Reminds me of the Senate election in California in 1986. In the primary, eleven conservatives split up the vote so Ed Zschau (rhymes, appropriately, with Mao), the lone liberal, won with about a third of the vote.
Going into 1986, the seat was ripe for a GOP takeaway, but on Election Day in November, conservatives stayed home, voted third party, and some even voted for the Democrat, so the seat stayed blue.
Mischief makers. My favorite was Ralph Nader in 2000. There are several Senate seats in the NW/Dakotas that went to Democrats because a libertarian was on the ballot.
Hayward was the best bet to take on McCain in 2010. He did it on OUR behalf. Reward him with the seat please.