. House in Maine’s 2nd district, has announced that he will not run in the primary, but will run in the general election as an independent. The seat is open, because the incumbent Democrat is running for Governor. Richardson is a retired Navy Captain and owner of a construction company.

Although probably most people think of Maine as a state with lots of independent candidates, there hasn’t been an independent or minor party candidate on the Maine general election ballot for U.S. House since 2006. Maine and Georgia are the only states that have had a Republican-Democratic monopoly on the ballot for U.S. House in each of the last three congressional elections. Thanks to Independent Political Report for this news.

On January 16, the Massachusetts Senate passed HB 3788, which establishes early voting and election-day registration. See this story.

The U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, hears Common Cause v Biden, 12-5412, on January 21. The lawsuit, filed by Common Cause, five U.S. House members, and others, argues that U.S. Senate Rule XXII (the “cloture rule”, also called the “filibuster rule”) is unconstitutional. Alternatively, the lawsuit argues that it is unconstitutional for each new session of the Senate to assume that rules from the previous session automatically remain in place. Here is the Common Cause brief.

The U.S. District Court had ruled on December 21, 2012, that the plaintiffs lack standing.