It appears more states elected independents to state legislatures this year than in at least sixty years. Independents were elected to state legislators in 2010 in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Vermont. We are still waiting to see if one was elected in Colorado. Louisiana and Virginia also have independent state legislators, but those two states didn’t have legislative elections this year.
Alabama
Voters elected Harri Anne Smith to the State Senate as an independent candidate. She defeated her only opponent, a Republican, by a margin of 55.2%-44.8%. She was the incumbent in the 29th district. The Republican Party had refused to let her file in this year’s Republican primary, because she had endorsed a Democrat for Congress in 2008. So, she ran as an independent, and became the first independent elected to the Alabama legislature since 1983.
Georgia
Rusty Kidd, the only independent state legislator, was re-elected. He faced one opponent, a Democrat. Kidd won 57.3%-42.7%. Kidd was the only independent who was able to qualify for either house of the Georgia legislature by petition this year.
Kentucky
Voters of State Senate district 2, centered on Paducah, re-elected independent State Senator Bob Leeper. Leeper was first elected to the State Senate in 1990 as a Democrat, and re-elected as as Democrat in 1994 and 1998. However, then he became a Republican and won as a Republican in 2002. Then, he became an independent and was re-elected as an independent in 2006, and now he has again won re-election as an independent.
North Carolina
Bert Jones was elected to the State House of Representatives. He defeated an incumbent in a two-person race by a margin of 56.1% – 43.9%. Jones is a dentist who was formerly a Republican, but who left the party because he did not believe the Republican Party is sincerely interested in reducing the size of government. He was elected in the 65th district.
Rhode Island
The voters of 17th State Senate district re-elected independent Senator Edward J. O’Neill to the State Senate. He defeated his only opponent, Democrat Linda Noble, by 54.5%-45.5. O'Neill had also been elected as an independent in 2008. When he was elected in 2008, he had been the first independent elected to the Rhode Island State Senate since 1964.
South Dakota
Voters in the 15th state legislative district elected Jenna Haggar to the House. She is a registered independent, and is only 24 years old. She defeated an incumbent Democratic state representative. Haggar is the first independent elected to the South Dakota house since 1994, although South Dakota voters had elected an independent to the State Senate in 2008. However, the State Senate independent elected in 2008, Tom Dempster, was actually a registered Republican who had accidentally failed to qualify for his party’s primary ballot, so he had then petitioned as an independent.
Tennessee
Voters of the 4th state house district re-elected Kent Williams as an independent candidate. He is the first person to win an election to the Tennessee legislature as an independent since 1982. He had been re-elected as a Republican in 2008. But in early 2009, when the state house was virtually tied, all the Democrats in the House had voted for Williams to be Speaker. With the votes of all the Democrats, and his own vote, Williams was elected Speaker, but then he was expelled from the Republican Party, so in 2010 he ran for re-election as an independent.
Wisconsin
Voters in the 25th Assembly district elected Bob Ziegelbauer to the legislature as an independent in a 3-way race. Ziegelbauer polled approximately 50%; the Democratic nominee polled approximately 35%; and the Republican nominee polled approximately 15%. Ziegelbauer had been in the legislature as a Democrat since 1992. He became an independent because he opposes any tax increase in 2011. Ziegelbauer also serves as the elected County Executive of Manitowoc County.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
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