Mike Foster is the latest candidate to seek the 3rd District Republican Congressional nomination. The former Republican primary candidate fore Sheriff and former Democratic nominee spoke to the Conservative Breakfast Club this morning along with Randy Borror, Liz Brown and Marlin Stutzman.
In 2000, Mr. Foster received 35% as the Democratic nominee, Mark Souder received 62% and Mr. Mike Donlan received 2% as the Libertarian nominee.
The list currently includes or will shortly include the following candidates: Mr. Foster, Greg Dickman, Bob Thomas, Phil Troyer, Bob Morris, Liz Brown, Wes Culver, Randy Borror, Ryan Elijah and Marlin Stutzman. That comes to a grand total of ten candidates ... so far.
The editor of Fort Wayne Observed has predicted fifteen candidates will compete in the caucus. Perhaps that should be amended to read "at least fifteen." The number 10 tends to be the tipping point at which a number of other potential candidates decide that the vote will split in so many ways that anything is possible.
So far, 61% of voters in the FWOb poll predicted that the number of caucus candidates would be 10 or less. So, the conventional wisdom to this point ... is wrong.
So, no one has quite explained how this special election on election day is going to work. Registered Republicans choose from the field of fifteen and then go through the line again and vote in the general election without knowing who the Republican victor is yet? I'm an independent voter who chooses the person above the party, so this idea doesn't sit well with me. Mitch? Can you explain how this is going to work?
Ed. note: If you are referring to the Election Day in November when voting is likely to occur for both the Special Election and the General Election - then voters will be eligible to cast a vote in two congressional elections. One election will be for the 3rd District congressional term between November and January 1. The other will be for the 3rd District congressional term starting January 1. Voters can choose to participate in neither election, both elections or only one of the two. A voter doesn't have to vote the same way in each election. A voter can choose to vote for the Libertarian in one election and the Democratic nominee in the other, for example. The Special Election is for the unexpired term, not a do-over of the Republican primary.
If you are speaking of the caucus procedures:
Alex, see my latest post in addition to this Editor's note. Actually, the precinct committeepersons will, likely, gather and, before voting, will hear a two-minute or so address by each candidate.
The voting will the proceed for the first ballot. The votes will be tallied and the result announced. No candidate will be required to drop out after the first ballot. A second ballot will be cast and the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes will be eliminated from consideration on subsequent ballots. More successive ballots will be cast and counted with the lowest candidate on each round dropping until one candidate gains a majority.
There will be no balloting for the second nomination until the results are known for the first contest. Four of the candidates have agreed that if they are not chosen for the first nomination they will withdraw from consideration for the second nomination in favor of the winning nominee of the first nomination. It is likely that most of the rest of the field will also agree to that notion and the second nomination will either be by acclamation or through much shorter balloting than for the first.
Posted by: Alex Jokay | May 24, 2010 at 08:31 PM