KY: Independents Can Make Decisions that No Party Candidate Could Make, Says Galbraith in Gov Debate

From Cincinnati.com:

Two of the three gubernatorial candidates debated in Covington Thursday afternoon, Republican State Senate President David Williams and independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith . . . 

Galbraith blamed partisan politics for Kentucky’s woes and said as an independent, he will work with both sides of the aisle. “I foresee that after my stint as governor, I’m going to be one of the most disliked people in the state because I’m going to have to make decisions that neither party candidate can possibly make, because they’ve got to answer to the party,” Galbraith said. “I don’t answer to anybody except God and an occasional judge or two.” . . .

MS: Independents Seek Gubernatorial Seat

From the Jackson Free Press:

Hoping to attract voters who are undecided in voting for Democrats or Republicans, Independent candidates Will Oatis and Bobby Kearan are looking for a piece of political action. Will Oatis, Independent

Independent candidate Will Oatis, 37, was born in raised in Silver Creek. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Southern Mississippi. He spent 20 years in the U.S. armed forces including three combat tours in Afghanistan over the span of eight years. Oatis has more than 20 military awards, including a Bronze Star, a Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal and the Global War on Terror Service Medal.  . . . .

Reform candidate Bobby Kearan moved to Mississippi at the age of 10. He grew up in Winston County and attended Louisville High School. He is a “computer guy” who lives in Rankin County and works for a Mississippi-based financial institution. He manages its software security updates.

His campaign motto is “One of the People, for the People” and he approaches his candidacy from the perspective of a working man.

Kearan, 39, supports cuts that would leave a smaller, more efficient government, and state payroll reductions more aligned with the state’s median income.

IN: Libertarian Strategy and Social Liberalism

From the Courier Press:

Though the Indiana Libertarian Party has not landed a candidate for the 2012 governor's campaign, it has identified an opening to influence the race. On social issues, the major parties' leading candidates Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Pence and Democratic former Indiana House Speaker John Gregg take conservative stances. So the Libertarian candidate could be the only one who offers a significantly different position on issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

KY: Independent Gov Candidate Says the Parties are the Problem

From the Murray Ledger and Times:

Although Gatewood Galbraith has often been called a perennial gubernatorial candidate in the past, he says he has a good shot at winning this year as an independent. . . . “I’m an independent candidate for governor,” Galbraith said during a stop at the Murray Ledger & Times office Tuesday. “My running mate and I have no party affiliation whatsoever. We don’t want one. The problem with Kentucky and the reason we’re dysfunctional as a state government in Kentucky is because both parties have their horns locked up like two bull elk fighting over territory while the business of the people lays dead in the dust." . . .

KY: Independent Candidate Collects 5,000 Signatures in Gubernatorial Bid

From the Murray Ledger and Times:

In a move that has helped to organize supporters, independent gubernatorial candidate Gatewood Galbraith said late last week he now has the 5,000 signatures needed to get his name put on the general election ballot in Kentucky.

Galbraith, a Lexington attorney, said he intends to collect another 5,000 signatures before turning them over to the secretary of state's office to officially enter the race against Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and Republican nominee David Williams, just in case the opposing campaigns challenge the eligibility of some of the people who signed.

KY: Independent Files to Run for Governor in 2011, "the Parties are the Problem"

From the Richmond Register:

Gatewood Galbraith, a frequent statewide candidate known for his support for decriminalizing marijuana, filed candidacy papers Wednesday with the Secretary of State to run for governor as an independent.

Galbraith said voters are tired of partisan politics and ready for an independent candidate.

“The parties are the problem,” said Galbraith, a Lexington criminal defense attorney. “We’re living in a dysfunctional state. We need an independent governor who does not care who gets the credit.”

MA: Cahill Regrets Running with Republican, Faults RGA for GOP Loss in Gov Race

From NECN:

The Independent candidate for Massachusetts governor, Tim Cahill, says it wasn't his fault Republican Charlie Baker lost to Deval Patrick.  Cahill told the Boston Herald the Republican party is to blame for its own candidate's defeat. He says the Republican Governors Association strategy backfired. Cahill says he personally is to blame for his own loss and it was a "mistake" to partner with Paul Loscocco.

The Republican in this race had previously blamed Cahill for being a "spoiler" and causing his loss to the Democrat. 

FL: Darcy Richardson Fires Last Salvo in Race for Gov, "Alex Sink Doesn't Get It"

From Uncovered Politics:

Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink has spent much of the autumn campaign trying to distance herself from President Obama. She did so at her own peril, says Darcy G. Richardson, economist Farid Khavari’s running mate for lieutenant governor.

“The fact of the matter is that there never was a real Democrat in this race,” said Richardson while campaigning in Jacksonville on Friday. “From the beginning, Alex Sink has tried to portray herself as a moderate Democrat when, in fact, she supports much of the national Republican agenda.”

