Tarrant County Republican Chairman Tim Davis wants seven Democratic judicial candidates running in the March 3 primary election removed from the ballot, saying their candidate filings had several errors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Davis formally challenged the ballot applications and petition filings on Wednesday, asking the Tarrant County Democratic Party to review the candidates and declare them ineligible to run.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Davis also deemed Republican candidate Zee Wilcox ineligible to run for the Texas House. Late Friday, she filed a lawsuit challenging his decision.<\/p>\n
Under state law, local parties are responsible for reviewing applications for compliance. They have the authority to reject filings that do not meet procedural requirements.<\/p>\n
All seven judicial candidates are running unopposed in the Democratic primary, meaning if they are not removed from the ballot, they will be on the ballot in the November general elections.<\/p>\n
However, if they are removed, the judicial seat likely will go to the Republican nominee by default.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to reviewing (Davis\u2019) concerns carefully and in accordance with the Texas Election Code,\u201d read a statement from the Tarrant County Democratic Party. \u201cAdditionally, we question many of the assertions made, and in those cases, we will be standing strong to keep our candidates on the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis said he challenged the Democratic candidates\u2019 applications because the Republican Party has judges in important positions across Tarrant County. Protecting their positions is important to preserve \u201cthe rule of law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really protect our judges in this party because it\u2019s important to our community,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n
The candidates are all seeking judicial seats currently held by Republicans. Five would be up against incumbents in November.<\/p>\n
Davis\u2019 challenges allege that the candidates\u2019 applications and petitions are missing the required number of signatures and information, including professional courtroom experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the candidates are deemed ineligible, they couldn\u2019t refile for election as the deadline was Dec. 8. The deadline to challenge candidates\u2019 place on the ballot is Jan. 12.<\/p>\n
The candidates are among 17 Democrats running for the 39 judicial and justice of the peace positions in Tarrant County up for grabs in November \u2014 all but three of which are held by Republican incumbents.<\/p>\n
Democratic Party officials said in the statement they\u2019ve assembled a \u201cnear-record, deeply qualified slate of candidates\u201d this year, so they weren\u2019t surprised by the challenges from the GOP.<\/p>\n
Allison Campolo, the Tarrant County Democratic chair, said they will soon submit a challenge letter to some Republican candidates\u2019 positions. At the time of publishing, those challenges had not been publicly filed.<\/p>\n
Early voting for the primary begins Feb. 17.<\/p>\n
Davis removes Republican from ballot<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Davis notified Republican candidate Zee Wilcox<\/a> that she was ineligible to appear on the ballot in the race for Texas House District 98. That district includes Keller, Grapevine and parts of Southlake and is currently represented by Giovanni Capriglione, who isn\u2019t seeking reelection<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two other Republicans are also vying for the GOP nomination \u2014 Keller Mayor Armin Mizani <\/a>and Colleyville businessman Fred Tate<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wilcox has also asked the Secretary of State\u2019s office to provide an opinion on her eligibility. Her lawsuit against Davis accuses him of making false and damaging statements about her campaign, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n When Wilcox filed for election on Dec. 8, the day of the filing deadline, she filled out the form for federal office instead of for a Texas office. Wilcox, who has never run for public office, said she trusted the Tarrant County Elections Office to tell her if the form was wrong or if anything was filed incorrectly.<\/p>\n \u201cI drove down to the office and spoke to the lady who was accepting my application, and I said, \u2018Hey, I\u2019ve never done this before. I want to make sure everything is correct. Can you please guide me with this?\u2019\u201d Wilcox said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her $750 filing fee went through. On Dec. 16, she received an email from Davis saying the Texas Secretary of State flagged her application as incorrectly filed.\u00a0<\/p>\n She attempted to correct the issue but heard no response, she said. On Dec. 18, she was given a place on the HD 98 ballot, and she assumed the issue was resolved, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then, on Jan. 7, a few hours after she appeared on her first candidate forum, she received an email from Davis saying she\u2019d been removed from the ballot, according to emails reviewed by the Report.<\/p>\n Wilcox said she didn\u2019t understand why she couldn\u2019t correct the issue in December. She feels the action amounts to retaliation from Davis for running against his candidate of choice and for not falling in line with the local GOP, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve ordered campaign material. I\u2019ve collected money from donors. I\u2019ve been running a campaign,\u201d Wilcox said. \u201cThen, after my first forum, all of a sudden, I struck a note. And they decided to go back on something the state already certified.\u201d<\/p>\n Davis acknowledged Wilcox\u2019s removal in a Facebook post but did not respond to requests for comment on her filing.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis was not the result of some vast conspiracy, despite whatever Mrs. Wilcox wants to allege. Instead, it\u2019s the outcome of choices she made with her filing,\u201d Davis wrote. \u201cThe rule of law matters in the TCGOP, and we believe election integrity begins with the very first step in the process: when our candidates file for office.\u201d<\/p>\n Davis, a lawyer who was tapped to be GOP chair in November<\/a>, responded to Wilcox’s initial cease and desist letter in an email saying he hadn\u2019t made any false statements and that her demands were baseless, according to copies of the emails reviewed by the Report.<\/p>\n Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @shawlings601<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n