Using Gas Prices as an Issue

This is a very creative use of gas prices as an issue.  A legislative candidate in a semi-rural, small-town district that’s dominated by blue collar Democrats listed his party as No Gas Tax (GOP) which means that on the ballot, voters will see:

Randy Neatherlin, Prefers No Gas Tax (GOP) Party

As of this year, Washington State allows candidates to list any party name within a set character limit on the ballot, and displays it as Prefers _____ Party.  The top two vote getters regardless of party move onto the general.  No runoff.

This race is pretty far down on the ballot and is going to be overshadowed by a very cluttered state political environment so most voters won’t know much about any of the candidates.  It’ll be an interesting experiment to see how he does, I suspect he’ll perform a lot better than he would have otherwise. 

This isn’t a professional candidate we’re talking about here.  He hasn’t raised all that much money, is facing a primary challenge and won’t have much else going for him beyond ballot title.  He’s also had some oppo worthy issues in the past, but a lot of the time it’s guys like that who pull ballsy moves before they go mainstream.  

Update: This isn't directly related togas prices, but Washington's candidate for governor Dino Rossi just filed as "Prefers G.O.P. Party."  I like that a lot, good sign his folks are willing to go outside the regular playbook.