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In Kansas, Greg Orman looks like he’s well on his way to joining the U.S. Senate as an independent. Larry Pressler may join him from South Dakota, if current polling holds. But Maine and Vermont already have independents representing them in the U.S. Senate.
New England is ahead of the curve on embracing alternative parties and independents. Despite only winning 6.5% nationally, John Anderson finished in double-digits in every New England state in 1980. In 1992, Ross Perot captured more than 20% in every New England state and finished second in Maine with more than 30% of the vote.
Libertarians have had representation in the state legislatures of Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island at various points. The Green Party has elected several members to the Maine state house.
Connecticut elected Lowell Weicker as governor in 1990 on the “A Connecticut Party” label, and in 2006 sent Joe Lieberman back to the U.S. Senate as an Independent Democrat on the “Connecticut for Lieberman” ballot line. Rhode Island elected an independent, Lincoln Chaffee, as their governor in 2010.
Just look at Bernie Sanders and the Progressive Party’s success in Vermont. Or Angus King’s terms as Governor and now Senator in Maine.
Over the last few decades it has been New England, more than any other region in the country, that has demonstrated a strong independent streak. This year is no different, as each state in the region seems to feature at least one interesting race that we’ll be watching come election night.
Let’s take a quick look at each state’s key contests…
CONNECTICUT: Former West Hartford Town Councilor Joe Visconti is running for Governor as an independent, drawing 9% of the vote in the latest Quinnipiac poll.
The Green Party has two strong statewide candidates, as well. In the Attorney General’s race their nominee is former Hartford School Board member Scott Fournier, who is polling at 9%. While in the race for Comptroller, the Green nominee is polling at 12%.
RHODE ISLAND: A former Auditor General for the Rhode Island General Assembly, independent candidate Ernest Almonte is locked in a one-on-one race against Democrat Seth Magaziner for State Treasurer. Almonte had more cash as of a few weeks ago and recently locked up the endorsement of the Police and Carpenters unions.
Also, the Moderate Party has recruited well-known candidate Robert Healey for the governor’s race. Healey’s last statewide campaign saw him winning 39% of the vote for Lt. Governor as the nominee of the Cool Moose Party.
MASSACHUSETTS: A pair of wealthy independent candidates for governor are pouring money into their campaigns. Evan Falchuk and Jeff McCormick have each spent more than $1 million of their own money on rival bids for the state’s top office. So far, the polling hasn’t looked good for either candidate.
VERMONT: The Republicans failed to nominate candidates for Secretary of State and State Treasurer, leaving two Democratic incumbents to face only challengers from the Progressive and Liberty Union parties. Additionally, the Progressives currently have 8 members in the state house and senate. They will be defending, and hoping to build upon, those numbers.
The big contest, however, is for Lt. Governor. The Vermont Progressive Party has nominated Dean Corren to take on the incumbent Republican. The state’s Democratic Party has lined up behind Corren and the governor has even endorsed him. You can read more about the race here.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Not much going on in the statewide races, but New Hampshire’s enormous state house always produces contests that are worth watching. Usually they don’t reveal themselves until after the election results start rolling in. Former Republican representative Peter Bolster is looking to take back his old seat as an independent.
Steve Vaillancourt is seeking another term in the house as a Republican, but he has previously served as a Democrat and, for two non-consecutive terms, as a Libertarian.
MAINE: Independent gubernatorial candidate Eliot Cutler is the big one to watch out of Maine. He came within 2% of winning the governorship back in 2010 and he’s trying again. Currently polling at about 20%, but a late surge similar to what happened four years ago might make this race very competitive. Popular independent Senator Angus King has thrown his full weight behind Cutler’s bid.
Austin, this is a great story, except for your paragraph on New Hampshire. New Hampshire is utterly deviant from the rest of New England and you should have said that explicitly. New Hampshire is one of only 3 states that has not had a ballot-qualified third party at any time in the period November 1996 to the present (the others are New Jersey and Pennsylvania). New Hampshire is one of only five states with a Dem-Rep ballot monopoly this year for all the statewide races (the others are Alabama, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania; and Washington state is the only state this year with no statewide races). New Hampshire is the only state that has increased the vote test for a group to be a qualified party, during the period of the last 30 years (many states have lowered it). And, New Hampshire has never elected a statewide minor party or independent candidate. There is something strangely intolerant about the state.
Yeah… I suspect Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island and Connecticut will all have statewide candidates polling more than 10% of the vote on election day. A few might even win. Massachusetts is a wild card. But I’ll admit that New Hampshire is kind of the black hole in the region.
The LP has elected a cluster of state representatives there. And the state has had an independent U.S. Senator in the last 15 years — admittedly it was Bob Smith and he switched back pretty quickly. That’s all in the past.
BTW, it absolutely shocks me that the Libertarians are only running ONE candidate for NH state house this time around. Easily the most winnable state house races in the country, and yet the party is ignoring the opportunity.
Having a group of elected NH legislators working together in their own caucus would be huge inspiration for recruiting candidates around the country. I remember that as one of the most impressive things about the LP back in the 90s, when I was first taking an interest in the party.
I forgot to mention California also has a Dem-Rep monopoly for all the statewide races.
Joe Visconti in Connecticut is undaunted in his battle to obtain access to the debates. He has been intentionally blocked by Republican Tom Foley in an apparent “pay to play” collaboration with several network TV stations. Visconti is beginning to gain traction as the incumbent Democrat, Dan Malloy, and Tom Foley, the Republican retread who lost to Malloy in 2010, continue to act like a couple of schoolboys constantly scuffling on the political playground of ill repute.
Visconti is keeping his message positive. He shared some brilliant new ideas and displayed his superior political acumen in a hour-long televised interview Oct. 7.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5wsVsNCEygoSmtcMWf3G2UjUYeRrNjHC