Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
By Karoun Demirjian (contact) 
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 | 1:42 p.m.
Nevada’s most reliably unpredictable candidate, Sharron Angle, has just taken the surprise move of removing herself from a campaign.
Angle was first in, and now the first out, to fill the 2nd Congressional District seat left vacant by Dean Heller when he filled the Senate seat John Ensign resigned this month.
She’s doing so, it appears, because of last week’s court decision to let party central committees play a selective role, in lieu of a formal primary process, undercutting what was supposed to be a free-for-all election. The shift would seriously weaken Angle’s chances, as she would be running against the Republican Party’s anointed candidate; an endorsement that would make it harder for other Republicans to split the field.
“Current outcomes concerning the special election have made this election in Nevada an illegitimate process that disenfranchises the electorate,” Angle said this afternoon.
“I do not have any desire to participate in a process ... where the party central committees choose their nominees because it makes a mockery of the most important constitutional element in exercising freedom.”
But that decision may yet be appealed. So what is Angle doing?
Although Angle made it pretty clear that she has no intention of participating in a special election, ballot royale or otherwise, she doesn’t appear to be bowing out of election politics altogether.
“Although I do not intend to participate as a candidate in the special election, I am not ruling out a future run for office,” Angle said in her statement. “Meanwhile, I will remain busy working as an advocate for the voters of Nevada and this great nation. I thank all my supporters for their dedication and encouragement. I will be making additional announcements soon detailing my plans.”
CD2 seemed the most likely goal for Angle, but the special election is not the end of the line. She could easily wait out this special election and throw her hat in the ring come next November, or wait for the redistricting process to conclude, at which time she might be able to run for Nevada’s fourth congressional seat.
Or she could jump in the race for the Senate, creating a primary against Heller.
It wouldn’t be an easy fight. Heller’s the sitting junior senator from Nevada, and as such, the national Republicans’ presumptive nominee.
And when Angle and Heller have faced off before, he beat her — that’s why he’s in Congress and she isn’t.
But Angle’s just come off staging an impressive electoral challenge to Nevada’s most experienced statesman, and although experts have attributed much of her showing to hatred of Sen. Harry Reid, she may think she has enough momentum to pick and choose which electoral challenges she takes up in the future.
We’ll see how soon that announcement about her future plans comes.
Thanks Sharon. Now we can have someone less flaky achieve the party nomination.
This must be part and parcel of the liberal conspiracy.
Is she going to refund campaign money?
She needs to go away.
She ran the worst campaign ever.
Nooo!!! We want more CRAZY!!! Please flip-flop on this Sharron. What will the Teabaggers do without you!
Tired of hearing her name. She doesn't even deserve this much attention. Good Bye again.
Well there goes another entertainment venue.
Good move now if we could get some of the other Repubs and Dems to quit and go away then maybe we'll get somewhere.
It's now official.
The Tea Party of Nevada is now dead.
The queen has abdicated the throne. She has officially went into obscurity...along with the Chicken Lady.
This is bad news for lawn chair manufacturers as well as recreational vehicle dealers.
Dang, without Angle this election won't have near the comedy & idiocy we've some to enjoy!
Maybe Angle can stump w/ some of the other GOP'ers and help out with some deep thinking comments!
Thanks a lot Sharron. Now people are going to have to travel down to the nasty, dangerous part of town and watch the foul-smelling, disheveled lunatics screaming at hallucinatory "enemies" for entertainment instead of watching you campaign.
She's out, she's in...she's out, she's in.
She's just plain crazy!
Now I have to find a new person to vote for! Good luck Sharron, keep up the good fight!
some of you look asian to me. no really. you do!
Hmmm.....
Nurse Ratchet must have done a head count.
Sharron Angle is like fingernails running across a chalkboard. Who hasn't she insulted? Veterans; unemployed; hispanics; seniors? She doesn't get it.
Someone threw water on her and she melts away. We now have the broom stick and back home we go. No ruby slippers for Sharon. You noticed Paulin is staying out of the mid west afraid of a house falling on her.lol. Now lets support canadiates who want to help us the voters and not the ones who have a vendetta against other canadiates. Keep the people in office who have been trying to fix the damage from eight years of Bush gone wild on our economy.