Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Sets Friday Press Conference to Discuss Future of His Campaign

Posted on by August 21, 2024
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Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., will hold a press conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday, August 23, to discuss his campaign.  There is some expectation that he will withdraw.  The conference is at 2 p.m. eastern time.

If he does withdraw, he is free to leave his name on state ballots, or he is free to ask the states to remove his name.

Ross Perot withdrew on July 17, 1992, but he did not ask any state to remove his name from the ballot.  In fact he asked them not to remove him.  He re-entered the race on October 1, 1992, and appeared on the ballot in every state.

There have been presidential candidates on the ballot who had never even asked to be on the ballot, but because other persons or parties put them on the ballot, and the candidate did not ask to be removed, the name appeared on the ballot.  Examples are Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus in 1960, General Douglas MacArthur in 1952, Senator Harry Byrd in 1956, and Ron Paul in 2008.

Ohio Says Four Presidential Petitions Have Enough Signatures and Two Do Not

Posted on by August 22, 2024
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On August 21, the Ohio Secretary of State said his office has determined that four independent presidential petitions have enough valid signatures, and two do not.

The two that do not are for Claudia De la Cruz and Shiva Ayyadurai.  Probably De la Cruz would have had enough, except that some of the petition sheets didn’t have a copy of the declaration of candidacy attached.  Ohio is believed to be the only state that requires petitions to include a copy of the declaration.

The four that have enough are for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Jill Stein, Peter Sonski, and Richard Duncan.  This is the first time an American Solidarity Party presidential candidate has qualified in Ohio, and represents the most difficult petition drive the party has completed in its history.  The requirement is 5,000 signatures.

Richard Duncan is an Ohio resident who has run for president in his home state several times before, but he generally doesn’t petition in any other state.

The qualified parties in Ohio are Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian.

Link to Alaska Primary Election Results

Posted on by August 21, 2024
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On August 20, Alaska held its top-four primary.  The only statewide race on the ballot was U.S. House, where neither of the minor party candidates placed in the top four, although the Alaskan Independence Party candidate placed fifth and could conceivably qualify once all the votes are counted.  The other minor party candidate in that race was Richard Grayson, running with the “No Labels” label.

In the state legislative races, only one race had more than four candidates running, so except in that one race (the 36th House race), no one was excluded from the general election ballot.

Scott Kohlhaas, long-time Libertarian activist, running for State House, 20th district, in a two-person race against a Democrat.  Kohlhaas polled 32.5%.

Here is a link to the results.

Washington State Will Hold a Recount in Statewide Partisan Race for Land Commissioner

Posted on by August 21, 2024
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On August 20, Washington state finished counting the votes from the August 6 primary.  In the Land Commissioner’s race, there were five Democrats and two Republicans running.  The initial election night count showed that the two Republicans would be the only candidates in November.  However, now the race between the second-highest Republican and the leading Democrat is separated by only 51 votes, with the Democrat in the lead.  When the recount is finished, we will know whether a Democrat is on the ballot or not.

See the results here.