Judge denies bid to keep Boone County Republican off state Senate primary ballot
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Cole County judge denied a request by the Democratic candidate for a Boone County state Senate seat to keep his rival off the ballot.
Judge Jon Beetem ruled Monday afternoon that Republican James Coyne, a Columbia insurance broker, could add his name to the August primary ballot for the 19th Senate District, which covers Boone County.
Democratic candidate Stephen Webber had sought a temporary restraining order to keep the Secretary of State's Office from putting Coyne on the ballot. Webber, a former state lawmaker and Democratic organizer, filed for the August primary election before the filing period closed in November.
The lawsuit names Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and the Republican Senatorial Committee for the Nineteenth District.
Republican Chuck Basye, also a former lawmaker, put his name in just before the deadline but later dropped out after a cancer diagnosis. The Republicans' Senate district committee chose Coyne as his replacement.
But Webber argued that the county party committee dragged its feet and missed the legal deadline to pick Coyne as its candidate. Webber's legal team says the party issued a call for candidates by May 9 as required by law but did not nominate a candidate in time.
A subsequent meeting where Republicans picked Coyne came after the deadline, Webber's lawyers wrote in their motion for the restraining order. "It is clear the Committee violated the law in nominating James Coyne ..." the motion says.
A hearing was held Friday morning. Beetem denied Webber's request a few hours later.
In his order, Beetem said that Webber didn't have standing under the law, which stipulates that a challenge be filed after the August primary. The winners in August go on to the November general election.
"As Plaintiff is seeking the Democrat Party nomination for the 19th Senatorial District, he cannot challenge the candidacy of a candidate seeking the Republican Party nomination," the order states.
