Sometimes a quirk happens in electoral politics that is hard to explain. In this case we see a wacky little deal in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District. A guy no one has ever met won the Democrat primary. That’s right, no one, no politician, no party operative… not even his primary opponent… has ever met Democrat nominee William Smith. Yet he won the primary by a “scant 59 votes” according to the Cincy Enquirer.

Perfect name, Smith, eh? The anonymous man.

The Enquirer calls him the “invisible candidate.” Invisible because no one seems to know the guy.

“I have never seen. I don’t know him,” [primary opponent] Krikorian said Wednesday. He blamed his loss on a mysterious SuperPAC that may have paid for calls for Smith and other Democrats.

The Enquirer also notes that during this primary, this Smith fellow didn’t even campaign. Not a “lick,” as the paper put it. He also never spent a single dime on his campaign according to the FEC.

In fact, he wouldn’t even respond to the paper for an interview after he won. His mother said he’s on a business trip. His mother. Does he still live with his mother? At 61 years of age? I don’t know, but the implication is right there.

Even the Chairman of the Hamilton County Democrat Party doesn’t know him. And he should, shouldn’t he? He IS the chairman and all.

It’s all very weird, really.

But maybe this shows that the generally Republican district (by the way, it is my birth county, oddly enough) is not one that Democrats bother much with. I mean, if they don’t even know their candidate it’s obvious they don’t much care about the whole dealio, right?

Anyway, it’s kind of a goofy deal. Not quite as funny as South Carolina’s Alvin Green, or New York’s the-rent-is-too-damn-high guy, anyway, but still goofy.

Speaking of South Carolina, I was told about a pol there during the late 1800s that ran for office while he was on an extended trip to Europe. He had handbills printed and distributed back in his district that told voters if he was elected he’d stay another year in Europe and not bother them much. He won, too. Don’t know if that’s apocryphal, but it’s funny nonetheless.

Ah, elections. Sometimes it really is the silly season.