One of the most closely-watched congressional races in America has been thrown into chaos after the death of a third-party candidate triggered a state law invalidating the November election and leaving the House seat vacant for the beginning of the next Congress.
The race between freshman Minnesota Democrat Angie Craig and Republican challenger Tyler Kistner is pivotal to GOP efforts to take back the House. Trump won the district in 2016 by three percent, but in 2018 Craig narrowly ousted Republican Congressman Jason Lewis.
Craig and Kistner have raised a combined $4.8 million for what was expected to be a winner-take-all election on November 3.
But the sudden death last week of Adam Weeks, an organic farmer and nominee of the “Legal Marijuana Now” party means votes in that race won’t be counted.
Under Minnesota law, if a nominee of a major party dies within 79 days of the election, the election is canceled and will be decided in a February 9 election. The “Legal Marijuana Now” qualifies as a major party under the law because it got more than 5% in a statewide election. Its 2018 nominee for state auditor got 5.8% of the vote.
The law, passed in 2013, was intended to head off a situation where a candidate dies after ballots are printed and his or her votes are transferred to a new party nominee voters may not have supported.
In 2002 Minnesota U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash 11 days before the election. Minnesota Democrats quickly named former Vice President Walter Mondale as the new nominee just a week before the election, but Wellstone’s name appeared on the already-printed ballots. That left many voters confused as to whether their vote would count.
Since the congressional term ends in January, the seat will be vacant until the Feb. 9 election results are certified and the winner is sworn in. That sets up a possible scenario where Craig loses her seat in January, must vacate her office, but wins in February and must rehire staff and move back in.
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Michael Brigham
Michael Brigham has written for American Action News since the summer of 2019. His areas of expertise include foreign affairs, government, and politics, but regardless of the subject matter, he has a nose and an insatiable appetite for news. In his free time, he enjoys reading nonfiction, watching a mix of comedies and true crime documentaries, and spending time away from the swamp hiking in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
why would a drug pusher vote even been counted
Because that’s the law – quite simply put. Medical marijuana is legal but recreational is not in MN. Advocating to make recreational use legal IS NOT a crime.
PS; I oppose legalizing both medical use outside of a hospital and recreational marijuana.
Where in the article did it say the deceased candidate was a drug pusher? All I read is that he was the nominee for a group who advocates the legalization of marijuana. That’s how it is supposed to be done in this country-someone who believes a law is unjust works to overturn the law.
Blue Minnesota. ‘Nuff said.
😂😂😂😂😂 dopehead is dead! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I can understand why such a law was enacted. On the other hand, use of such a law must be carefully monitored because some parties(i.e. the Demon-crats) are likely to quietly kill candidates they know are going to lose, so those candidates can be replaced with others more likely to win or can more easily be vote-frauded into office.