Stevenson Gives Up Nomination as Democrat : Stevenson Renounces Bid as Democrat

Adlai E. Stevenson today renounced his Democratic nomination for governor, saying he cannot run on the same slate as a disciple of political extremist Lyndon LaRouche.

Stevenson also filed a federal suit seeking election changes that would allow him to run as an independent candidate. State law requires that independents must have filed nominating petitions by last Dec. 16.

Bob Benjamin, Stevenson’s press secretary, confirmed that the candidate had sent a resignation letter to the State Board of Elections and to the state Democratic Party.

“That’s it, he has resigned,” said Benjamin.

Later Deadline Sought

Benjamin said the suit, filed against the State Board of Elections, seeks to push the filing deadline for independents to Aug. 4, the deadline for third-party candidates.

If Stevenson loses his court bid, his only choice will be to create a new party and run a full slate of candidates in the general election, Benjamin said.

If he wins in court, he will run as an independent along with new candidates for lieutenant governor and secretary of state, nominations captured by LaRouche supporters in the Democratic primary. He will ask Democratic voters to vote the regular Democratic ticket, except in those three races, Benjamin said.

Views ‘Anti-Democratic’

In a preliminary draft of his lawsuit, Stevenson said he “finds repugnant and anti-democratic” the views of Mark J. Fairchild, the LaRouche-backed candidate for lieutenant governor paired with Stevenson on the ballot, said spokeswoman Terry Stephan.

It says Fairchild “espouses religious and racial bigotry” and holds “irrational and anti-democratic” political views.

The draft said that “many, if not all political supporters of Stevenson are unwilling to support Fairchild’s candidacy for lieutenant governor and many would have chosen not to vote for Stevenson in the general election if to do so would require them to vote for Fairchild as well.”

Among other things, LaRouche believes that the Queen of England is involved in drug trade and that the Holocaust is a fiction.