Mississippi judge throws out Chris McDaniel's lawsuit against election result, says he missed deadline

A Mississippi judge on Friday dismissed Tea Party-backed Senate candidate Chris McDaniel's lawsuit, in which McDaniel has been attempting to overturn his narrow defeat in the Republican primary against incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran — on the grounds that McDaniel missed the deadline to even file his challenge.
Judge Hollis McGehee agreed with the Cochran campaign's contention that under a 1959 state Supreme Court ruling, there is a 20-day deadline to file an election challenge. By contrast, McDaniel filed his challenge 41 days after the June 24 Republican primary runoff, which Cochran won by about 7,000 votes.
McDaniel's lawyer told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger that McDaniel wants to decide over the weekend whether he will appeal McGehee's ruling up to the state Supreme Court; McDaniel will announce his decision on Tuesday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
McDaniel previously requested that the state Republican Party executive committee simply declare him the winner by about 25,000 votes; the state GOP chairman declined to grant that request. McDaniel has been defiantly seeking to overturn the primary result ever since the election night. Among other things, he has charged that Cochran's campaign strategy — which involved reaching out to the (usually Democratic) African-American community to cross over into the Republican primary — had fraudulently overturned the will of genuine Republican voters.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Retrievals, series two: 'essential listening'
The Week Recommends The second instalment of this hard-hitting podcast delves into the 'appallingly common injustice' of women having C-sections without pain relief
-
Cool off at the best saltwater pools in the UK
The Week Recommends From 1930s Art Deco lidos to 'magical' tidal pools, these sheltered spots offer a safer alternative to sea swimming
-
Kinmen Islands: Taiwan's frontline with China
In Depth Just a few miles off the mainland, the Kinmen Islands could be attacked first if China invades Taiwan
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firings
Speed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayor
Speed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shooting
Speed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detention
Speed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled