Beaumont Prisoner Runs Against Obama, Clinton in Idaho

In an election year already plagued by hijinks and absurdities, a prison inmate in Texas has successfully conned his way onto the ballot for Idaho's upcoming Democratic primaries -- making him at least the second most questionable candidate in the running.

49-year-old Keith Russell Judd mailed in notarized applications (with accompanying checks) to over two dozen states in his bizarre bid for fame. According to Texas prison officials, he managed to qualify as a write-in candidate in Kentucky, California, Indiana and Florida.

Then, in a move that somewhat undermines our confidence in the primary process, Idaho decided it was perfectly OK to throw him on the ballot.

"We got conned," admitted Idaho state Secretary of State Ben Ysursa.

Mind you, Judd, who's been running for President since 1996, isn't your average inmate. The self-described Rastafarian-Christian is reported to have attended the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Politics at Harvard (in 1998), as well as a handful of programs at universities in California, New Mexico, and Oklahoma that ran the gamut from dance and business to nuclear physics and "acustics" [sic]. He was also a band leader in the U.S. Air Force, and served as an "individual contractor" at the New York Society of Reproductive Medicine.

When not gunning for the White House, Judd occupied quite some time filing suit against various entities, including the Secret Service and the state of New Mexico. So much so that the U.S. Supreme Court imposed filing restrictions on him a few years back:

"Appellant Keith Russell Judd has thus far filed thirty-six notices of appeal. Fifteen have been dismissed for being frivolous, for lack of jurisdiction, or for lack of prosecution. Judd also has filed no less than 180 motions, and sent at least 47 additional documents upon which no action was taken."

Folks with the Idaho Democratic Party are less than pleased with these antics. "It's a mockery of the system, and it's too bad that this kind of thing can happen," bemoaned spokesman Chuck Oxley, further calling Judd a "yahoo prisoner in Texas."

But look on the bright side, said Ysursa. "The good thing is the Democratic presidential primary has absolutely no legal significance."