Tennessee Supreme Court: Robby Starbuck off the ballot again in GOP's 5th Congressional primary

Adam Friedman and Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read
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Robby Starbuck is once again off the ballot in the Republican primary for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a lower court erred in granting Starbuck an injunction that could have put him back on the ballot.

A Davidson County judge ruled the state GOP violated Tennessee's open meetings act when it met to boot Starbuck and two others off the Aug. 4 primary ballot.

Republican fifth district congressional candidate Robby Starbuck responds to questions during a primary candidate forum hosted by The Tennessean at George Shinn Events Center on Lipscomb University's Campus Thursday, May 19, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn.
Republican fifth district congressional candidate Robby Starbuck responds to questions during a primary candidate forum hosted by The Tennessean at George Shinn Events Center on Lipscomb University's Campus Thursday, May 19, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn.

But the high court found the Tennessee Republican Party, when acting as an executive committee, is distinctly different from when it acts as a state primary board, which is subject to the open meetings act.

Efforts to reach Starbuck for comment were not immediately successful.

On Wednesday, the state's highest court assumed jurisdiction over the case, after some confusion over whether the Secretary of State's office was required to put Starbuck back on the ballot.

"We appreciate the Tennessee Supreme Court ruling in a such a timely manner," Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. "The original opinion raised concerns for our office, and should for any government official for that matter, when the judge essentially enjoined this office as state officials in a lawsuit to which we were never a party.”

In April, the state party removed Starbuck, Morgan Ortagus and Baxter Lee from the party's 5th Congressional District primary for not meeting its bonafide Republican requirements.

Starbuck's lawyers argued that when making decisions about ballot access the Tennessee Republican Party's executive committee meetings are required to be open to the public.

The state party argued in court that its decisions are a private political matter that the courts have no jurisdiction over.

Robert Starbuck Newsom v. TN Republican Party by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

Davidson County Chancellor Russell Perkins ruled in favor of Starbuck last week, stating the Tennessee Republican Party violated the state's open meetings act when it removed Starbuck from the primary ballot in a meeting that wasn't open to the public.

Party primary boards meet to handle issues such as disputes over election results, and those meetings remain open the the public under state law. The Supreme Court concluded that a party executive committee and primary board have two distinct sets of responsibilities.

Perkins' ruling was directed at Tennessee Republican Party, which doesn't control the final ballot.

In a previous lawsuit, the Secretary of State's office said it had until June 10 to finalize the ballots for the Aug. 4 primary. Early voting starts July 15.

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden has declined to comment.

Adam Friedman is The Tennessean’s state government and politics reporter. Reach him by email at afriedman@tennessean.com.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Robby Starbuck: TN Supreme Court rules, Starbuck back off ballot