Just hours before Friday’s 4:30 pm deadline, Republican candidate Rob Maness filed complaints with four Louisiana parish District Attorneys asking them to file legal challenges in state court to Senator Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) candidacy in the November general election.
Both Maness and Landrieu’s other Republican challenger, Representative Bill Cassidy (R-LA), have criticized Landrieu after recent press reports were published indicating she may not live in Louisiana.
In a statement released by his campaign, Maness called on the District Attorneys to object in state court to Landrieu’s “qualifications as they are empowered to do so under Election Code.”
Under Louisiana law, objections to the qualifications of a candidate for the U.S. Senate must be made in state court by the District Attorney for a parish prior to 4:30 pm by this deadline. District Attorneys are required to review complaints presented to them by rival candidates or residents of the parish they represent.
Maness’s last-minute filing of complaints, however, gave each of the four District Attorneys less than four hours to make a determination as to whether to proceed with actions against Landrieu in state court.
All four of Maness’s complaints requested that the local District Attorney “today file an action objecting to the candidacy of Mary Landrieu for the office of U.S. Senator.”
According to Maness, “[t]he Constitution, Louisiana law and common-sense says candidates for Senate have to live here when they qualify – all of the evidence shows that Mary Landrieu doesn’t live here. Election Code empowers our District Attorneys to object to a candidate’s qualification when presented with evidence. There is no question that compelling and overwhelming evidence has now been presented. The most appropriate way to resolve this is to have the law upheld by the proper authorities.”
Maness filed complaints in Orleans Parish, “[w]here Sen. Landrieu claims to live with her parents,” East Baton Rouge Parish, “[w]here San. Landrieu submitted her election qualifying forms,” St. Tammany Parish, “[w]here documents with the Parish Assessor’s office for an empty lot list Sen. Landrieu’s home address in Washington D.C.,” and Ouachita Parish, “[w]here documents with the Parish Assessor’s office for an empty lot list Sen. Landrieu’s home address in Washington D.C.”
Louisiana Election Code states “[i]f the District Attorney makes such a determination he shall file action objecting to candidacy within the time limit provided.”
The time limit in the code is 4:30 pm Friday, August 29.
According to Louisiana election officials, Maness was informed of the proper procedure to object to a candidacy when he filed a complaint concerning Landrieu’s residency status with the Secretary of State’s office on August 22.
Breitbart News contacted all four District Attorney offices for comment but none responded.
Landrieu’s other Republican rival, Representative Cassidy, also did not respond to inquiries as to whether he also intended to file a complaint about Senator Landrieu’s candidacy with any parish District Attorney in Louisiana prior to the deadline.
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