Republican Party national convention rules do not permit anyone to be nominated unless the candidate has plurality “support” from at least five states. Ron Paul has been gaining enough delegates in the various party meetings that actually choose delegates, to have a chance at meeting the 5-state “support” rule. See this post about Massachusetts from PolicyMic, and this and this post about certain other states from DailyPaul. Last week it was clearly established that Paul has the most delegates of any candidate in Minnesota.

The Russian Parliament has passed a bill to again let Russian voters choose Governors for the various regions of Russia. See this story. Under current law, all the Governors are appointed by the central government.

Bob Gray, the President of the Springfield, Illinois Citizens Club, will seek to run for State Senate as an independent candidate. He needs 3,000 valid signatures, due in June. He is well-known in Springfield, and in 2009 was the recipient of the State Journal-Register’s “First Citizen” award. The Citizens Club is well-known for holding regular public forums and candidate debates.

So far, the only other person running for State Senate in that district is the Republican nominee. No Democrat ran in the Democratic primary, but the Democratic Party could still field a candidate if it wishes.