In what may be the shortest candidacy in Guilford County history, High Point University faculty member Joe Blosser, who filed to run as a Democrat in the Guilford County Board of Commissioners District 6 race, is no longer a candidate due to a little known election law that he and many others weren’t aware of.
In order to run as a party candidate, a person must be registered in that party for at least 90 days before the start of the candidate filing period. After Blosser filed to run in the race, Guilford County election officials discovered the issue and informed Blosser that he wasn’t eligible to run due to that rule.
Many Democrats in High Point and in Guilford County were putting big hopes on Blosser because he was considered to be a good candidate with strong backing, and the Republican majority Board of Commissioners only holds a 5-to-4 majority so a loss of a Republican to a Democrat would completely change the nature of Guilford County government.
The District 6 seat is now held by Republican Guilford County Commissioner Hank Henning.
Blosser is an associate professor of Religion and Philosophy at High Point University with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and a Master of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt University. He was said to have assembled a strong team and to have a lot of support through his connections at the University.
Guilford County Deputy Elections Director Chris Duffy said that, as part of the filing process, county elections staff conducts checks on all candidates regarding party affiliation and residency, and he said that Blosser, within the last 90 days, had gone from being a Democrat, to being registered unaffiliated – and then back to being a Democrat. If Blosser had remained a Democrat and not been unaffiliated for a matter of weeks, he would have been able to run as a Democrat.
Henning still won’t get a free pass – another Democrat, James Upchurch, has filed to run for that District 6 seat and there’s still plenty of time for others to jump into the fray.
How is this a “little know election law…?” I thought that this was common knowledge and it was that way to keep people from gaming the system…For such and “educated” person, he really is a dunce…
I agree. Any person who files to seek an elected office, needs to get all the information that is needed to be eligible. Instead of having others tell you this is how it is. I guess HPU won’t get a “yes” person on the Board. But I’m sure they’ll find someone. And bankroll that candidate.