On December 20, the Texas Democratic Party filed a federal lawsuit, arguing that the Secretary of State’s willingness to let the Republican Party drop Congressman Blake Farenthold from the primary ballot is unlawful. Texas Democratic Party v Republican Party of Texas and Secretary of State Pablos, w.d., 1:17cv-1186. Here is the Complaint. Thanks to Linda Curtis for the link.
On December 20, Richard “Oz” Griebel announced that he will be an independent candidate for Governor of Connecticut in 2018. See this story. It is conceivable he could become the nominee of the ballot-qualified Independent Party, but the story does not mention that possibility.
Here is the wikipedia page for him.
On December 20, the U.S. District Court that is handling the South Dakota ballot access case suggested that a trial could be held January 16-18, 2018. The issue is the March petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties. The court also suggested an alternate date in early February, but the judge prefers the January dates.
On December 19, Florida held a special election to fill the vacant State House seat, 58th district. According to this story, the Republican nominee, Lawrence McClure, was elected with 55%. Democrat Jose Vazquez received 34%. Ahmad Hussam Saadaldin, an independent candidate endorsed by the Green Party, polled 9% and carried one precinct. Libertarian Bryan Zemina polled 3%.
Virginia elected a new House of Delegates on November 7, 2017. The initial results in the 94th district were: Republican David Yancey 11,601; Democrat Shelly A. Simonds 11,591; Libertarian Michael D. Bartley 675.
The recount was completed on November 19. The new results reverse the identity of the winner. News reports say that both major party nominees gained votes, and the new results are: Democratic 11,608; Republican 11,607. The news stories do not say if the Libertarian vote total changed. For example, see this story.
As a result of the recount, the lineup in the 2018-2019 session of the House will be 50 Republicans, 50 Democrats. The two parties will probably agree to share leadership of the House. Thanks to several people for the link.
