Today is primary day and 3.5 million Flori

Monday, May 08, 2006

Oregon: Independents fight the odds

When independents run for governor

Russell Sadler Blue Oregon May 7, 2006 -- The deck is deliberately stacked against independent candidates for governor.
Republicans and Democrats do not want to see competition in November from candidates that were not sanctioned in their party primaries.
Independent-minded voters are simply stuck voting for whichever Republican and Democrat is chosen by voters in their respective primaries. This “choice of evils” is increasingly regarded as no choice at all. It is a major cause of voter discontent and frustration.
Occasionally, however, the established parties overstep the boundaries of public tolerance and trigger a successful independent candidacy for governor. That last happened in Oregon in 1930 when Juluis L. Meier won the office in a three-way race......
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