The Socialists Came to Stevens County With a Straight-Ticket Warning
A complete Socialist slate and a four-way judge's race had county politicos doing arithmetic before the September primary.
The Socialists of Stevens County filed a complete ticket on Monday. For several weeks Attorney J. C. Harkness of Northport, chairman of the Socialist county committee, has been making a tour of the county in the interests of the party, and reports that the organization is practically perfect. The Socialist strength two years ago ranged between 325 and 400. Claims are made this year that the party strength has greatly increased, and if the full strength of the party is manifested at the primary election this year, it will tend to make things interesting in the fight on the judgeship. The disposition of the Socialist party has always been to vote a straight ticket, and Mr. Harkness states that the party management will use every endeavor to show the strength of the Socialist position by casting none but straight votes. With the vote for judge divided between four candidates, the friends of each candidate must bestir themselves and make sure to be present at the primary election, for the candidate for judge who has the most friends at the primary election will be the next judge.
“With the vote for judge divided between four candidates, the friends of each candidate must bestir themselves and make sure to be present at the primary election...”
In 1908 a third-party straight ticket could scramble a local judicial primary; today, minor parties and independent campaigns still test whether a small bloc can decide a low-turnout race. The detail that Socialists had been building for weeks is a reminder that factional arithmetic and fusion politics are old in Washington elections.
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