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IL-SEN Thu Sep 02 2010
Constitution Party And GOP Continue Fight Over Nov. 2 Ballot
Earlier today Politico's Shira Toeplitz reported that after being barred from the Nov.2 ballot senate Constitution Party candidate Randy Stufflebeam filed suit yesterday to appeal the ruling and get on the ballot.
I just got off the phone with Pat Brady, chair of the Illinois State GOP, who told me that their lawyers will help defend the original ruling keeping Stufflebeam off the ballot. (Right now the Democrat, Republican and Libertarian Party candidates are the only three parties that will appear on the ballot for Senate.) Illinois State GOP lawyers were involved in the original challenge to letting the Constitution Party and eight other candidates were excluded from appearing on the ballot.
Reached for comment Stufflebeam was unsurprised that the GOP would continue to try and keep him off the ballot.
"They feel that I am a real threat to Mark Kirk and they can't afford to have me on the ballot," Stufflebeam said. "They're going to do everything possible in their power to keep me off the ballot."
Brady has repeatedly defended the GOP's motives for pushing to keep Stufflebeam and other candidates off the ballot. He says that the Illinois Republican Party is just interested in upholding the integrity of the ballot. Last week the State Board of Elections ruled that Stufflebeam did not have the minimum number of signatures to get on the ballot. According to Brady 450 signatures that Stufflebeam's campaign submitted were forged.
The U.S. Senate race to replace Senator Roland Burris has been a close one with Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Mark Kirk trending within a percentage point or two of each other.
ZachReynolds / September 2, 2010 6:18 PM
Kirk may not be 100% conservative but Alexi Giannoulias is 100% liberal. And, if Randy Stufflebeam gets on the ballot, we'll end up with more tax-&-spend policies.