Sunday Roundup: The Republican field just got more crowded

• Alan Keyes re-emerges

Alan Keyes, who also ran in the 1996 and in 2000 presidential races, has filed a candidacy statement with the FEC. He explained this decision by criticisizing the other candidates as lacking the "fortright, clear, and claricon declaration" to "raise the standard . . . of our allegiance to God and His authority that has been the foundation stone of our nation's life."

Keyes, who is a very conservative Republican, has also unsuccessfuly ran for Senate three times. His last run was in 2004 against... Barack Obama, in Illinois. Keyes repeatedly made headlines during that campaign. He for example invoked Jesus Christ, claiming that he would never vote for Obama. But he draw the ire of even some Republicans when he called homosexuals "selfish hedonists" only to be confronted by reports that his own daughter was coming out as a lesbian.

Needless to say, Keyes's entrance should make the GOP race much more entertaining. Keyes is already attempting to get in debates. Given that he was the actual GOP nominee in multiple Senate races and appeared in numerous debates in previous presidential runs, there is little ground on which he could be denied.

And Keyes could actually be a factor in the GOP contest. While he has almost no chance of clinching the nomination, Keyes did receive 6% of the vote in NH in 2000 and a full 14% (for third-place, ahead of McCain!) in Iowa! He could dent in the conservative vote of Thompson, Romney, or Huckabee, making their path to the nomination a little bit more difficult.

• Johanns returns

Hagel's retirement announcement means that all eyes are turned towards Democrat Bob Kerrey and Republican Mike Johanns. Either would be the favorite against anyone else, but the two running against each other would be one of the tightest contests of the 2008 cycle. With that, any report of a Republican event in Nebraska at which Johanns spoke is bound to attract attention. We should know much more about how this race is shaping up once Kerrey and Johanns, as well as Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, announce their intentions.

• Chaffee leaves the GOP

Lincoln Chaffee is no longer a Republican! The former Senator, defeated in 2006, had long been the most moderate Republican in the Senate, and barely survived a primary against him funded by the conservative Club for Growth last year. Chaffee had announced in 2004 that he had not voted for George W. Bush (casting a vote for George H.W. Bush instead). In language that echoed Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords's departure from the GOP in 2001, Chaffee criticised the party for going too far to the right and said “It’s not my party any more.” Many were confused as to why Chaffee had stayed a Republican throughout his Senate term instead of following Jeffords' example and becoming an independent senator.

• Greek elections
  

This blog is primarily about American politics, but I'll also have to cover important news abroad. The Greeks voted today, and the conservative ruling-party won its re-election bid by a 4 point margin (42% to 38%), barely obtaining an absolute majority (153 seats out of 300) in Parliament. The center-left PASOK obtained the lowest number of seats in 30 years.

The other bad news out of this contest is that the far-right will enter Parliament for the first time since it crossed the 3% threshold. It is also interesting to note that the Left obtained a majority of the votes: The communist KKE obtained nearly 8%, and a smaller left-wing coalition reached nearly 5% -- which puts the total of the Left above 50%. This proves once again the absurdity of one-round voting. It's time to adopt either a two-round voting system or an instant runoff procedure.