C-SPAN will broadcast live from the Mayflower Hotel, in Washington, D.C., for the Nader-Baldwin debate, at 9 p.m. eastern time.
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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes the New York City Council will pass a bill to let him run for a third term in 2009. The vote is set for Thursday, October 23. Thomas Golisano, who was the Independence Party’s gubernatorial candidate in 1994, 1998, and 2002, says he will launch an advertising campaign against the idea, although that only makes sense if the October 23 vote is postponed. See this article for more details. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link. New York City has term limits, passed by the voters, but the City Council is free to change the law without a vote of the voters.
Bloomberg is a registered independent, but he would be free to seek any party’s nomination in 2009, notwithstanding how he is registered. He once was a Democrat. He became a Republican in 2000 and was elected as a Republican in both 2001 and 2005. He switched his registration to independent in 2007, a change that set off a frenzy of speculation that he might run for president in 2008 as an independent.
On October 22, the Associated Press released results of a 4-way presidential poll. Responses for all respondents are: Obama 47%, McCain 37%, Barr 1%, Nader 1%, other, undecided, or refused 14%. When the poll separated out “Likely Voters”, the results were Obama 44%, McCain 43%, Barr 1%, Nader 1%, other, undecided or refused 11%. See here for more details.
On October 21, former Arkansas Democratic legislator Dwayne Dobbins asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to put him on the ballot as the Democratic nominee for State House, district 39. He had won the May primary but the party had removed him from the ballot anyway. Dobbins argues that the party had no authority to overturn the results of its own primary, without a court order. As noted in earlier blog posts about this matter, if Dobbins doesn’t get on the ballot, the only name on the ballot for this position will be Green Party nominee Richard Carroll.
This year, Massachusetts voters elect all 160 members of the State House of Representatives. There is a contest between a Republican and a Democrat in only 29 of those races. This is because of the massive weakness of the Republican Party, which has nominees in only 37 districts.
The only minor party nominee this year for Massachusetts state house is one nominee of the Veterans Party. The Green Party is ballot-qualified in Massachusetts, but Massachusetts makes it so difficult for a small ballot-qualified party to place nominees on its own primary ballot, the Green Party has no candidates this year for state house, or U.S. House, or U.S. Senate. There is one Green running for State Senate. The Working Families Party is also ballot-qualified, but it has no nominees for any office in Massachusetts this year, and will lose its qualified status. The Green Party will also lose its ballot status unless Cynthia McKinney polls 3%, which is unlikely.