“We will, tomorrow at 9 a.m. central time, have a drawing with the two Reform Party candidates,” Chet Culver, Iowa’s secretary of state, tells Newsweek. “One will be selected as the Reform party candidate.” Culver says he’s following an Iowa rule that’s been used quite effectively in disupted county races for years. “The rule says we can use any receptacle,” he noted. “We’re going to use a hat.” Just what kind of hat was still being worked out last night. “Probably a very patriotic hat. The chances are pretty good that red, white and blue will be involved.” Montana will hold a similar drawing.
This is not a satire.
You’ll recall that when last we left the Reformers, their convention in Long Beach. Calif. had dissolved into two dueling conventions with two nominees. (Since then, Buchanan has had his gall bladder removed and is recovering at home in Virginia.) It’s now up to the Federal Election Commission to decide which nominee gets some $12.6 million in federal matching campaign funds.
But before the commission can rule, each candidate must submit proof that he has been certified as the Reform nominee on 10 of the 23 state ballots where Reform has an automatic ballot line. So the states are trying to figure out how to certify one candidate over the other. While Iowa and Montana draw names, North Carolina and Mississippi will take a slightly more scientific route, holding evidentiary hearings. The problem for both candidates is that it could take weeks to sort the state certifications out, holding up the money.
Meanwhile, in an intriguing development, the FEC tells Newsweek that its lawyers believe they have the option of splitting the party’s $12.6 million between the two campaigns. “That seems fair,” said a highly sarcastic Buchanan spokesman, “since we won every state convention.” No word yet on whether Reform will change its name officially to the “Did Not! Did So! Party”
