An effort to re-nominate former actor Sonny Landham as the Libertarian Party of Kentucky's U.S. Senate candidate was rejected by a vote of the party's executive committee, chairman Ken Moellman told PolitickerKY.com today.

"The motion to put Sonny back on failed," said Moellman. "At this point, it appears he will not be our candidate."

After a month as the prospective Libertarian candidate, Landham was stripped of the party's support after he made a string of anti-Arab comments topped by what could be interpreted as advocacy for a potential Arab genocide.

The party's executive committee initially voted unanimously to withdraw Landham's nomination on July 28, after earlier launching a petitioning campaign to gain ballot access for both Landham and Libertarian presidential nominee and former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, of Georgia. That campaign gained 7,700 signatures, according to Moellman, which is more than required for ballot access.

After losing the nomination, Landham said he would continue as an independent candidate, but it became clear he would have to collect 5,000 "original" petition signatures for ballot access - a task deemed "impossible" by Moellman, given the limited time window.

The vote to re-nominate Landham as a Libertarian came about because Moellman said it was not the party's goal to kick Landham off the ballot entirely when removing their nomination.

"There are other factors involved here. It's more for the third party and independent movement in general," said Moellman during an appearance last week on the Weekly Filibuster radio program. "While that is not directly related to the LP, we have some concerns in that regard."

Still, the Party's executive committee ultimately did not embrace those factors, rejecting the efforts to renew Landham's ballot slot.

Moellman said the second vote came after the party received comments about Landham's candidacy from across the country after his controversial remarks about Arabs. A "majority" of the feedback was received from outside of the state, and Moellman said "100 percent" of that communication was opposed to Landham.

From within the state, Moellman indicated responses were "pretty minimal," noting 60 percent of them were against Landham's continued candidacy as a Libertarian, with 40 percent supporting Landham. Moellman noted that those Kentuckians contacting the party were largely not Libertarian Party members.

With petitions for ballot access due in to the Secretary of State's office by Aug. 12, the Libertarians are armed with signatures but no Senate candidate.

Moellman said the party was investigating their legal options and the possibility of replacing Landham, though early indications from the Secretary of State's office were that the signatures could not be applied to another candidate.

Landham did not return requests for comment.

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