05/23/12: Picking the GOP’s next candidate

This op-ed appeared in The Virginian-Pilot on the date shown.

IN ABOUT three weeks, Virginians will head to the polls to select the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.

The ballot will feature four candidates: Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. George Allen, generally considered to be the frontrunner; Jamie Radtke, former chairwoman of the Federation of Virginia Tea Party Patriots; Bishop E. W. Jackson, founder of Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake; and Virginia Del. Bob Marshall.

The winner will face the Democratic candidate, former Gov. Tim Kaine, who has no opposition.

Virginians, unlike residents of other states, do not register by party. Per Section 24.2-530 of the Virginia Code, “All persons qualified to vote … may vote at the primary.” Of course, nominees don’t have to be selected by primary, which is paid for by the commonwealth. An alternative is to select the nominee at a party convention.

Whether the nominating contest is a primary or a convention is decided by the ruling bodies of each party. Those who favor primaries, as I do, believe it gives the most opportunities for voters to participate. Those who favor conventions believe it is better to have party people choose the nominee, even if it means fewer people participate.

One of the concerns of those supporting conventions in our open primary state is crossover voting, whereby members of the opposing party vote, ostensibly for the weakest candidate in the field.

The research, however, doesn’t bear this out, with nearly all concluding that there is very little crossover voting — even when voters are encouraged to participate, such as earlier this year in Michigan, another open primary state. Exit polls show that, despite a plea from Rick Santorum, about 9 percent of the voters in the March GOP primary were Democrats.

Another concern is the cost of running for office. Reaching out to hundreds of thousands of voters is far more expensive than the three or four thousand who participate in a party convention.

It is no wonder, then, that Allen is considered the front-runner. He has raised more than $6 million in his quest for the nomination. Far behind him in second place is Radtke, who has raised just over $700,000. The amount of money required to run is a concern that I share, but it’s a topic for another day.

Even with primaries, though, the parties, under Virginia law, have the ability to set the requirements for participation.

Recall the kerfuffle earlier this year about the decision by the Republican Party of Virginia to require voters in the presidential primary to sign a loyalty oath in order to participate. After a public outcry, the requirement was quickly withdrawn. Virginians are an independent lot.

Party affiliation on the ballot for legislative candidates is a relatively new phenomenon. Few localities —and none in Hampton Roads — choose local candidates by party. The most recent effort, decided in 2007, to change Virginia to a closed-primary state was rebuffed by the courts. Every bill introduced in this past legislative session to add party registration to voter records was killed.

Every registered voter in Virginia has the right to participate in the June 12 primary. It’s how we do things here. Whether you participate is up to you.