Mississippi GOP rebuffs challenge

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi's Republican Party on Wednesday refused to hear challenger Chris McDaniel's effort to overturn his June 24 loss to U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in a GOP runoff, saying McDaniel would do better taking his case to court.

In a letter to McDaniel's lawyer, state Republican Party Chairman Joe Nosef wrote that a court is needed to "protect the rights of the voters as well as both candidates."

Nosef wrote that under state party bylaws, seven days' notice has to be given before the executive committee can meet. If the notice went out Wednesday, he wrote, the committee couldn't convene until Aug. 13, the day before the deadline for McDaniel to file his complaint with a court.

"Obviously it is not possible for our committee of 52 volunteers to attempt to engage in such an exercise in a prudent manner in one day," Nosef wrote.

McDaniel, a state senator from Ellisville whose campaign was backed by the Tea Party, asked the party Monday to declare him its nominee, saying Cochran's 7,667-vote victory in the runoff was due to Democratic voters who illegally cast runoff ballots for the six-term incumbent.

"Chris McDaniel is very disappointed he will not have the opportunity to present his election challenge before the state Executive Committee," McDaniel lawyer Mitch Tyner said in a statement. "We will move forward with a judicial review as provided for under Mississippi code."

Cochran spokesman Jordan Russell downplayed McDaniel's challenge.

"We were surprised by this decision, but whether Chris McDaniel's ridiculous challenge is heard by the State Executive Committee or a court, we are confident it will be rejected," Russell wrote in an email.

A Section on 08/07/2014

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