Oboy - When I was

Oboy - When I was a kid growing up in North Dakota, there was this guy, an unreconstructed hippie, that ran an organic farm (basically a weed research station) about 20 miles out of town. His name was Harley MacClain. And besides raising weeds and showing up at the local open-stage nights to play old Neil Young songs, what Harley did was run for President. Every election from 1976 to 1992, Harley ran for President, as the leader of the "Chemical Farming Banned" party.

In 1980, he reached the apogee of his fame. He lost the presidential election - he was only on the ballot in North Dakota, so he was kind of a dark horse. But he noticed that the ballots always put the Republican and Democrat candidates at the top, and then all the other candidates below, in order of size, basically. He thought that was unfair. So he did two things: He declared himself the winner of the election, and he took the North Dakota elections commission to court.

Well, declaring himself president didn't work so hot - you may recall Ronald Reagan served two terms without significant interruption. But the court case did work - today, North Dakota's ballots (and those of many other states that recognized the precedent) randomize their ballot order.

So these wild hair candidates occasionally do have an impact.

I just don't think that newly-minted Republican, former IP and DFLer Leslie Davis will be one of them.