Mississippi judge said he will carefully consider whether to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to overturn a Republican primary victory by Sen. Thad Cochran. Attorneys for challenger Chris McDaniel want all of the election records from 47-counties shipped to Jones County by Friday. Judge Hollis McGehee heard arguments for more than an hour Thursday at the Jones County Courthouse. He said he could rule on dismissal as soon as Friday. Attorneys for state Sen. Chris McDaniel said current state law does not set a timetable for a candidate such as McDaniel to challenge an election loss. However, attorneys for Cochran said the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in 1959 that a challenge for a multicounty election should be filed no later than 20 days after election results are certified. Election results were certified July 7 and McDaniel started his challenge nearly a month later with the state Republican Party.
McDaniel attorney Mitch Tyner said he sent subpoenas Monday to 47 of the state’s 82 counties demanding election records. Tyner said he believes there were widespread irregularities in the 47 counties during the June 24 runoff. Certified election results show Cochran won the runoff by 7,667 votes.
Some circuit clerks said Wednesday that gathering records will require a great deal of work and expense. A McDaniel subpoena demands records be delivered to Jones County by Friday.
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