Thread: California Primary May Depend On Independents

The North County Times newspaper covers a few counties, one being San Diego. I cannot believe the bleeding liberal U.S. citizens. You can recognize the reconquistas with the name calling and no intelligent arguments, I do not even respond to them. They need to hear some truth out there in la la land.

I wonder how many independents and democrats know that they cannot vote for a republican. You can leave comments without registration.

Primary may depend on independent voters
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01 ... _14_08.txt

By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer
Tight race among Democrats may be decided in state by those who 'Decline to State'
With the presidential nominations still up for grabs, California's independent voters could be a decisive force in the Feb. 5 primary election.

But only one of the state's major political parties -- the Democrats -- has opened its primary to independent voters.
State Democratic officials say giving independent voters a say in picking their nominee could help bolster the party's ranks. Republicans say these unaligned voters would interfere with the GOP's internal politics.
California's nearly 3 million independents are an attractive voting block for presidential candidates, especially with polls showing close races in both primaries. Analysts differ on which candidate stands to gain the most from the state parties' stances toward independent voters, but did agree on their importance.

"Clearly, as we've seen in Iowa and New Hampshire, independents are having a profound impact in the primary process," said Jim Mangia, co-chairman of IndependentPrimary.com, an organization that supports open primaries.

A growing block

The number of California's independent voters has been growing steadily since the early 1990s, while Democrats and Republicans have seen their share of registered voters drop, according to statistics kept by the Secretary of State.

One in five voters in the state, and in San Diego County, are registered without party affiliation, or "decline to state," as independents are categorized by state election officials.

The state's percentage of registered independent voters grew from about 9.5 percent in 1992 to 19.3 percent in December. Over that same span, San Diego County's percentage of independents grew from 13.2 percent to 21.9 percent, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

Meanwhile, the share of Republicans and Democrats declined statewide from 45.4 percent in 1992 to 42 percent last month for Democrats, and from 37.4 percent to 33 percent for Republicans in the same time period, according to the secretary of state.

Close races

Heading into the delegate-rich California primary, the two Democratic front-runners each have scored significant victories in state contests: Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in Iowa and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire.

The Republican race also is wide open, with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee winning Iowa's caucuses and Arizona Sen. John McCain taking New Hampshire's primary.

Still, many analysts expect the races to be competitive come the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries, in which Californians will join voters in 22 other states at the polls.

A Field Poll survey of likely California voters taken last month showed Clinton ahead of Obama, 36 percent to 22 percent, among likely Democratic voters, a narrower gap than a previous poll.

National surveys suggest a tighter race. For example, an ABC/Washington Post poll taken Jan. 9-10 reported Clinton with a slight lead, 42 percent to 37 percent for Obama.

That close contest means California's independents could be a deciding factor, analysts said, and the state's Democrats hope they join the party permanently.

"We believe that if they vote with us in the primary, they will vote with us in November," said Bob Mulholland, a spokesman for the California Democratic Party.

Closing the door?

Leaders of the state Republican Party made the decision not to allow independents in their presidential primaries in 1999, a GOP spokesman said, though party officials considered opening the primary late last year.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign opposed opening the ballot to independents "because it was too late to change the rules," said Rob Stutzman, Romney's senior advisor in California. He added that opening the elections to independents would require trying to reach a wider audience of potential voters.

"You have to change your strategy and enlarge your budget. It does make campaigns more expensive," Stutzman said.

GOP party officials said there were other reasons for keeping the primary closed.

Delegates selected in the Republican primary elections not only attend the party's national convention to choose a presidential nominee, but they also make other important decisions on party bylaws and the party's platform, said Kevin Roberts, the state GOP spokesman.

"I think where the delegates fall on the ideological spectrum would be influenced by whether independents are included or not," Roberts said. "A Mitt Romney supporter is not going to be a John McCain supporter."

His counterpart with the state Democrats, Mulholland, called the Republicans' decision to exclude independents "foolish," in light of the state's growing ranks of independent voters.

But the GOP's Roberts scoffed at the Democrats' idea that allowing independents to vote in the primary would entice them to register as party members.

While the number of independents makes for a tantalizing voting block, political observers disagree about which way they will vote in California.

Before Iowa's Democratic caucuses, an entrance poll conducted for The Associated Press reported that most of those who identified themselves as independent heavily favored Obama over Clinton, 41 percent to 17 percent.

Mangia said the example in Iowa signals that they would do the same in California.

"Independents are voting for change," Mangia said. "That's why they've gone for Barack Obama."

I'm one of those Independants and I for one will be writing in Duncan Hunter on my ballot.

Originally Posted by NoMoreIllegals

I'm one of those Independants and I for one will be writing in Duncan Hunter on my ballot.

Did you know that your vote won't count?

It's just a SHAME that we are TRAPPED into voting for the PARTY, and NOT the BEST candidate!