Goodspace guy for governor?
Sam Kim, Clark County’s chief information officer, generated a buzz this week when the lifelong Republican filed to run as an “independent Democrat.”
It was unusual that he was switching parties.
But also, what is an independent Democrat?
And he wasn’t the only one.
Tim Probst, who is vying for Sen. Benton’s seat, and Kathy Gillespie, who is running for the 18th Legislative District, also filed as independent Democrats.
“For Tim, he’s always been very independent minded and bucked his party in a lot of trends and very consistent with the independent nature of the district,” said Nick Ande, Probst’s campaign manager.
A candidate, it turns out, can state any party they would like, using 16 characters.
“Party preference is entirely the candidate’s decision,” Cathie Garber, with the Clark County Election Division.
And they can also write any name, which is evident by Kathleen “Grandma Warrior” Arthur who is running for the 3rd Congressional District and Goodspaceguy, a Republican, is running for governor.
Lauren Dake
Lauren Dake covers politics for The Columbian. You can reach her at 360-735-4534 or lauren.dake@columbian.com. Follow her on Twitter .