Well, normally we wouldn’t. Hey, I’m nothing if not pragmatic. The reality is that the numbers in that Northern Congressional seat make it just short of impossible.
However, Steve Terrell is painting a picture that should make more than a few northern elephants stand up and take notice:
House Bill 1156, which won unanimous approval of both legislative chambers and was signed into law by Gov. Bill Richardson, makes it tougher for candidates to get on the primary ballot.
Before the new law, candidates won a place on the ballot if they received at least 20 percent of the delegate votes at their party’s preprimary convention. Those who got less than that magic figure still could get on the ballot by submitting additional petitions with signatures of registered voters to the secretary of state.
The new law got rid of the petition option. Those who get less than 20 percent are out of luck.
Only trouble is, the large number of Democratic candidates in District 3 could increase the chances no candidate reaches the 20 percent mark at the preprimary convention. And, under the law that passed, there is no provision to get anyone on the ballot with less than 20 percent.
Here’s a little nightmare for Democrats: No candidate gets enough delegates to secure a place on the ballot. The GOP runs one candidate who automatically wins a Congressional seat in a heavily Democratic district.
Gotta love technicalities.