Is it too late for Chris McDaniel's post-runoff lawsuit?
Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel expects to get his day in court next month to challenge the results of the Republican primary runoff that he narrowly lost to incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran. However, Cochran's attorneys say the lawsuit should be thrown out because McDaniel waited too long to file it, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports.
Cochran defeated McDaniel in the June 24 runoff, though the tea party-aligned challenger contended that thousands of votes cast in favor of Cochran were illegal. McDaniel's legal team formally challenged the results on Aug. 4.
However, a state law on the books says election challenges must be filed within 20 days of the election. Consequently, Cochran's attorneys say McDaniel's challenge should have been filed by July 27 at the latest. The McDaniel team says the law only applies to county and local elections, but the Cochran team has pointed to a court ruling which decided that the law also applies to statewide elections.
Judge Hollis McGehee, who's presiding over the case, will consider the Cochran team's motion to dismiss the challenge on Thursday. Unless he decides to dismiss the case, the trial is set to begin Sept. 16. The judge has said the trial must be finished by Oct. 6, to clear up the contention before the November election. Former Rep. Travis Childers is running on the Democratic ticket for the Senate seat.