Will Brimer challenge Davis' ballot eligibility?

As we know, SD10 Democratic candidate Wendy Davis won a challenge to her ballot eligibility brought by some Fort Worth firefighters, on the grounds that they didn't have to sue. Only an opposing candidate had such standing, the court ruled. So will her eventual opponent, State Sen. Kim Brimer, take up the legal baton? PoliTex asked him that very question.

Apparently, he's still waiting to see whether the firefighters appeal the decision to the Texas Supreme Court.

"The firefighters have to decide what they're going to do," Brimer said. "They're the ones that have the action going, and I'm going to respect what they're doing at this time."

We asked again, but Brimer wouldn't say whether he was even considering formally challenging Davis' eligibility.

It's unclear to me if it's in his best interests to pursue this. While the ultimate prize of knocking a strong contender off the ballot is unquestionably alluring, there can be a lot of blowback if you try and fail, which is no doubt why he's hoping that a third party can do the dirty work for him. I thought Davis had a pretty good argument on the merits, and I'm sure he's asked an attorney or two for some offhand advice. If he thinks he has a good shot at it, I don't see why he wouldn't take it. We'll see what happens.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 07, 2008 to Election 2008