State Democrats have appealed a decision by Chancellor Jeff Atherton to dismiss their lawsuit seeking to keep Republican Robin Smith off the ballot.
The party says the GOP should not be able to field a candidate in the House District 26 contest on grounds that former Rep. Gerald McCormick's late withdrawal was invalid.
Ms. Smith's campaign said, "Through each attempt to assail the voting rights of Hamilton County residents, Robin Smith’s position has been consistent.
These ongoing efforts by the Tennessee Democratic Party are a result of a failing political organization’s desire to subvert the electoral process, deny Tennesseans our right to vote and install a socialist in the legislature to promote the radical liberal Bredesen/Dean agenda without giving Tennesseans a choice in the voting booth.
"The subversive efforts of the Democratic Party to deny nearly 8,000 Tennesseans our right to vote have cost the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. Democrats have been told they have no legitimate case by judges in two counties and wasted the precious time of Tennessee’s courts. Laughably, they have now asked the Court of Appeals to make Hamilton County taxpayers pay to defend yet another meritless appeal to deny our voting rights and force us to pay the fees of their lawyers, who have twice failed in their efforts to steal our votes.
"With this latest farcical legal stunt, Democrats continue to prove that they have no faith in the socialist they nominated in District 26 to win the election and press her agenda of sanctuary cities, open borders, socializing our health care system, raising taxes, and killing job creation in favor of government handouts.
"Across Tennessee, we see liberal Democrat candidates misleading the voters, falsely touting their desire to work together and running from the discredited views of their national party. These repeated attacks on our elections prove there is no underhanded tactic they will not resort to in a shameless effort to impose a radical agenda on our state.
"On Aug. 2, voters elected Robin Smith as their Republican nominee. On Aug. 22, the Republican State Primary Board unanimously affirmed Robin as the Republican nominee after the election results had been duly certified. As the Republican nominee, Robin successfully petitioned the court to include her as a party to the ongoing lawsuit so she may directly work to defend the integrity of the votes cast in the August election and protect Tennesseans from a precedent that is not just plain wrong. In fact, it’s dangerous.
"Nashville Democrats – like Caucus Leader and member of the retained law firm for the Tennessee Democratic Party, Mike Stewart – who continue to attack Hamilton County voters should be clear. Robin Smith, the duly elected Republican nominee in House District 26 and the only candidate for this office who lives in the district, will defend the votes of Tennesseans regardless of the venue.
"While no one can predict how a court might rule, Robin is confident that the appellate court will have no more patience for the Democrats' skullduggery than did the previous two trial courts.
"Voters of the 26th District understand that Bredesen/Dean Democrats do not honor their rights, preferring intimidation and attempts to delegitimize our electoral process over true policy and honest debate. The voters will have an opportunity to pass judgement on their tactics on Nov. 6."