Big Independent Party Winner? "None of the Above"

Capitol Currents:

The clearest winner in the just-concluded Independent Party primary?  "None of the above."  Of the 60 races on the Independent Party ballot statewide, the most votes were cast for "none of the above" in 15 of them. In another race, "none of the above" came in tied for first. So, the winners in a full one-quarter of the races were basically a disembodied concept that we can only assume means something to the effect of "a pox on both your houses," or maybe "throw the bums out."

Perhaps the most notable candidate to lose to "none of the above?" Representative Phil Barnhart, the powerful Democratic chair of the House Revenue Committee. Incumbent state representatives who also lost to "none of the above" were Deborah Boone, Chris Harker, and Jefferson Smith (in a squeaker..."none of the above" defeated Rep. Smith 8 to 7). In most cases, "none of the above" defeated candidates who appeared on the Independent Party ballot by themselves. However, "none of the above" pulled out a victory in the 44th House district, defeating Kitty Harmon and Laura Bell 9 to 7 to 6. In the 3rd Congressional District, "none of the above" dominated Jeffrey Lawrence and Michael Meo, though that could be a true measure of support for a candidate who didn't appear on the ballot: Third District incumbent Earl Blumenauer.

It's worth noting that voting for "none of the above" was not the same as voting for a write-in candidate. The Independent Party provided a separate box to check for that option. I suppose if the premise of the Independent Party is that voters want to identify themselves as an independent voice, then it makes sense that so many people would deliberately choose to vote for no candidate at all. But with such a small turnout (four percent), it's hard to draw any real conclusions about any of these results.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width="1" height="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3320471128493510714-2993696326078993643?l=www.capitolcurrents.com" alt=""/></div>

Read the full article here. Discuss below.