Still Think Donald Trump Might Run As An Independent? As Of Today, He Can’t In Tennessee

Tennessee election officials finalized the ballot on Thursday for next year’s presidential primaries. That means voters will have their pick of 14 Republicans and three Democrats.

But the options for the candidates themselves just got slimmer, especially for insurgents like Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Bernie Sanders.

All have shaken up the primaries. But what if they lose? Time and again, they’ve been asked if they’d drop out of the race for their party’s nomination and run as an independent.

As of now, they can’t. At least not in Tennessee, says Secretary of State Tre Hargett.

“We have what’s commonly referred to as a ‘sore loser’ provision. … Anybody that’s on the ballot will not be eligible to run under any other banner.”

That’s right. A “sore loser” provision. It says people who lose their primary can’t turn around and run again for another party or as an independent.

This does happen in other places. Hargett points to Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman, who won back his Senate seat as an independent in 2006, despite losing the Democratic primary that year.

But in Tennessee, that’s against the rules — even for presidential candidates — and it turns out, the state isn’t alone. Ohio, South Carolina and Michigan are also among those that say primary losers can’t run as independents in the general election.

For their parts, only
Carson still seems to be thinking about an independent bid.
Sanders and
Trump say they’ve ruled it out.

But no matter what they claim, sticking with their parties is their only chance in Tennessee.