The Texas Supreme Court today stayed a district judge's order blocking the Green Party of Texas from certifying its candidates for the general election ballot.
The order allows the Green Party to legally establish a list of candidates for the general election. But the court also set a series of deadlines for lawyers for the Texas Democratic Party and the Green Party to argue whether a ballot petition drive illegally used corporate money. The Supreme Court still could knock the party off the ballot.
Democratic Party lawyer Chad Dunn said he does not believe the fight is over.
"The effect of the order is to give the Supreme Court time before they open up an enormous loophole for potential election fraud," Dunn said.
Green Party lawyer David Rogers said, "We get to put our candidates on the ballot today. We don't know if we get to keep them there."
More from Burnt Orange, Texas Kaos, Texas Politics, Trail Blazers, Bay Area Houston, and shortly more, which when posted will be updated here. There's a debate between Bill White and Libertarian Kathie Glass coming up Monday; I wonder if the Green's Deb Shafto will get invited to future ones. Her name should be included in all future polling also in order to get a true reading of the governor's (and other statewide) races going forward.
Update: The TexTrib talks to Jeff Weems, the Democratic railroad commission candidate (my italic emphasis)...
Weems says he isn’t worried about the possibility of facing Art Browning, the Green Party candidate. He says he’s been expecting to face a Green Party candidate all along. Also, while he’s working on the Democratic vote, Weems says he’s more focused on picking up independent and Republican votes, which aren’t likely to break to the Green Party anyway.
“I heard that Art was throwing his hat in early, early on — heck, I think even before David Porter did,” Weems says. “I’m truly not concerned with it because, on the railroad commission race, if you look at past races with Green Party candidates you don’t see a draw down on the Democratic vote total.”
Weems has, without question, the smartest attitude about how to run a statewide race with a Green in it.
