Knotts Still Feeling Heat After Blocking Ballot Plan
The Lexington senator could now face resurfacing of an alleged 2010 duel challenge.
State Senator Jake Knotts is still feeling the heat after placing a legislative block on a measure that would allow many of the 180 disqualified candidates back on June primary ballots last Tuesday.
Now, a South Carolina political blogger is claiming an alleged 2010 duel challenge could come up in the latest protests against the senator — who is a frequent target of conservatives who call him a "Republican in name only."
Conservative groups across the state today are launching a grassroots effort called Operation Lost Vote with hopes of getting many Republican challengers to GOP incumbents tossed from the ballot added back.
Roxanne Wilson, wife of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), confronted the Lexington Republican on Tuesday after the lawmaker blocked a measure that she had supported.
Wilson's sister, Suzanne Moore, was one of the candidates who had been removed from the ballot by a South Carolina Supreme Court ruling earlier this month.
Knotts filed a lawsuit in April that named a handful of Lexington County candidates, including Knotts’ primary opponent Katrina Shealy, who hadn’t properly filed an SEI.
U.S. District Court Judge Cameron Currie on Thursday she will ask for a special three-judge panel to be assembled on Monday to resolve the issue.
But the plaintiff in the case, Amanda Somers, withdrew a challenge to the filing decision, limiting the scope of her complaint to an issue with absentee ballots.
Now, blogger Will Folks claims an argument in December 2010 may resurface in a complaint against Knotts.
According to multiple sources, Knotts is about to be sued over a December 2010 incident in which he challenged former South Carolina Republican Party official Patrick Haddon to a duel.
Folks' links to his own 2010 post, where he noted that Haddon claimed, via Facebook, that Knotts had challenged him to a duel. Folks alleges that the duel threat could get Knotts kicked out of the Statehouse, as dueling goes against the state's constitution.
Shealy has reportedly filed a protest with the SCGOP regarding the filing ruling from the S.C. Supreme Court. A call to lawyer Thomas Cofield was not immediately returned.
In Other S.C. Political News:
Operation Lost Vote Launched In Response to Ballot Controversy
Chris Winston
1:48 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
I drove by this historical marker a few weeks back and caught up on some forgotten SC history. Here's a link to New York Times coverage of the final "official" SC duel from 1880: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00A17FF3F5B1B7A93C3A8178CD85F448884F9
Ken
1:59 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
So sad for the GOP, they failed to follow the rules and got tossed off the ballot. If these were democrat candidates the GOP would be blocking every attempt to return the names to the ballot, instead they want special treatment because they screwed up. Can we say hypocrites?
Rylyn
3:22 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
Ken undoubtedly is not keeping up there were more Democrats than Republicans who filed incorrectly
reg
5:06 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
well, it's actually about 45% R/55% D on the list that didn't make it, Rylyn. So very many Republicans fall into this category, too. The true distinguishing factor is that the only Republicans who didn't make the cut are the ones who are challenging incumbents. And, by the way, very very few "filed incorrectly." They all filed their SEIs online with the state ethics commission, as per the new law. It was a strange ruling on Jake Knotts' objections - which said that just because they obeyed the new law doesn't mean that the old law (filing it on paper) was removed. This all comes from that one politician and his friends, who wanted his primary opponent to be removed.
Mimi
6:42 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
reg that is the most uninformed radical explaination I have ever heard. You see I can only assume you are part of he tpers who don't think the law applies to you, who somehow think your own laws created in your fantasy world are the only laws. The laws are crystal clear and people were allowed EXTRA time to comply. Anyone of the one left off could have easily pick up the phone and made sure they had complied properly. These nuts holding up and threating the FEDERAL election laws are only interested in their own personal gain. NONE of those left off the ballot have even a small chance of being elected, however their interest is getting people to send them their money for personal advancement. You would think reg that election just started this year and this country never had one the way you try to spin mistreatment of the looneys. Pathetic. Stand your ground Jakie we got your back.
reg
9:42 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
Oh, I've hit a sore spot on Mimi, apparently. Must be the spot on her rear end where she put her new "I'm Nuts about Knotts" tattoo. Doesn't matter, though - your sweetheart still used an old law to supersede a new law, and only for one reason: to protect himself from the primary he was going to lose.
maizenbluedoc
6:23 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
reg: One must remember to be politically correct; defend your party right or wrong. The primary problem in America is, "my party must win at all cost". One only has to look at the current administration and congress to see what politicians are doing to the country. No longer are the people represented, only special interest groups who supply the money.
Yvonne Phipps
10:28 am on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
If you cannot do like everyone else can on time then why complain about it? Also why is this thing coming up now about the duel? It happened back in 2010. If it was a problem it should have been an issue then not now when it can be used to remove him because you do not like what he ruled against. That is so petty.