general election

In January, Dennis Kucinch began his campaign as an independent candidate to return to the United State House of Representatives, seeking to represent an Ohio district that overlaps with the area he represented as a Democrat in the House from 1997 to 2013.

As an independent candidate, Kucinich bypasses the primary and instead is required to submit petition signatures to participate in the November general election. Last week, Kucinich filed petitions signed by over six thousand individuals in order to secure his place on the ballot.

Dennis Kucinich earned a reputation for independence during his time as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2013. Repeatedly, he would, with commentary and legislative action, advance peace and respect for liberty in the national legislative body in the face of opposition from his Democratic House leadership, and the Republican House leadership as well.

Thus, it seems fitting that when Kucinich filed on Thursday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) his paperwork for running again for the House he did so as an independent.

Americans have become accustomed to watching presidential debates, or at least seeing excerpts of them or reports on them, as part of the process of deciding who to vote for. These debates have become a routine, expected part of the election process. But, there is no requirement for successful candidates to participate in debates. This year looks like it could be the first time in a long time in which an American president is elected who has participated in zero debates, either in the primary contest or the general election.

Last week, I wrote about how the United States Libertarian Party’s new leadership put in place by delegates at the party’s May of 2022 national convention has through the November of 2024 general election to demonstrate its success through election results. It seems that the party’s chairman has a different take.In April, Libertarian National Committee Chairman Angela McArdle posted at Twitter a tweet that remains pinned to the top of her Twitter page. Though the tweet was written months before I wrote about the party’s leadership, it looks like a response.

Reasonable people will look at Libertarian Party candidates’ election results — votes largely, but also the nature of attention obtained — through the November 2024 general election to judge if the new leadership of the national Libertarian Party has succeeded or failed. The new leadership, put in place in May of 2022 by delegates at the Libertarian Party’s national convention, so far has seemed most focused on communicating in social media, helping put on an antiwar rally in Washington, DC, and urging officeholders from other parties to vote a certain way.