#TXLEGE: Frivolous Huberty lawsuit fails to remove opponent from ballot

"As a dog returns to his own vomit,
So a fool repeats his folly."
Proverbs 26:11

From the Inbox:

Huberty Sues Republican Party During Christmas Season

Liberal Incumbent Fails to Kick Minority Veteran off March Primary Ballot

(Kingwood, TX) This week, Daniel Huberty sued the Republican Party to force Reginald Grant, a decorated Marine combat veteran, off of the March Republican primary ballot. Huberty wrongly claimed that Grant did not meet the requirements to run for office, but his arguments were strongly rejected by the Court.

"It's shameful that Dan Huberty had to resort to these legal dirty tricks," said Reginald Grant. "I think the people of the district deserve a choice, and considering that no one else is running in the primary or general election, if Huberty kicks me off the ballot, he runs unopposed. That's just wrong, it's unfair to the voters to deny them any choice, and I hope Huberty would reimburse the Republican Party for the legal costs he's wasted on this."

Recent years have seen few challengers in state elections. In 2016 in Texas, 42 out of 150 legislators faced a primary challenge. Only one-third of Texas House Republicans faced primary challenges. Nationally, 18.6 percent of Democratic incumbents and 21.4 percent of GOP incumbents faced primary opposition in all of the state legislatures with elections in 2016. The overall figure for how many state legislative candidates faced no major party opposition nationwide was 41.8 percent. 

"I believe in America, and I believe the voters ought to have a choice, any choice," Grant said. "It's wrong when people have no options, and it's wrong when a long-time well-funded candidate wastes money by filing frivolous lawsuits against other people in his party, and even against his own Party! I hope Republicans notice that people who sue their Party are empowering Democrats, liberals, and the liberal Republicans."

Grant's consultant Luke Macias said, "It astounds me that Dan Huberty is so scared of running against a conservative that he would sink this low. He wanted the Court to kick Reginald off the ballot because he's so afraid that given a choice, his district will vote for a dignified and honorable man like Reginald Grant. Huberty should be ashamed of himself and he rightfully lost in Court."

Dan Huberty is running against Reginald Grant in the Republican Primary for the Texas House of Representatives in District 127. The election is on March 6, 2018. District 127 has 175,696 residents and covers the Harris county communities of Kingwood, Humble, Houston, Atascacita, and Huffman.

Patrick Svitek of the Trib has more:

.@DanHuberty lost legal bid this week to keep primary challenger off ballot. Huberty had argued Reginald Grant didn't meet residency requirement. #HD127 #txlege pic.twitter.com/iMBZjHDDG8

— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) December 22, 2017

Bottom Line: We've been curious for awhile about just how vulnerable Dan Huberty really is in his district; to attempt this sort of stunt is revealing.