On April 3, the Alabama Republican State Committee ruled that Charles McCallum may not appear on the party’s primary ballot for State House, 47th district. The reason is that in the past he has contributed money to some Democratic candidates.

On April 7, McCallum said that he will be an independent candidate for that seat. See this story. In the last election for this seat, in November 2006, the incumbent Republican, Jack Williams, was unopposed. Williams is running for re-election, and it appears that McCallum will be his only opponent in November 2010, assuming McCallum gets on the ballot.

The Conservative Party, a fairly new, nationally-organized party, is holding its first national convention July 22-24. The convention is at the Loews New Orleans Hotel, in New Orleans.

On April 7, the Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs Committee passed HB 292 unanimously. It would convert Congressional elections from a semi-closed system, to a “top-two” system. The first round would be in November. If no one got a majority in November, the state would hold a run-off in December. The author of HB 292 is Rep. Hunter Greene (R-Baton Rouge).

The Committee also considered HB 1157, by Rep. Cameron Henry. It would have retained partisan elections for Congress, but abolished run-off party primaries. Both bills would have saved money. The Committee chair said the Speaker had told him to advance only one of these two bills, so HB 1157 did not pass. However, it could be revived if HB 292 does not get enacted into law. For more detail, see this story (scroll down).