Suit to Remove 4 Democratic Senators from Ballots

Tenacious Mark Montiel, Republican primary candidate for Attorney General, is filing suit to have Democratic Senators Lowell Barron (SD 8), Roger Bedford (SD 6), Zeb Little (SD 4), and Hank Sanders (SD 23) removed from the November 7 ballot.

This is based on the same issue of financial disclosure that Gerald Dial raised in August when Dial reportedly wanted (and then reportedly did not want) the same four Senators disqualified along with Kim Benefield (Democratic nominee for SD 13). Benefield defeated Dial in the Democratic primary for SD 13.

Montiel tends to pick pretty good battles, but from what I understand this one is going to be difficult for him. This court challenge falls outside the prescribed procedures and deadlines for challenging a candidate’s financial disclosure reports and for contesting election results. The four candidates were operating within the bounds of an advisory opinion issued in 1990 by Attorney General Don Siegelman

And, for what it’s worth…

Bedford called Montiel “a Republican political flunkie.” He said the suit is clearly GOP-inspired because there were Republican senators who did the same thing that Montiel is trying to use against the four Democratic senators, but he didn’t name the Republicans in the suit.