Lieberman as McCain’s Running Mate
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James Joyner | Saturday, April 18, 2009 |
Ben Smith quotes lawyer A.B. Culvahouse explaining legal obstacles to Joe Lieberman’s having been John McCain’s running mate.
“Five states have sore loser statutes … [making] it very difficult for someone who’s not a member of the Republican Party to become the vice presidential nominee if they only switch parties to become a Republican shortly before the convention,’ Culvahouse said in public remarks at the Republican National Lawyers Association annual meeting aired on C-SPAN.
Culvahouse specifically noted the example of West Virginia, a state Republicans have relied on in recent elections, saying “the constitutionality of that statute has already been litigated in West Virginia.”
“So you were looking at going to the Supreme Court, which is not particularly appetizing,” he said.
I can’t find the West Virginia statute with a quick Google search but none of the sore loser laws I’m aware of would apply. What they’re designed to do is prevent what Lieberman did in his most recent Senate bid and John Anderson did in 1980 and Pat Buchanan did in 1996: run in one party’s primary, lose, and then run in the general election with another party. Lieberman was not a candidate for president in the 2008 Democratic primaries.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Good call, James. IIRC the mechanics of these statutes were discussed widely in reference to Ron Paul running as a Libertarian last time. He was going to need to drop out of the Republican primary before his name appeared on the ballot in these sore loser states.
Also, do any of these sore loser laws apply to the office of Vice President? That doesn't make sense; nobody runs for Vice President. OK Bill Richardson does.
