Missouri Republican Party joins lawsuit in Boone County state Senate district
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Republican Party has joined a lawsuit that seeks to get one of its Mid-Missouri candidates kicked off the ballot.
The party won a judge's approval Monday to join the case against Stephen Webber. Webber, a former Democratic lawmaker and political organizer, sued last week to get Republican James Coyne, a Columbia insurance broker, off the ballot.
Webber claimed the Republican Senatorial Committee for the Nineteenth District did not select Coyne appropriately under state law, meaning he cannot be a candidate. The committee chose Coyne for the ballot after former lawmaker Chuck Basye dropped out because of a cancer diagnosis.
Beetem on Friday turned down a request by Webber to issue a temporary restraining order to keep Coyne off the ballot while the case is litigated. Beetem ruled that Webber does not have standing to remove Coyne because he must first win the August primary.
No further hearings have been scheduled, according to court records.
Webber and Coyne are seeking the 19th Senate District seat. The district encompasses Boone County and has been represented by Republican Caleb Rowden.
The Republican Party in a news release accused Webber of using the judicial system to manipulate the election.
