Free Republic

Tenth Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s choice for the U.S. Supreme Court, has a sparse but good record in cases involving independent candidates and minor parties. In January 2014 he was part of a 3-judge panel that struck down a Colorado campaign finance law that discriminated against supporters of independent and minor party candidates. Although he did not write the decision in Riddle v Hickenlooper, 742 F 3d 922, he agreed with his two colleages, Judges Bobby Baldock and Robert Bacharach, that the law was unconstitutional. He was so interested in the case that he wrote his own concurrence....

Bob Barr Implodes: Two weeks ago the Libertarian nominee pulled out of a press conference Ron Paul had called with the four leading third-party candidates (Barr, Baldwin, Nader, McKinney) to highlight their common ground. Barr decided to hold a press conference of his own down the hall. He also sent Paul a snide note — transmitted to Barr's e-mail list as well — suggesting that Paul ought to replace the hapless Wayne Allyn Root as Barr's running mate. This ploy could hardly have been more ham-handed: If Barr wanted to appear generous, he should have offered Paul, obviously by far...

This year, the Constitution Party’s national convention is scheduled for April. The Libertarian Party will convene to nominate its 2008 presidential slate in late May. The Green Party won’t choose its ticket until July. This may not seem unusual (the Republicans and Democrats usually hold their conventions in August or even early September), but third parties and “major parties” face very different sets of obstacles in publicizing their presidential prospects. The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have been the subject of fawning media coverage for close to two years now. They’ve been debating each other on prime time television for...

Presidential candidate Alan Keyes may be leaving the GOP. In a conference call last night, Keyes is said to have told supporters that staying in the Republican Party would be "an occasion of sin" and he's ready to bolt. Keyes ... reportedly wants no part in selecting the "type of deodorant we need to make a stinking candidate acceptable to conservatives." A Keyes supporter confirms to Radar that the former Reagan administration official "stated in the conference call that he could no longer remain in the Republican Party." As for what's next, a third party bid seems like a good...

The two Independent candidates on this year's ballot for U.S. House of Representatives each expect to draw more votes than Independents traditionally have gleaned in South Dakota, and that could make a difference in how the Democratic and Republican candidates fare. Independent Stacey Nelson said Friday he expects to draw between 15 and 55 percent of the popular vote. Independent Kurt Evans said that he estimated his support at 5 to 8 percent of the vote as of Oct. 24... Democrat Rick Weiland and Republican John Thune are expecting to share most of the votes. Weiland's campaign press secretary Clay...