Tim Sharp, a conservative fighter and former state House candidate, was “improperly disqualified” from the ballot in House district 19 by the Florida Division of Elections (DOE), a federal complaint filed on August 6 states.
Sharp is suing both the DOE and Florida’s Secretary of State to hold the establishment in Tallahassee, Florida, accountable. Harmeet Dhillon of the Dhillon Law Group, a strong ally of the America First movement, is representing Sharp in the suit.
Sharp told Breitbart News he was blocked in June from ballot eligibility because not all of Florida’s institutions are as conservative as Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) office. “This is the next phase of the corruption,” Sharp slammed the Florida establishment uniparty, which he believes prevented him from challenging the presumptive establishment Florida House speaker, State Rep. Paul Renner (R). Establishment Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Renner are political allies.
“From the very beginning I knew I was running against a machine,” Sharp stated. “The establishment political groups had made their selection and my candidacy against their chosen future speaker of the house designate was not welcome.”
The lawsuit alleges the DOE “violated Florida law and its own policies to disqualify Sharp based on a determination by DoE employees that Sharp’s qualification check did not appear to be drawn on a campaign account”:
Sharp’s disqualification was not only wrong legally because it violated law and policy, it was wrong factually because Sharp’s check was drawn on his campaign account. … Despite the clear prohibitions against DoE officials making such determinations themselves, the DoE violated Florida law and its own policies to disqualify Sharp based on a determination by DoE employees that Sharp’s qualification check did not appear to be drawn on a campaign account.
The lawsuit seeks damages and a “declaratory judgment” that the DOE wrongly blocked Sharp from the ballot and “violated Florida statutory law and Sharp’s rights under the Florida and Federal Constitutions.”
State Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R), who has fought the establishment in Tallahassee, called the lawsuit a needed step to check “RINOS’ deranged effort to keep another freedom fighter from office.”
“This is just one more attack on the people of Florida who are tired of Sprowls and Renner protecting the swamp from being drained. I’m glad to see Tim Sharp fighting back with the Dhillon Law Group,” Sabatini told Breitbart News.
Sharp plans to launch a second campaign in 2024. He is weighing a bid either for state house or U.S. Congress. His website states Sharp is a strong advocate of the second amendment, school choice, medical freedom, the right to life, and term limits.
“I don’t answer to PACs (political action committees) or special interest groups. My special interest has always been the people” Sharp said in a press release.
The case is Timothy Sharp v. Secretary of State of Florida and Florida Division of Elections, No. 3:22-cv-00959 in the United States District Court of Middle District of Florida.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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