For dreamers of a split convention.

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Boston Marathon
Will there be a race to the finish this summer at the Democratic National Convention? It could happen.

By Robert Kuttner
Web Exclusive: 1.15.04
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This could be the first year since 1960 that the Democratic nomination contest goes all the way to the convention. In that year, John Kennedy eked out a first ballot win, but the roll call of the states went all the way to the letter W -- Wyoming -- before Kennedy went over the top. You have to go back to 1952 for a convention that went more than one ballot (Adlai Stevenson won it on the third.)
Most knowledgeable observers think I'm inhaling something. The usual view is that after a few primaries, the race must narrow to the top two contenders because everyone else's money dries up. But consider these unusual factors, which have all converged this year:

Proportional Voting. The Democrats no longer use a winner-take- all-system. Thanks to party reforms, votes are allocated proportionally. So, in a nine-person field, a candidate can "win", say, South Carolina with a plurality of 30 percent of the vote -- but only get about 30 percent of that state's delegates. In the old days, the winner would have taken them all.

A Persistent Field. Several also-rans will doubtless drop out after a few primaries. But the first few primaries could well splinter, and give five or six candidates a reason to stay in through March 2 (Super- Tuesday), by which time 2046, or nearly half, the delegates will have been chosen (and splintered).
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http://www.prospect.org/webfeatures/2004/01/kuttner-r-01-15.html

[patricia92243]

1. I can't decide if that would be good for our party or not. On one hand we

would get prolonged publicity (good and bad). On the other hand, we need to get someone out there to go head to head with Bush, get money, and be the leader of our party.