General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: It’s Over: Kim Davis Allows Deputies To Continue Issuing Marriage Licenses [View all]Jack Rabbit
(45,984 posts)In California, the state Democratic Party has a rule that obligates the subordinate Democratic Party organizations to support any and all Democratic Party candidates in local elections. However, in 1980 Tom Metzger, the Grand Dragon in the California statewide organization of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, somehow managed to win the Democratic primary making him the party's nominee for a seat in Congress in San Diego County. As a practical matter, no Democrat was going to win the general election for that seat in a CD that was about 4 to 1 GOP; Clare Bergener, a conservative Republican, had represented the district for decades and had a good reputation even with constituents who didn't see eye-to-eye with him on most issues. The local Democratic party committee still wanted to know from the state organization what they supposed to do about the situation. Did they really have to support the Grand Dragon for a seat in Congress? The state party made an exception to the rule for this situation. Bergener, with about 87% of the total votes casts, easily won re-election over Metzger, who would go on to become a founder of the White Aryan Resistance.