McDaniel was subjected to the sewer politics of the “good old boys” Republicans- Thad Cochran and sleazy former Governor Haley Barbour…he deserves a day in court and victory….rsk
Chris McDaniel might have lost the Republican U.S. Senate primary in Mississippi. However, he will have his own day in court.
The Mississippi Supreme Court granted the state senator’s request for an expedited hearing and it will hear oral arguments with the entire panel of judges on Oct. 2.
“Activist judges have been a problem in Mississippi since the 1950s, as we saw with the Kellum decision, which, contrary to statute, imposed the 20-day deadline onto congressional and statewide elections,” McDaniel spokesman Noel Fritsch said in a campaign news release.
According to Mississippi Public Broadcasting, the 1959 Mississippi Supreme Court case Kellum v. Johnson says that election challenges should be filed within 20 days of an election.
“Since the statutes are silent on anything regarding a 20-day deadline, any approval of such a deadline by the court without legislative approval would be judicial activism.”
McDaniel filed his challenge before the state Supreme Court on Sept. 18 and Cochran’s lawyers had until the next Wednesday to file their responses, according to the Clarion-Ledger.
The ballots for the Nov. 4 general election already have Cochran, the Republican nominee, facing Democratic nominee Travis Childers. Absentee voting began Sept. 27.
The Senate Conservatives Fund plans to file a brief and join in oral arguments in support of McDaniel’s challenge.
According to the Sun-Herald, the brief asks the court not to implement the Kellum decision.
They’re not the only one joining in, as the Conservative Action Fund has been able to file a brief supporting McDaniel.