Sonny Landham

How did Sonny Landham make the winner's list this week? And why is Survey USA a loser? Find out and see who else made this week's Winners & Losers. | CLICK HERE

After what has already been a turbulent election season for the Libertarian Party of Kentucky, chairman Ken Moellman said today that any challenges to ballot access for his party's presidential and congressional candidates would be ill-advised.

"A challenge shows desperation," Moellman told PolitickerKY.com.

Earlier this week, Polwatchers reported that Edward Martin - the Libertarian's candidate in the 3rd Congressional District - is a registered Republican. Such a status raises questions as to whether he can actually seek office as a Libertarian, according to state law.

"I don't suspect anyone will challenge," said Moellman. "If they did though, they would challenge Ed."

Moellman said allies of the Libertarian Party had researched the issue, and they are confident they have a defense for Martin's candidacy, should it be necessary. Martin has already collected and submitted the requisite signatures and paperwork to obtain ballot access, though his candidacy could still be subjected to a legal challenge, should one be registered.

Former U.S. Senate candidate Sonny Landham, of Ashland, has released details about his forthcoming "voter registration block party" in west Louisville later this month.

Food and drink will be provided by Landham and fellow organizer Amelia Moore at the August 23 event, which will run from 12 to 6 pm.

The party will be held on Magazine Street, on the block between 23rd and 24th Streets.

Landham announced the event even after he suspended his candidacy for Senate earlier this month. Landham had clinched the Libertarian Party's nomination for Senate and was likely to be on the state's ballots, after canvassers collected the required number of petition signatures to secure access.

We are disappointed that the only U.S. Senate candidate that shrugs his shoulders at the idea of genocide won't be running for election. Though it's not just the voters who will lose out. Scientific knowledge could suffer a serious setback with the loss of Sonny Landham's not-quite-peer-reviewed-Global Warming Math.

Sonny Landham may be out of the 2008 U.S. Senate race, but Kentucky could see the controversial former actor jump into another political race in the near future.

"There is 2010 to run, there is a Governor's race to run. I'm going to look at that," Landham told PolitickerKY.com. "Right now, this one is over."

Landham was stripped of the Libertarian Party's Senate nomination last week after making a series of anti-Arab comments.

He now stands by his comments though he is out of the race.

Should he pursue another U.S. Senate bid in 2010, he would face incumbent U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Southgate).

Sonny Landham's short-lived stint as a U.S. Senate candidate is now officially over, as the Ashland resident says he will not pursue an independent bid after being denied the Libertarian Party's nomination for a second time.

"The money wasn't there and the time wasn't. We couldn't have gotten the signatures," Landham told PoltickerKY.com in an interview. "I just said: ‘The heck with it, let it go.'"

Yesterday, the state Libertarian Party announced its executive committee rejected a motion to re-nominate Landham as their candidate. Landham lost the Party's nomination last week after he made a string of anti-Arab comments, but some activists soon sought to reverse that decision when it became clear Landham would not be on the ballot at all without the nomination.

Throughout the process, Landham stood by his remarks and said he would continue his run without a party, if necessary.
Presently, only 10 days remain for Landham to file the 5,000 signatures required for ballot access for an independent run - a benchmark Landham now admits is unobtainable.

As his candidacy fades away, however, he remains unrepentant about the controversial comments that put him in this spot to begin with - comments interpreted by many as advocacy for a potential Arab genocide.

"I categorically stand by what I said and I apologize to no one," said Landham. "Anybody that disagrees with me is anti-American, is anti-Israel, and is anti-semetic."

An effort to re-nominate former actor Sonny Landham as the Libertarian Party of Kentucky's U.S. Senate candidate was rejected by a vote of the party's executive committee, chairman Ken Moellman told PolitickerKY.com today.

"The motion to put Sonny back on failed," said Moellman. "At this point, it appears he will not be our candidate."

After a month as the prospective Libertarian candidate, Landham was stripped of the party's support after he made a string of anti-Arab comments topped by what could be interpretted as advocacy for a potential Arab genocide.

The Party's executive committee initially voted unanimously to withdraw Landham's nomination on July 28, after earlier launching a petitioning campaign to gain ballot access for both Landham and Libertarian presidential nominee and former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, of Georgia. That campaign gained 7,700 signatures, according to Moellman, which is more than required for ballot access.

Calling for an Arab genocide won't make you a winner, but that's not the only reason Sonny Landham made this week's loser list. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Barack Obama both got some good polling news this week, but McConnell still managed to make the loser list. Find out who else made our Winners & Losers list. | CLICK HERE

Sonny Landham's future as a U.S. Senate candidate remains pending as the Libertarian Party of Kentucky's executive committee is currently conducting an online vote to reconsider whether Landham can run under their banner this year.

In an appearance on The Weekly Filibuster radio program Wednesday evening, state Libertarian chair Ken Moellman said he expected a decision by morning on Landham's fate.

Moellman insists that Kentucky Libertarians never intended to knock Landham off of the state's ballos by revoking their endorsement of his candidacy in Monday night vote, but just wanted to disassociate themselves from Landham after he made a series of anti-Arab remarks.

Since that Monday vote, it has become clear that to continue his candidacy as an independent, Landham would need to collect 5,000 new original petition signatures by August 12 - a task Moellman said is impossible.

Now Moellman and the Libertarians are contemplating allowing Landham to continue as a Libertarian candidate, so he can use petition signatures already collected. Moellman argues that decision was based on the politics of ballot access.

"There are other factors involved here. Its more for the third party and independent movement in general," said Moellman on the Weekly Filibuster. "While that is not directly related to the LP, we have some concerns in that regard."

The Libertarian Party of Kentucky will reconsider its endorsement of Senate candidate Sonny Landham Wednesday evening, just days after initially disassociating their party from his bid. This news comes after the office of Kentucky's secretary of state announced yesterday that Landham would need 5,000 new petition signatures to secure ballot access to run as an independent.

"We're really stuck," said Libertarian Party chair Ken Moellman. "We don't necessarily want to kick him off the ballot."

The requisite signatures for Landham's ballot access were already reportedly obtained by Libertarian canvassers, but - without the Libertarian endorsement - Landham would need original signatures for an independent candidacy.

With an August 12 deadline for petition submissions, Moellman has said obtaining 5,000 new signatures in that window would be "impossible."