This week the tiny Constitution Party is holding their national nominating convention in Kansas City, Missouri.  Along with the many points of internal party business that will be addressed… the main task for the delegates is to pick a ticket for November that will likely appear on 35-45 state ballots.

The current fight for the party’s Presidential nomination seems to be between Former Ambassador Alan Keyes, who left the Republican Party after his unsuccessful run this Spring, and talk radio host Chuck Baldwin.

Baldwin is the choice of many long-time party activitists.  He served as the Vice-Presidential nominee along with Michael Peroutka in 2004 and the two captured a decent showing with 144,499 votes.  That was up from the 98,000 or so votes that Howard Phillips recieved in 2000, but down from the party’s 1996 showing.  Of course, Pat Buchanan was the Reform Party’s nominee in 2000, and those tickets were going after many of the same voters.

Alan Keyes has turned off many within the party because he supports the current War in Iraq, while Baldwin strongly opposes it - a view shared by most Constitution Party members.  Keyes is also seen as arrogant and disconnected by some, but there is definitely the chance he could win hundreds of thousands of disaffected Republican votes in November.  A Baldwin candidacy would likely be “more of the same” from the Constitution Party… perhaps drawing a quarter million votes at best.

Tomorrow the candidates will have a chance to address the convention and then votes will be taken to pick both the Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominees.  With so many unhappy delegates in the room, it wouldn’t be too surprising if a compromise candidate popped up at the last second…. or if the delegates try to nominate Congressman Ron Paul.