Cynthia McKinney skips debates, faces runoff

Things are getting interesting for US Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-GA). Last Tuesday's primary election had challenger Hank Johnson coming within 2,000 votes of the Congresswoman, facing a runoff election on August 8.

Several factors may have led to the close vote. One is that voter turnout was disappointingly low. Maybe voters just weren't interested this year.

Then there was the well-publicized incident with Capitol Hill Police, whereby she was alleged to have struck an officer in the chest with a cell phone she held. But a grand jury refused to return an indictment against her, so that matter was probably settled in the minds of most voters.

However, Ms. McKinney skipped two televised candidate debates, where she could have solidified her base. But rumor is that she skipped them because she didn't want to answer questions about the Capitol Hill Police altercation.

Whatever, the end result is that she is once again vulnerable. And her opponent is heartened by the results and the runoff. And this race joins the many other interesting races shaping up across the country.

It should be a most interesting autumn, politically.