Posted on 09/09/2010 6:02:35 AM PDT by crosshairs
TOPEKA — Wink Hartman could be taking a second run at the 4th District congressional seat — this time as a Libertarian.
Hartman, who finished third in the Republican primary in August, met with Libertarian party leaders by phone Tuesday evening to discuss the possibility of his running in November.
"Unless there are some serious red flags on our part, or there are serious red flags on his part, the likelihood of his becoming the candidate is very favorable," said Kansas Libertarian Party Chairman Andrew Gray.
A decision is likely Friday, when party leaders will meet again after talking to local constituents.
Hartman, a Wichita oil, sports and restaurant entrepreneur, captured 23 percent of the vote in an acrimonious Republican primary last month. Winner Mike Pompeo had 39 percent while state Sen. Jean Schodorf had 24 percent.
The Pompeo and Hartman campaigns did not return phone calls asking for comment.
If Hartman does switch parties and appear on the ballot in November, Democratic candidate Raj Goyle could wind up benefiting the most, said Ken Ciboski, political science professor at Wichita State University.
The campaign between Hartman and Pompeo "got pretty vicious," Ciboski said, and there appears to be lingering bitterness. Hartman could also supply an infusion of visibility and money that could help the Libertarian Party overall, he said.
Republicans are looking at the possible party switch as an attempt to overturn the primary results, said Sherriene Jones-Sontag, spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback's gubernatorial campaign.
"The main concern is that this would be overturning a Republican primary where more than 80,000 Republican voters cast their ballots," she said.
Brownback campaign manager David Kensinger has talked to Hartman's former campaign manager Scott Paradise, but Jones-Sontag said she did not know what was discussed.
Pompeo, Goyle and Susan G. Ducey, a Reform Party candidate from Wichita, are all candidates for the seat being vacated by Republican Congressman Todd Tiahrt.
That’s the problem we have. Politicians are politicians first, even the ones ostensibly on our side of the spectrum.
However, I am disappointed in the Libertarian Party. With the rise of Constitutional conservatism they have an opportunity to be a serious political movement instead of the Party that spoils an election for a Republican every once in a while and that favors drug legalization. It seems they are more comfortable with the spoiler role.
Even if Hartman might get 10%, given the likely GOP sweep, that still should give Pompeo a victory (and even if Goyle won, he’d last a single term with his likely voting record, a la Nancy Boyda).
Comments like this may be part of the reason why we have so many bozos who lose primaries turning around and running on third party tickets. Moran has a 91.74% lifetime rating from the ACU. He's clearly not a RINO. But, because he probably voted the way you didn't like on one vote or something, suddenly he's a "RINO" who needs to be cleansed from public life, and kneecapping him with a third party run by some purist would be just the way to do it.
Probably this Hartman is doing the same thing in this Congressional race.
Not surprising. If you're a party which is fundamentally dedicated to not having government (instead of just not having big government), how would you have a clue what you're going to do once you're actually governing?
We have a lot of that on FR...narrow-minded one issue voters.
The Libertarian Party, grafting on these rent-seeking, mercantilist, crony capitalists like Hartman and Murkowski, is the equivalent of NOW suporting the rapist Clinton. They will forever after be known for one characteristic -HYPOCRACY.
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