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I know that Nifong won a Democrat primary with no opposing Republican. Does that make it too late for someone to mount a write-in campaign during the general election? He still has to win a general election, right? Isn't he really the presumptive winner now, or will they not have a general election for his position because no Republican opposed him in the primary? Is he delaying this trial until 2007 because he knows he can still lose his job in November if it all hits the fan before then, or is his job secure?

You don't run against the opposing party in a primary. The sole purpose is to determine who does run against the other guys. He was in a primary against 2 other Dems and won it. He is the presumed winner in the DA's race b/c there is no one running for the Republicans. I did read somewhere that another party could still register candidacy by June (30th?) and run against him in Nov.

That's my point. People treated his Dem primary win as the de facto win because there was no Republican running in the primary. However, there is still the general election, and if he is unopposed there then he wins. But is it a foregone conclusion that he will be unopposed?

Someone can still mount an independent campaign against him (perhaps even a Republican as a write-in), so he has a motive to keep this case going past the November election, which is why I think he wants to push the trial into 2007.

Since this is a county race, why can't someone mount a last-minute campaign against him, since the voting population is so small? That person could leverage mounting disgust if it appears that the case is becoming politically motivated and that the defendants have alibis.

-PJ

I did read somewhere that another party could still register candidacy by June (30th?) and run against him in Nov.

We can only hope. I think he's feeling pretty secure right now but a lot could change between now & then.