Richardson, 54, pointed to Sink’s support for extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, those earning $250,000 or more — a position that puts her at odds with the Obama Administration while exposing her deeply-held Republican ideology.

Contrary to Sink’s misguided and pernicious logic, if the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire for the nation’s wealthiest citizens, the vast majority of small businesses will be entirely unaffected, said Richardson, adding that, according to the IRS, less than 3 percent of tax returns reporting small-business income are filed by taxpayers in the top two income brackets — individuals earning $170,000 or families making $210,000 per year.

Eliminating the tax cuts will in no way prevent small businesses from creating the jobs that might lift our sagging economy, said Richardson. “Like Grover Norquist and other conservatives who shamelessly look out for the interests of the rich and well-connected, Alex Sink is propagating a myth.
“The vast majority of small businesses in Florida won‘t pay a penny more in federal taxes if the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy are eliminated,” said the independent candidate for lieutenant governor. “What they really need is credit and a state-owned bank willing and able to provide it.

“Alex Sink doesn’t get it,” he continued. “As Florida’s chief financial officer and a candidate for governor, one would think that she would have a better understanding of tax policy.”

Read the whole thing.  

Rhode Island Elects State's First Independent Governor, Lincoln Chafee

From the Providence Journal:

Four years after losing his seat in the U.S. Senate, Lincoln D. Chafee has won his bid to become Rhode Island’s first independent governor, taking the office his father, the late John H. Chafee, held in the 1960s. He squeaked out a victory over Republican John F. Robitaille — after spending more than $1.6 million of his family’s personal fortune — in an election-night nail-biter in which Robitaille came within less than 100 votes of beating him as the votes were still rolling in. With an unknown number of provisional ballots yet to be counted, Chafee led Robitaille 36 percent to 34 percent, with fewer than 8,000 votes between them.

ME-Gov: Cutler Concedes in Close Race for Governor

From the Portland Press Herald, Eliot Cutler's Statement on Concession:

At noon today I will announce at a press conference here in Portland that I have spoken with Mayor Paul LePage and congratulated him on his victory. The results that are available to us this morning are unofficial and informal, but I believe that it is unlikely that there will be a material change in the outcome.

Although we all will await the official tabulations by the Secretary of State, I do not want to make it more difficult for Paul to assemble the team he needs to govern the State of Maine and to prepare a budget for the next biennium. In all likelihood, he will be the next governor for all the people of the State of Maine, and all of us who love the State of Maine should give him our support as he sets out on a difficult journey.

I am unendingly grateful to you for your investment in the effort we have made and your support for our vision for Maine.

I am proud of the fact that we came from literally zero to just a few thousand votes short of winning in a mere 16 months. And I am prouder still that we stuck a dagger in the heart of negative campaigning in the State of Maine, that we never ran a single negative attack ad nor made a single personal attack, that we withstood an onslaught of lies, slander and deception directed against us and that we emerge from this race with our heads held high and our integrity intact. You should be proud of your participation in this campaign, and I hope that you are, as I am. I am indebted to you and grateful to you.

NY-Gov: Green Calls for Stock Transfer Tax as Part of Green New Deal

From a letter to Press Connects:

Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins said that, as a part of his "Green New Deal," he wants to impose a sales tax on stock transfers. The tax would amount only to one-twentieth of 1 percent on each transfer and bring in an estimated $16 billion. New York state sales tax is currently 4 percent, and most counties have 4 percent sales taxes. So that would be asking the Wall Street brokers to pay their fair share in sales tax.

I have heard the argument that investors will take their money elsewhere. Those that may leave would no longer be Wall Street investors and hence should not command the benefits that go along with working in New York. Their shoes would be eagerly filled.
In any case, refunding the stock transfer tax has been a long-standing example of economic terrorism and we should stop turning a blind eye to it. Support the Green Party and progressive taxation.

Patricia Valek
Vestal

RI-Gov: Independent Chafee Touts Ties to Obama

From Talking Points Memo:

Finally, we have a candidate this election cycle who will proudly feature his ties to President Obama in one of his ads -- and he's not actually a Democrat! Lincoln Chafee, the former Republican Senator and now independent candidate for governor of Rhode Island, has a new ad that uses old footage of President Obama vigorously praising him. And of course, this ad follows a dust-up over Obama's noted lack of support for the Democratic nominee in the race, state Treasurer Frank Caprio.

ME-Gov: Independent Eliot Cutler Receives Avalanche of Endorsements

This one from the Sun Journal:

We need a practiced executive in the Blaine House, a person who has the skills and experience to be an administrator of progress. A person determined to improve our schools, reduce our taxes, fix our roads and vastly shrink government spending. Cutler is that person.

