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Thursday, December 25, 2003
18 in race for Demo presidential candidate
Candidates on the ballot
* Presidential candidates on Arizona's Feb. 3 ballot:
• William Barchilon, Mesa
• Dianne Barker, Phoenix
• Keith Brand, Tempe
• Carol Moseley Braun, Chicago
• Ray Caplette, Phoenix
• Wesley Clark, Little Rock, Ark.
• Howard Dean, Burlington, Vt.
• John Edwards, Raleigh, N.C.
• Dick Gephardt, St. Louis
• John Kerry, Washington, D.C.
• Dennis Kucinich, Cleveland
• Joe Lieberman, New Haven, Conn.
• Lyndon LaRouche, Leesburg, Va.
• Huda Muhammad, Phoenix
• Fern Penna, Kingston, N.Y.
• Al Sharpton, New York City
• Evelyn Vitullo, Tucson
• Bill Wyatt, Los Angeles
SOURCE: Secretary of State's Office
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By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
PHOENIX - Arizona Democrats will have more choices for president than they thought.
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the filing deadline, a total of 18 candidates had filed the necessary papers with the Secretary of State's Office. All of their names will appear on Arizona's Feb. 3 presidential preference ballot.
The list includes the nine candidates who have so far gotten national attention.
It also includes perennial candidate Lyndon LaRouche, who has made a name for himself over the years with statements like one suggesting the queen of England is a drug dealer. In a recent press release, LaRouche said that if the Democratic Party does not include him in its debates it is "dead meat."
And it also includes some lesser-known candidates like Ray Caplette of Phoenix.
The retired machinist acknowledged that he's not likely to win his party's nomination. "I'm about $25 million short," he quipped.
5 Arizonans join ballot
But Caplette said that with the help of the Internet he can get his message out. He has a Web site at www.rayjcc.org
As to a platform, Caplette has a few ideas. For example, he thinks that the survivors of every soldier killed in Iraq should get $1 million. "This country can afford $87 billion to make Iraq rich," he said of the federal legislation to rebuild that country and continue the war.
Some other Arizonans also figured they, too, would give running for president a shot, including Mesa resident William Barchilon, Keith Brand of Tempe, Phoenician Huda Muhammad and Evelyn Vitullo of Tucson.
The hurdle to run in the state's primary is virtually nil: Candidates must simply file a notarized statement of candidacy. There are no petitions involved.
The primary is expected to be an early indicator of the popularity of the candidates and their ability to grab the party's nomination.
Arizona only Western state with Feb. 3 vote
Only voters in Iowa and New Hampshire weigh in earlier, with caucuses in the former and a primary in the latter. A total of seven states, including Arizona, have primaries on Feb. 3, with Arizona being the lone one in the West.
Nearly 40 percent of Democrats have yet to make up their minds, a recent statewide survey indicated.
Among those with a preference, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean leads with 22 percent, followed at 12 percent for retired Gen. Wesley Clark. All the other candidates were in single digits.
Clark and Dean have mounted television ad campaigns in Arizona.
There are no Republicans or Libertarians on the ballot: Both parties opted out of the preference primary.
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