Monday, February 15, 2010

Who Fills Bayh's Shoes...and How?

Given that there is no chance any Democrat can get 500 signatures in each congressional district before tomorrow to get on the primary ballot, now what?

Under my reading of Indiana Code 3-13-1-3, Senator Bayh's departure creates an "early candidate vacancy," which "shall be filled by the state committee of the political party."

Word is that right now names are coming from everywhere and include Woody Myers, Bart Peterson, Jim Schellinger, Brad Ellsworth, and Joe Hogsett (among probably tons of others). However, I cannot confirm this with multiple sources yet, so take these names with a grain of salt, though they all seem logical given the party's predicament.

Under Indiana Code 3-13-1-7, IDP Chair Dan Parker has until June 30 to convene a meeting, but don't expect him to wait that long. He'll do it as quickly as possible, though he does have to provide ten-day advance notice to state committee. Any individual interested in being considered a candidate has to file a notice with the chairman at least 72 hours before that caucus occurs.

I can find no other requirements for being a candidate, which means this should be free-wheeling and very interesting.


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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

They have to be 30 years old and a US Citizen for 9 years, but that's all the U.S. Constitution requires.

Blog Admin said...

With my state getting a mention in some of the political internet forums I hang out, this post will be a handy reference.

Thanks.