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Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Two-party bias irks long shots in govs' races
By Alison L. McConnell
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Sixteen third-party and independent candidates are on the Nov. 2 ballot in 10 of the 11 states electing governors this year, and they face a frustrating Catch-22.
Without debate appearances, they cannot get media attention to help build a support base of voters. Without a support base of voters, most cannot gain entry into debates.
Only in Delaware and Indiana have all the candidates for governor been included in each major debate. In four states Montana, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia hopefuls other than Democrats and Republicans have been allowed limited participation. In other states Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota and Washington debate organizers have excluded everyone but the two main political party nominees.
Exclusion from debates means less visibility for candidates who already lack the financial support and publicity furnished by a major-party apparatus. "You've got to work twice as hard," said Frank Infante, a bar owner and freelance Statehouse lobbyist who is one of three choices on Delaware's ballot for governor. "If you're going to run, you've got to run."
Infante, who is listed on the ballot as a candidate of both the Libertarian Party and the Independent Party of Delaware, attributed his inclusion in this year's debates to a track record of vocal involvement in state issues.
"Everyone knows him," said Michael Dore, Infante's running mate. "He's been lobbying for years. That's the difference between him and another independent candidate."
Libertarian Kenn Gividen, a business executive and author, took part in all three televised debates in Indiana with incumbent Gov. Joe Kernan (D) and Mitch Daniels (R), but not without a battle.
"The press gave us a lot of attention," Gividen said. "People were tuning in to see what the guy who almost got kicked out would say."
Vermont's four alternative candidates Progressive Peter Diamondstone, Marijuana Party hopeful Cris Ericson, independent candidate Patricia Hejny, and Libertarian Hardy Machia have sparred once on television but without Gov. Jim Douglas (R) and Peter Clavelle (D), whose separate two-man debate was shown later.
Afterward, Ericson claimed that Channel 17 moderator Rob Rieber told the four candidates that they were excluded from the Douglas-Clavelle debate because they "aren't real politicians." Rieber said he never told them that, adding that he believes it is important to include minor candidates because they contribute to the free exchange of ideas. He cited scheduling problems as the reason for the two separate debates.
Some excluded candidates are fighting back. A day after watching a televised debate between North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley (D) and challenger Patrick Ballantine (R) from her seat in the audience, Libertarian candidate Barbara Howe filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against the TV station that barred her.
The complaint called WRAL-TV5's inclusion criteria "seriousness of purpose" and "significance of support" too subjective and said they violate the FCC's equal opportunity requirements. The case likely will be settled after the election.
Likewise, in West Virginia, Mountain Party candidate and former actor Jesse Johnson is seeking civil damages from the state Broadcasters' Association for alleged violations of state election laws. His repeated requests to be included in a debate held on public property were refused.
Howe, Ericson and others said they have been barred from debates because organizers considered their voter support insufficient. Washington state Libertarian Ruth Bennett said network affiliates in Seattle called her poll numbers too insignificant to warrant her inclusion. "I asked them, 'How do you know what my support is when I haven't been included in any of the polls?'" she said.
In Montana, being excluded from debates has even united two opponents in the same race. Bob Kelleher of the Green Party and Stanley R. Jones of the Libertarian Party filed a joint lawsuit after they were kept out of debates at state universities.
Jones, a business consultant and second-time candidate for Montana governor, said the tightness of a race can determine whether the Republican and Democratic candidates welcome company at debates. Non-mainstream candidates are more likely to appear if a major-party candidate insists on their inclusion, he said. If the Republican and Democrat are neck-in-neck, they may not want to risk an extra antagonist.
Bill Grover, political science professor at St. Michael's College in Vermont, said Republicans and Democrats often block other candidates from debates to keep their messages lucid. "They gain clarity in having just two perspectives," he said. "It's less confusing."
He added that clarity comes at a price in two-person debates. "I think they put people to sleep. Third-party candidates can really expand the parameters of the debate," he said. "There's the possibility of having a broader discussion."
Libertarian Hardy Machia claimed that the absence of alternative candidates in Vermont's Douglas-Clavelle matchup changed the tone of the debate. "If the Republican says he doesn't want new taxes, I can't get up there and say, You want to increase the sales tax and [you] raised spending by $850 million in Vermont,'" he said. "The Democrat isn't going to call the Republican on this."
Getting elected is not impossible. Eight independent or third-party candidates have held the office of governor since 1930; four have been elected in the last 15 years - Walter J. Hickel (Alaska, independent), Lowell P. Weicker Jr. (Connecticut, independent), Angus S. King Jr. (Maine, independent), and Jesse Ventura (Minnesota, Reform Party).
Most recent was Ventura, a former wrestler and radio talk-show host. Some experts attribute his 1998 victory to his performance in two televised face-offs with major-party challengers Hubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III (D) and Norm Coleman (R) that raised his poll numbers, name recognition, and favorability ratings.
Ventura used a common third-party tactic: he pointed out similarities between the Democratic and Republican front-runners and positioned himself as a distinctive choice outside the political middle ground.
Third-party and independent candidate platforms often focus on issues that major-party challengers either agree upon or avoid. Montana's Kelleher said the Republicans and Democrats "don't want to talk about" hunger in his state, and West Virginia's Johnson is the only pro-choice and anti-death penalty option in his race.
Bennett, a lesbian, said that she has spent a lot of time talking to Washington state voters about same-sex marriage and that she believes many share her views. "The problem is that I talk to people one-on-one, not 25,000 at a time," she said. "That's small potatoes. Until you can get on network TV, you're just an also-ran."
For a complete list of gubernatorial candidates, see Stateline.org's 2004 Governor's Races.
Send your comments on this story to letters@stateline.org. Selected reader feedback will be posted in our Letters to the editor section.
Contact Alison McConnell at amcconnell@stateline.org.
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