Meet the spacey Green Party candidate who may cost Democrats a win in Ohio's special election


The special election in Ohio's 12th district was deemed too close to call Tuesday night — in part, because of this guy.
Green Party candidate Joe Manchik picked up 1,127 votes, while Republican Troy Balderson and Democrat Danny O'Connor were neck and neck, separated by just 1,766 votes. Balderson ran with support from President Trump, O'Connor promised to expand health-care coverage in Ohio, and Manchik ... described himself as a descendent of aliens from the Pleiades star cluster.
On Manchik's website, he tells the tale of deciding to enter politics to take back the country from corporations, describing in great detail why he believes establishment politics are "driving our country off the road and deep into the ditch of fascism." The problem is, not many voters likely made it to his website. In a March interview, Manchik couldn't recall the URL for his campaign website, remembering only when the interviewer prompted him and adding a confusing string of slashes and dashes at the end. Watch the awkward moment below. Summer Meza
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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
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