Top 10 Weirdest Moments In The 2014 Midterm Election

Democracy somehow always manages to bring out the crazies, and 2014 is no exception! With just over a week until election day read the Top 10 Weirdest Moments so far, and join us in wondering if there are any weirder moments yet to come!

1. There's a competitive Senate race in Kansas lolwut?

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If Senator Pat Roberts thought his work was over when he defeated tea party challenger Milton Wolf for the GOP Senate nomination in deep red Kansas, he's probably feeling kinda disappointed right now.

The Senate race in Kansas was originally a three way race pitting District Attorney Chad Taylor [D] against incumbent Pat Roberts [R] and independent Greg Orman. With pressure from his party, however, Democrat Taylor bowed out of the contest to pave the way for a two way race between the more well financed Orman and incumbent Roberts.

Kris Koback -- the Republican Secretary of State in Kansas -- has done pretty much everything but crayon a third name onto the ballots by hand in attempts to create a three way race again (in which Roberts would be more likely to win), but this race will be a one-on-one between Orman and Roberts.

2. #Fangate in Florida (actually...*everything* about this race is weird)

Miami Herald / Via miamiherald.com

Initial reports told us about how a gubernatorial debate in Florida was stalled when Florida Rick Scott refused to debate former Governor Charlie Crist because there was a...fan under his podium.

Another version of this story has Governor Scott informed by debate officials that Crist was declining to participate (because they wouldn't let him have a fan?) and Scott was just waiting in his trailer for word about whether the debate would commence.

Either way, the audience got to wait awkwardly for over five minutes while people tried to figure out wtf was going on (they failed btw).

The Florida gubernatorial race -- in all probability -- features the two worst possible candidates in the entire country. Rick Scott stars as a Voldemort lookalike with few political skills who seems to disagree with himself on whether funding education is important or not. On the blue team, Charlie Crist is a political opportunist who according to to Michael Bender of Bloomberg politics has run 6 statewide campaigns in 16 years under pretty much every political affiliation imaginable.

3. That Iowa ad about castrating hogs

I'm not sure which is weirder: the fact this ad exists, or the fact that is partially credited for winning Jodi Ernst the GOP nomination and making her a viable candidate in the Iowa Senate race.

4. Not sure if weird...or just Governor races in Alaska

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I find it hard to believe that any Governor of the Last Frontier will be able to "see Russia from their house" quite the same way Sarah Palin did, but regardless, people seem willing to subject themselves to the inferiority complex that will surely arise by trying to fill her old shoes.

Like in the Senate election in Kansas, the gubernatorial campaign in Alaska also began as a three way race between Republican incumbent Sean Parnell, Democrat Byron Mallott, and independent Bill Walker. Rather than taking the boring Kansan way and just bump their candidate off the ballot, the Democratic Party worked with the Walker campaign and formed a "fusion" or "unity" campaign where Independent Walker runs for Governor with Democrat Mallott as his Lt. Governor.

This "unity campaign" promises to have a bipartisan administration in Alaska, and polls show Walker [I] / Mallott [D] to be in a close race with GOP Governor Parnell.

5. Oh. So now South Dakota is close too? K.

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Until just a few weeks ago South Dakota was easily regarded as one of the GOP's safest pickups with the retirement of Democratic Senator Tim Johnson.

But reality likes to screw with conventional wisdom, and now the state is embroiled in a four way race between Republican Mike Rounds, Democratic Rick Weiland, Independent Larry Pressler, and trailing independent Gordon Howie. An immigration fraud scandal has poked some holes in Rounds' campaign, and while he remains the favorite, this race could...do anything..

(nothing surprises us anymore)

6. The Great Ebola Panic of 2014

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According to the CDC every year 596,577 die of heart disease, 576,691 of cancer, and 39,518 of suicide. But it's the one death from Ebola that has everyone stocking up canned goods.

That's not to say we shouldn't have a calm, measured, common sense response to an illness. We do it with the flu every year. But the response to #Ebola has not been calm, measured, or filled with common sense. It has been a hysteria filled brouhaha fueled by the mainstream media and opportunist campaigners.

Seriously folks, see if you can get your money back on your hazmat suits.

7. Oh yeah, and that ad where a candidate shot down a "government spy drone"

Matt Rosendale on Youtube / Via youtube.com

It's almost remarkable that he didn't win..

8. That awkward moment when we all simultaneously realized that Rep. Don Young might be one of the worst people in the world

The Mud Flats / Via themudflats.net

Congressman Don Young is the Dean of the "Congressional Republican" caucus, though he may be truly better suited to be Dean of the "Scientifically Illiterate Dickwad" caucus.

But I repeat myself..

During an event at Wasilla High School he managed to blame the student population for a recent student's suicide (whilst denying suicidal behavior is an illness), make disparaging remarks about loving same-sex couples (he tried to make a metaphor about bull sex, but fell oh so far from poetry), and apparently cuss up a storm.

Also, icing on the cake, Young later complained to the principal about a student he saw as "disrespectful" because the student apparently had the brains to realize that Young had none.

But Mr. Young's adventure with idiocy is not yet over. In clarifying his remarks with the Alaskan Dispatch News he blamed government benefits for suicide in the United States. Which makes oh so much sense, seeing as the United States spends below average on social assistance compared to other OECD countries.

9. ...and when we all had to be apart of Ed Fitzgerald's car related mishaps...

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County Chief Executive Ed Fitzgerald is the Democratic nominee for Governor in Ohio, and saying that he has been underwelming would be an understatement. The story that completely ended his time as a serious candidate, however, is thoroughly bizarre:

Casey Hager placed a 4:30am call to police back in 2012 to report a suspicious car in a parking lot. Hager claims to see both occupants -- one of which was Ed Fitzgerald -- climb into the back seat, to perhaps discuss important matters of county governance?

And this is the part of the story where we all got the treat of watching a political back-and-forth ensue about whether or not Fitzgerald climbed into the back seat of a car or not.

Truly democracy at its most inspiring.

(Police did confirm that when they arrived, at least, both occupants were in the front seats.)

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE

During the course of this event, Police learned that Ed Fitzgerald lacked a permanent state driver's license. He applied for temporary learner's permits in 2008, 2010, and 2011, but between 2002 and 2008 he had no actual license what-so-ever.

It's all just too weird...

10. FINALLY the weirdest moment of all....November 4th, 2014

Giphy.com / Via giphy.com

The moment when we all get to have a voice in who leads us and what direction our nation takes. Representative government is one of the most amazing -- but also most weird -- things we may ever see!

Remember to Vote on November 4th!

Think we missed any? Comment with with other weird moments of the 2014 midterm election!