Gilchrist’s showing best by a third party for U.S. House in 11 years.

Ballot Access News ^ | December 6, 2005 | Richard Winger

[Plutarch]

Jim Gilchrist, American Independent (Constitution Party) nominee received 25.1% of the vote. The Republican, State Senator John Campbell, won with 44.7%; the Democrat is second with 28.0%. The Green polled 1.3% and the Libertarian polled .9%.

Gilchrist’s showing is the highest percentage received by a minor party for U.S. House (in a race with both major parties also in the race) since 1994, when A Connecticut Party polled 26.3% in the First District of Connecticut.

[MarcusTulliusCicero]

Nah, this can't be true....I mean hugh Hewitt has been holding forth how this just shows illigal immigration just doesn't matter to people.

[Katya]

So what's the story here....why didn't gilchrist run as a repub?

[F16Fighter]

Hopefully it's a start to bigger and better things, AND positions the CP for some clout on issues the Republicans used to represent before the RINOs compromised it's traditional platform.

[F16Fighter]

"Why didn't gilchrist run as a repub?"

I assume it's because they've become an arrogant two-faced hypocritical party of unprincipled power-mongers who prefer running their own cherry-picked centrist RINO candidates.

[So Cal Rocket]

What about Bernie Sanders? He's a Third Party candidate (Socialist), who's been elected and re-elected...

[jveritas]

[jveritas]

Come on my fellow freeper, please do not interrupt the hallucination of others with cold facts.

[Jigsaw John]

Only a matter of time until 3rd party conservative candidates start taking elections. I give it several more election cycles. Change is coming. Change is good.

[Jigsaw John]

Thanks! That was funny, and pretty accurate.

[LexBaird]

So what's the story here....why didn't gilchrist run as a repub?

Because the party had already picked Campbell to succeed Cox. In O.C., CA, thats a mighty steep obstacle to overcome.

[Jigsaw John]

Because the party had already picked Campbell to succeed Cox

And that was no surprise to anyone seeking relief from our open borders.

[So Cal Rocket]

Only a matter of time until 3rd party conservative candidates start taking elections.

Yup... and in the interim, they will cause Republican candidates to lose seats in the House by splitting the GOP/Conservative vote... I shudder to think of these words:

"Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi"
"Nancy Pelosi, third in line to the Presidency"

[Jigsaw John]

Sometimes things have to get worse, before they ever get better. Stay tough.

[Clemenza]

Yes, but he STILL LOST and was outpolled by the Democrat Young.

Coming in third (or even "first by election day votes") only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Better luck next time Jim. Here's hoping you've learned your lesson. Absentee ballots COUNT.

[MarcusTulliusCicero]

I think the best change that may be coming is when conservatives consistently give to individual candidates rather than contribute to the parties. Entities like the NRSC and presumably its Democratic counterpart are more concerned with getting people with a particular letter after their name than they are with advancing an ideology or agenda. Witness the mess going on in Rhode Island with the NRSC running ads against the conservative challenger of Lincoln Chafee.

[Mulch]

I'd like to see FreeRepublic do an opinion poll with a head-to-head comparison on favorablility rating between George Bush and Jim Gilchrist.

[staytrue]

The dems probably do not field a candidate.

The stat says where both major parties also field a candidate.

[jveritas]

Go ahead and ask Jim Robinson to do so and we shall see.