Smith attorney warns against appeal
The attorney for House District 26 Republican candidate Robin Smith says he has urged the Tennessee Democratic Party not to appeal an unfavorable ruling it its lawsuit related to that race.
An order is expected soon from Hamilton County Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton dismissing the state party’s lawsuit against the Hamilton County Election Commission and state Elections Coordinator Mark Goins.
The Democrats sued to try to keep Smith’s name off the ballot, saying the election commission wrongly allowed her to qualify after incumbent Gerald McCormick abruptly dropped out of the race in June.
Last week, Atherton denied the plaintiffs’ motion for an injunction and dismissed the suit, ruling that the Tennessee Democratic Party had been unable to demonstrate that it was affected or aggrieved by the commission’s action, that it was obliged to expend any money on behalf of the Democratic candidate in the race, or that it was likely to win its lawsuit.
Chancellor Atherton dismissed the case based on long-standing Tennessee precedent, which provides that the courts should not be involved in selection of nominees by political parties. The State of Tennessee was dismissed primarily based on sovereign immunity.
“I simply cannot ignore that here we are a month and a half, or however long it has been, since filing, and I do not have either the Democrat candidate, nor do I have any articulated basis that the Tennessee Democrat Party is under any obligation, whether a race is contested or uncontested, to give one red cent to any individual,” Atherton said.
He also ruled that Tennessee courts don’t interfere in political parties’ selection of candidates and said Goins was exempted by sovereign immunity.
He did turn down the defendants’ request for attorney fees and costs.
Benjamin Gastel, attorney for the Tennessee Democratic Party, said the party would appeal Atherton’s ruling.
Ben Rose, attorney for Smith, called the suit “a political ploy achieve in the courts what they cannot possibly do at the ballot box” and said an appeal would be a bad idea.
“An appeal would be foolhardy, and we consider it to be frivolous” Rose said in a statement. An appeal would “clog the already overworked court system and result in even more waste of taxpayer money. It might also result in placing TNDP’s campaign funds in jeopardy.”
“If an appeal is filed, we have confidence that the court system will agree with Ms. Smith’s position that primary candidates should be selected by the voters, rather than judges or adverse political parties,” he said.
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Cooper endorses Phillips
U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper has endorsed Mariah Phillips in the 4th Congressional District race.
Phillips is the Democratic challenger to incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais.
Cooper is the long-serving Democratic congressman in Tennessee’s 5th District.
“Mariah is one of the hardest working candidates I’ve ever seen,” Cooper said in a news release. “Teachers understand the challenges our families and communities are dealing with and they know how to fix them. She would be a great member of Congress, and I’m proud to support her candidacy.”
Phillips is a first-time candidate who previously taught U.S. government and personal finance in an alternative school in Murfreesboro.
“I’ve watched Congress become more and more dysfunctional over the years, but one person who has always tried to stay above the fray and focus on good policy making is Rep. Jim Cooper. I’m proud to have his endorsement and look forward to helping him break the gridlock in Washington if I’m elected,” Phillips said in the release.