Woo Hoo! We'll be Voting on Who Will Replace Wu

Portland Mercury:

Esteemed Governor John Kitzhaber just sent out an announcement saying he will declare a special election to replace Congressman David Wu, with time for a primary. All spelled out earlier today, the governor is responsible for setting the deadline for an election to replace a congressional representative who leaves their seat early. But if he called for an election within 80 days of the resignation, the candidates would be chosen by a party convention rather than an open primary. This means, we'll have a district-wide vote to choose the candidates, then a special election to choose the winner. Does this affect who will win? Probably not, in my cynical opinion. But it is does mean a more direct democracy and that candidates will have to actually campaign with voters, rather than just shaking hands around the party table. [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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