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Come November, some High Point voters may see two candidates named Bruce Davis on their ballots.

One would be the Bruce Davis, Democrat, running for re-election to the Guilford County Board of Commissioners in District 1.

The other would be Bruce Davis, unaffiliated, running for state Senate in District 28.

But, in fact, they would be the same Bruce Davis.

Davis is completing his second term on the Board of Commissioners. He filed last month to run for a third.

He really wanted to run for the Senate but didn't because incumbent Democrat Katie Dorsett had already entered the race, in the first minutes of the first day of filing. But then, in the last minutes of the last day of filing, Dorsett withdrew to allow Gladys Robinson to file in her place.

Davis was very upset, claiming Dorsett had acted to block him and other potential candidates with the intent of handing the seat to Robinson.

Dorsett said she didn't block anyone. (Indeed, Democrat Evelyn Miller and four Republicans also filed.)

At any rate, Davis decided to act. Checking with election officials, he found a previously little-noticed opportunity -- or loophole, probably accidental -- in state law. While it's not permitted to file for two different offices at the same time, nothing prohibits a candidate from filing for one office and petitioning to become an unaffiliated candidate for another office.

He'll need the signatures of about 5,000 registered voters in the Senate district to gain a place on the ballot. Davis said Monday he'd already collected about 500.

I'm all for his effort and told him I'll be happy to sign the petition. I wish more unaffiliated candidates would get on the ballot. Voters should have choices beyond the two major parties, particularly because more than 20 percent of the state's registered voters don't choose to affiliate with either one.

However, there is one problem. That is Davis remaining on the ballot as a Democratic candidate for the Board of Commissioners.

It's legal, but it's not a good idea. If Davis really wants to serve in the Senate, he should make a total commitment to that race. If he doesn't really want to return to the Board of Commissioners, he should withdraw from that race.

State law provides a simple procedure for a candidate to withdraw. All Davis has to do is ask the Board of Elections to remove him from the ballot. Then, according to the law, the Democratic Party can replace him with another candidate. That would give someone else a chance to run for the county seat and make clear to voters where Davis' real interest lies.

Right now, Davis envisions holding two spots on the ballot and, if he were to win both elections, choosing which office to accept. It would be the Senate seat.

It's not right, though, to run for an office -- the commissioner's seat -- that he would immediately vacate. (The vacancy would be filled by appointment.) It gives Davis a fallback position, which is good for him, but it creates uncertainty for voters. They won't know who might end up in that office. Better to have a replacement candidate on the ballot as soon as possible.

Davis is running unopposed for his county seat but faces steep obstacles in the Senate election.

If he were on the ballot as a Democrat, he might be favored. As an unaffiliated candidate, however, he would have to overcome all the straight-party votes typically cast by both Democrats and Republicans.

He could win only by appealing to independent-minded voters. Standing in the way would be the fact that Davis isn't truly unaffiliated. He's a Democrat -- which would be abundantly clear if he were listed elsewhere on the ballot by that party label. So, if he's really serious about this, Davis should not only withdraw from the commissioner's race, he also should change his registration from Democrat to unaffiliated. He should further assure voters that, if he is elected as an unaffiliated candidate to the state Senate, he won't thereafter serve as a Democrat when he gets to Raleigh.

Davis does have some advantages. He's an experienced elected official who's well-liked in High Point. A lot of Democrats may support him out of loyalty, if they can check the impulse to vote the straight-party ticket. His pitch that High Point needs stronger representation in the state Senate can gain bipartisan traction there -- but possibly hurt him in Greensboro, the political graveyard of candidates from High Point.

Geography won't matter, though, if Davis doesn't make a total commitment to the Senate race. Seeing one Bruce Davis on the ballot instead of two is the only way voters will know where he really stands.