Do Independent voters vote for Independent candidates? About 29% of the registered voters in Pima County are now declaring No Party/Independent/Other affiliation (see Pima County Recorder’s Office website by clicking here.)

For the first time (as far as I know) there were more Independent candidates in a legislative race (LD 28 Senate) than candidates from the major parties. There was one Democrat (the incumbent), one Republican, and two Independents running in that legislative race.

But it seems that Independent candidates don’t receive a lot of votes.

November 2006 General Election: Jay Quick ran as an Independent in CD 8 House, and got 1.68% of the vote (3523 votes). This past August, 2010 he ran again for CD 8 House as a Republican in the primary, and received 2.29% of the vote (1648 votes), slightly more percentage wise.

November 2008 General Election: Ralph Nader ran for U. S. President as “Nonpartisan” and got only 0.51 % of the vote in Pima County (1995 votes). He formerly ran for President as a Green Party candidate.

November 2010 General Election: Harley Meyer just ran in CD 7 House as an Independent, and got 2.83% of the vote (4506 votes).

In LD 27 Gene Chewning just ran for State House as an Independent & got 6.46% of the vote (4,114 votes). He ran before for the same seat as a Republican in November 2006, and got 19.54% of the vote (11,327 votes)– which shows that major party affiliation does help.

And in LD 28 Senate, Ted Downing (formerly a Democratic legislator) got 6.25% of the vote (3,085 votes) running as “Nonpartisan and Independent”, while Dave Ewoldt as an Independent (formerly with the Green party) got 2.86% of the vote (1,414 votes). Final tallies are not complete for these two races either.

Downing ran for this same seat in the September, 2006 Primary as a Democrat and got 45.71% of the vote (7746 votes). He only got 3085 votes this time in the 2010 General Election, so leaving the Democratic party seems to have lessened his chances of vote-getting.

Running as an Independent frees the candidate from a Primary Election challenge, but they don’t have a political party “machine”/resources to help them get out the vote, nor a political party platform to assist the voters in deciding what these candidates stand for. Being “independent” minded may not be enough for today’s discerning voter.

And I suspect that voters who choose “Other/No Party/Independent/Non partisan” status do so as they want to avoid party labels (or are unhappy with their former party), the closed Primaries, and want the freedom to pick & choose between all the Political Party candidates (Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Independent, etc.) in the General Election.

Time will tell if any independent/non partisan candidate will win a seat in Southern Arizona in the future.

UPDATE: Only Independent politicians in Southern AZ have been Ward 2 Councilmember Carol West (who changed from a Democrat), and District 3 Pima County Supervisor Ed Moore (who changed from a Republican).

November 2nd Election Day/night parties hosted by the official (and unofficial) political parties in Southern Arizona:

4 p.m. Tucson Tea Party, Doubletree Hotel, 445 S. Alvernon Way (south of Broadway)

7 p.m. Pima County Republican Party, Doubletree Hotel, 445 W. Alvernon Way

7 p.m. Pima County Democratic Party, Tucson Marriott University Park Hotel, 880 E. 2nd Street (east of Euclid Avenue)

For a recent survey report on the Arizona Tea Party, click here.

And what about parties by the Green Party of Pima County and Pima County Libertarian Party? Does anyone know?

And where will the “Independent” candidates like Harley Meyer (CD 7 U.S. House), Gene Chewning (LD 27 House), Ted Downing (LD 28 Senate),and Dave Ewoldt (LD 28 Senate) go to party? I guess if they win, they will be throwing their own parties. Ewoldt does have a campaign headquarters at 2602 E. Grant Rd.

UPDATE: Ewoldt is having a free bbq/potluck BYOB party at his headquarters tonight starting at 5 p.m. See comments below.

(By the way, the only Independent politician in Southern Arizona — as far as I know — was Ward 2 Councilwoman Carol West, who was elected as a Democrat but changed to Independent before her term was up.)

Hope you find something to celebrate about on General Election Night.

“Tucson Progressive” (Pamela Powers) reported on this health forum for state legislative candidates tomorrow night at the Mel & Enid Zuckerman School of Public Health (click here), but I’m posting an update of more candidates expected to speak.

From the University of Arizona’s Mel & Enid Zuckerman School of Public Health website:

The health and wellness of Arizonans is a hot topic of debate this election season. Get to know the candidates and where they stand on health issues next Wednesday, Oct. 20th at the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Graduate students from the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health will host the open forum titled, “Voting on Health: A Southern Arizona Candidate Forum.”

This is an opportunity for voters to hear what the legislative candidates have to say about their role in promoting the wellbeing of Southern Arizonans, and their plans to address key issues that affect the health of individuals living in this region. The forum in open to the public.

Participating Arizona legislative candidates running for state offices in the November 2nd election:

Paula Aboud (D) for State Senate, District 28
Dr. Ted Downing (N/I) for State Senate, District 28
Dave Ewoldt (I) for State Senate, District 28
Steve Farley (D) House seat, District 28
Pat Fleming (D) House seat, District 25
Sally Gonzales (D) House seat, District 27
Peggy Judd (R) House seat, District 25
Pat Kilburn (R) House seat, District 29
Bruce Wheeler (D) House seat, District 28

Drachman Hall, 1295 N. Martin Avenue, Room B109, Tucson, AZ. Parking is free in the Drachman Hall East lot after 5 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010 | 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Refreshments will be served from 6:30-7 p.m.)

That’s the information on the website, but the latest update is that these candidates are also attending:

Gene Chewning (I), House seat, District 27
Dr.Todd Camenisch (D), Senate seat, District 30
Robert Compton (R), House seat, District 27
Ruben Ortega (D), House seat, District 25 (maybe)
Daniel Patterson (D), House seat, District 29
Dr. Macario Saldate (D), House seat, District 27
Ken Smalley (R), House seat, District 28
Kent Solberg (G), House seat, District 27

That’s a lot of candidates (15 or 16) to listen to in 2 hours, from the Democratic, Republican, and Green Parties, and three Independents.

This will hopefully be a neutral, non-partisan forum to learn about candidates’ views on health issues in the state legislature, prior to the 11/2/10 General Election. I corrected the notice on their website to reflect that Dr. Downing is no longer running as a Democrat, but now Non-partisan/Independent. I wrote about that change back in March (click here).

For more information, please call Renee Fullerton at 520.626.8036, rfullert@email.arizona.edu.