Try Alaska’s system next time up
In that odd side swiping constellation of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, and the over hanging question of who will survive — and where we knew Dan New house would make a go — and damned if he didn’t need Democrats to come out and do it for him —
The Democrat came in first place, as it turned out.
But that other Washington district. Oddly not as red, which may be the ondoing — fewer votes to scrounge up from, as they rally with the Democrat, against a right flanking competition. So today, she leads for second place by a three digit “dwindling” vote count, and everything hinges on where the outstanding ballots are. This race, if indeed Beutler wins her way to November, becomes a case study of the tight maneuvering of Machiavelli electioneering, as she wins by way of this:
Ahead of the primary, a mysterious outside group called Conservatives for a Stronger America spent $932,000 supporting St. John and $521,000 opposing Kent, prompting Kemp to claim the group wanted to help St. John split the Trump base to help Herrera Beutler. That may in fact be happening.
Had St John been getting the bulk of this vote, “Conservatives for a Stronger America” would’ve been supporting Kent and running negative ads against St John. As it is, the vote tallies:
Beutler 22.62%. Joe Kent 22.48%. Heidi St. john 15.8%
Figuring that the Kent / St John vote was not going to Beutler, and having to siphon some of Kent’s support to St John… 6 and a half percentage points off the pace —