Poli-Tea: The Case for Strategic Third Party Voting in the New York Gubernatorial Race

From Poli-Tea:

In every election, among those who cast their ballots for the candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties, there are no doubt a large percentage who do so against their better judgment and even against their own will.  These voters go by many names . . . defensive voters . . . lesser-of-two-evils voters . . . strategic voters . . .

In New York's gubernatorial race, a strong case can also be made for what we might call strategic third party voting.  There are likely very few people who have any doubt what the outcome of this contest will be . . . As we approach election day, Democrats have little to worry about and Republicans little to hope for . . .

If the Green and Libertarian party gubernatorial candidates receive more than 50,000 votes, the Green and Libertarian parties are assured ballot access on all New York ballots for the next four years . . . According to the certified ballot of the New York State Board of Elections, this year there are upwards of forty different races in which a Democrat or Republican is running for office unopposed! . . . Unlike the Working Families Party or the Conservative Party, the Green and Libertarian parties are highly likely to run their own candidates for office rather than simply rubber stamp those offered up by the Democrats and Republicans. 

A vote for the Green or Libertarian candidate for governor of New York is a vote in support of political choice and competition . . .

Read the whole thing.

NY-Gov: Libertarian Warren Redlich talks with The Local East Village

From the Local East Village:

Warren Redlich is a Libertarian who hates the war on drugs, supports gay marriage, thinks college loans harm more than help students, and wants to cap bureaucrat pay and pensions. Mr. Redlich, 44, is the Libertarian party candidate for governor . . . Mr. Redlich spoke with The Local East Village on Wednesday about why voters should choose him, what they should know about him, and his love of East Village Korean food.

IL: Libertarian is "only true conservative" in gubernatorial race

From the Chicago Tribune:

Two years ago, Labno lost his job in construction around the same time lawmakers were approving a bailout for banks. The outrage Labno felt started him down the path to becoming the Libertarian Party's candidate for U.S. Senate.

Labno bills himself as the only true conservative in the race and frequently casts digs at Republican nominee Mark Kirk, so much so that Democrat Alexi Giannoulias has actively boosted Labno's candidacy.

CO: Rocky Mountain Collegian Profiles Third Party Candidates for Governor

From the Rocky Mountain Collegian:

When heading to the ballot boxes to cast a decision for the next governor, Colorado voters will see six options –– a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, an American Constitution Party member and two unaffiliated picks.  With eight days until polls close, third-party candidates laid out for the Collegian where they stand on issues they believe are important to students . . .

TX-Gov: Third Party Candidates Capturing 10% Support

From the Texas Tribune:

Eight days out from Election Day, Perry's [R] share of the vote sits at 50 percent, a number that — until recently — has consistently eluded the governor in polls conducted since the spring. Democrat Bill White is 10 points behind at 40 percent, while third-party candidates are capturing 10 percent of the vote, with Libertarian Kathie Glass at 8 percent and Green Party candidate Deb Shafto at 2 percent.

CO-Gov: Republican Makes Case for Voting Third Party, Supporting Tancredo

From the Estes Park Trail Gazette:

I really need to apologize to Tom Tancredo. When Tancredo decided not to run last year, I was critical of the platform he wrote for Scott McInnis as a condition of support. In July, when Tancredo gave the two Republican candidates an ultimatum to withdraw from the race, I labeled Tancredo the spoiler. The pragmatic side of me will not support a spoiler. I deemed it impossible for Tom Tancredo to win as a third party candidate.

I wrote in July that the worst strategy for conservatives was "to choose the lesser of two evils now, and then refuse to support the winner in November." I later called Tancredo`s ultimatum to Maes and McInnis as "improbable as a science fiction film." I recognized that Dan Maes had problems as a candidate, but I believed party supporters would rally behind his campaign and Maes would finish second (with no hope of winning). I felt so strongly about it that I wrote to Tancredo urging him to withdraw the ultimatum, telling him there was no circumstance in which I could support his candidacy.

Boy, was I wrong; mea maxima culpa. Dan Maes is now polling at 12 percent. Tancredo is polling at 38 percent, just four percent behind Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. In other words, 50 percent of voters support someone other than "Recreate 68" benefactor Hickenlooper as our next governor. 

In fact, Tancredo is now polling within one percentage point of the Democrat Hickenlooper and Dan Maes is supported by fewer than one in ten voters.  If they have any sense, the people of Colorado will bury the Republican party this November and set an example for voters nationwide.  The two-party state can be defeated.  

NY: Hawkins Participates in One-On-One Debate with Gubernatorial Write-In Candidate

From the Democrat and Chronicle:

And then there were two. A debate that aimed to give all candidates for governor a place to air their views in front of a Rochester-area audience at Henrietta Town Hall had just two participants on Friday, and one is waging a write-in campaign. . . . That left Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins with ample opportunity to talk about his support for a growth in government-sponsored jobs, a progressive tax structure and single-payer health care and his opposition to drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region, as he was the only candidate who will appear on the ballot who showed up.