Post #3870741

Because if he dies before August 4th, a special election is triggered to replace him until his term is up in January. If after that date, then his seat simply remains vacant until his successor is elected in November and inaugurated in January. If there is a special election, Thomas Massie could run. This is important because he could possibly split the Republican vote and get a Democrat elected, but at the very least it causes the RNC to spend resources on an election. Massie cannot run in the general in November because he lost the Republican primary, and Kentucky has a law that says you can’t run as an independent in the general if you lose your party’s primary.