A.G. Gancarski
Friday saw another setback for the “sham candidate” case in the 4th Circuit State Attorney race, with the 1st District Court of Appeals issuing the following ruling:
“Appellants seek review of an order dismissing their complaint with prejudice for failure to state a cause of action. We expedited review at Appellants’ request. Appellants’ complaint raised two counts, one seeking a declaratory judgment that appellee Leigh’s write-in candidacy is a “sham” and therefore is not “opposition” within the meaning of Article VI, section 5(b) of the Florida Constitution, and the other a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. We affirm the dismissal of the first count based on Brinkmann v. Francois, 184 So. 3d 504 (Fla. 2016), and we affirm the dismissal of the second count without comment.”
The candidate in question, Kenny Leigh, is a supporter of incumbent Angela Corey, whose paperwork was filed by her former campaign manager with the express purpose of closing the primary to non-Republicans.
Despite repeatedly restating his contention that he’s not in it to win it, Leigh’s “candidacy” has been affirmed by the judicial branch at every turn thus far, as the argument that he is a “sham” candidate hasn’t affected the bearing of the precedent posed by the Brinkmann case.
