On October 13, the Virginia Republican Party voted to use a convention, not a primary, for the U.S. Senate race in 2008. The vote was 47-37. Those who support a convention said one reason they voted for a convention was that they don’t want outsiders helping choose the Republican nominee. Although the party won a lawsuit on October 1 in the 4th circuit on this matter, the ruling only applies when the party is being forced to hold a primary. In this instance, the decision was the party’s to make, so the ruling doesn’t apply.

Virginia law lets incumbents who are running for re-election dictate whether the party will use a convention or a primary. In the case of the U.S. Senate race, no Republican is running for re-election. Incumbent Senator John Warner is retiring.

Tennessee State Senator Michael R. Williams was re-elected in November 2004 to the State Senate, 4th district. He was unopposed. However, on March 14, 2007, he declared that he was leaving the Republican Party and had become an independent. He will run for re-election next year as an independent. The Democratic Party will attempt to discourage any Democrat from running against Williams, but Republicans are already declaring their candidacy to run against him.

Tennessee does not have registration by party, so the only way anyone establishes being an independent is by what he or she says publicly. Fortunately for Williams, Tennessee does not have a straight-ticket device on November ballots. The 4th district is in the eastern, mountainous end of Tennessee, and is in the part of the state that has been strongly Republican ever since the Civil War.

If Williams is re-elected as an independent, he will be the first person to win a Tennessee legislative election as an independent since 1982.

The hearing in New Hampshire Libertarian Party v Gardner, which had been scheduled for October 12, has been postponed until November 15. The issue is whether it is constitutional for the state to provide the state list of registered voters to a qualified party at a very low price, but refuse to sell it to an unqualified party for any amount of money. The case is pending in Merrimack County Superior Court, no. 2007-e-327. The reason for the postponement is that the court only has one judge and she is swamped with too many cases.