The Texas Supreme Court on Saturday, Sept. 5, rejected a Republican attempt to remove 44 Libertarians from the November ballot, according to the Texas Tribune.
Groups affiliated with both major parties have gone to court in recent weeks to remove from the ballot non-major-party candidates perceived to be a threat. In general, Libertarians are believed to peel votes away from Republicans, while the Green Party is thought to siphon votes from Democrats.
The GOP sued because the Libertarians didn't pay their filing fees. But the state Supreme Court said Republicans missed the deadline to kick them off the ballot.
Lou Antonelli of Clarksville in Red River County, the Libertarian nominee for Northeast Texas’ 4th congressional district – one of the candidates the Republicans sought to block – welcomed the decision.
"We need more diversity of the ballot, not less,” he said. “The two-party system has created polarization and an ‘us versus them’ mentality.”
He faces Republican Pat Fallon and Democrat Russell Foster in the Nov. 3 general election. Fallon was nominated by a district convention Aug. 8 following the resignation of the incumbent, John Ratcliffe, to take a federal appointment as director of national intelligence.
Antonelli, 63, is co-owner of The Clarksville Times weekly newspaper with his wife Patricia. He had served as an elected school trustee, as well as a library and animal shelter board member.
He is currently a member of the Clarksville Planning and Zoning Commission, and President of the Clarksville Lions Club.
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