Candidate suppression?

People who cry about so-called “voter suppression” every time a state places any limitations at all on who can vote within its jurisdiction, or when and how, will likely now have a field day. The New York Times most self-righteous, priggish moral crusader, Nicholas Kristof, has just been disqualified by Oregon’s Secretary of State from running for governor this year. YEAH!

I am thrilled that Nicholas will likely not have the opportunity to represent people in Salem. Or perhaps I should call him by his campaign nickname, “Nick.” Today is actually the first day I’ve ever seen his first name written as “Nick” instead of “Nicholas,” which is how it has always appeared in the New York Times, where I’ve read his column for years. Now, maybe his friends really do call him “Nick.” I don’t know. Or maybe one of his gubernatorial campaign advisors suggested that he would be seen by Oregon voters as a more relatable, folksy, informal kinda guy, if he went by “Nick” instead of “Nicholas.” Hence his campaign slogan, “Nick for Oregon,” rather than "Nicholas Donabet Kristof for Oregon."

Republicans cannot be blamed for trying to “suppress” Kristof’s candidacy. Oregon’s governor, attorney general, secretary of state, and treasurer are all Democrats, as are both its U.S. senators and four of its five U.S. congressmen. And the ruling against his candidacy was issued by Oregon's Secretary of State, a Democrat.

Q: What is the basis for Shemia Fagan, Oregon’s Secretary of State, to rule that Kristof is ineligible to run for governor this year?

A: The language of the state’s constitution. Article V, Section 2 of the Oregon Constitution clearly states that “No person except a citizen of the United States, shall be eligible to the Office of Governor…who shall not have been three years next preceding his election a resident within this State.”

As Oregon’s Secretary of State pointed out: Kristof voted in New York as recently as the last general election, in November 2020, just over a year ago. Ooops!