This was a remarkable victory for Rush Democrats. The county Independence Party leaders, as usual, endorsed the Republican candidates, but we initiated a ballot petition campaign among voters registered with the Independence Party and secured enough signatures to secure a primary. Unfortunately, that meant the names of our candidates would still fail to be printed on the primary ballot. We had to get Independence Party to write in our candidates’ names on the ballots (In small boxes, no less!
Well, our candidates made an extraordinary effort to reach out directly to these voters, going to door to door and talking to as many as they could, often more than once. Our candidates not only had to win votes based on their own individual merit, they had to ensure that these voters were well-instructed in the ballot write-in procedures.
Well, the merit of our candidates won the day: Gerry Kusse, Amber Corbin, and Chaz Rorick will appear on the Independence Party ballot line in the November election, an unprecedented achievement and electoral advantage!
It is, unfortunately, true that Kathy Hankins did not achieve a spot on this ballot line, but she was only shy by four votes.