David Harmer, Republican nominee for U.S. House, 11th district, last year, is quoted in this story as praising California’s Proposition 14 because it keeps minor party candidates out of the general election. Harmer is the son of former Lieutenant Governor John Harmer.

The story also quotes Markham Robinson, Secretary of one faction of the American Independent Party, as saying that Proposition 14 may someday help minor party candidates. The data suggest otherwise. There have been 775 instances in the United States at which minor party candidates ran for state or federal office in blanket primaries or top-two primaries. Out of those 775 instances, there are only 2 at which a minor party member ever placed first or second (ignoring the obvious cases at which only one major party person ran). Even minor party candidates with the potential to win the election virtually never place first or second in the primary, because during primary season, voters are more interested in determining which major party candidates advance. Voters generally only pay attention to minor party candidates after the primary is over. For example, Jesse Ventura only polled 3% in Minnesota’s open primary in mid-September 1998, but he was elected as the Reform Party nominee in November 1998. The Minnesota example, however, is not an instance of a blanket or top-two primary, but it still makes the point.

On March 8, voters in Los Angeles approved Measure H by a margin of 75%-25%. It raises the amount of money available for public funding for candidates for city office. The old law, providing for public funding for campaigns, had a cap of $12,000,000 in the fund. Measure H raises that cap. For more details about the measure, see this analysis from Ballotpedia. Los Angeles has had public funding for candidates since 1990. Los Angeles, like all California cities, has non-partisan elections.

This newspaper story covers negotiations in the Idaho legislature over possible changes in the Republican Party primaries of the future. The very end of the story quotes Secretary of State Ben Ysursa as saying “The battle’s over”, which seems to say that the state won’t appeal the March 2 decision in Idaho Republican Party v Ysursa. The decision said that the Republican Party has a right to prevent non-Republicans from voting in its primaries.