The No Labels party may have failed today in their effort to recruit Joe Manchin to run for President, but they also asked a federal judge this afternoon to order Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to reimburse them for $160,000 in attorneys' fees.
The request was filed late this afternoon in federal court in a case where they successfully prevented Arizonans from getting on the November ballot as No Labels candidates. Three candidates had already filed Statements of Interest for the U.S. Senate seat, a Congressional race and a State House contest.
Attorneys for Fontes unsuccessfully argued that once No Labels became a recognized political party in Arizona, they had to abide by the same statutes as the Democratic and Republican parties by allowing party members to run for any office on the ballot.
Judge John Tuchi agreed that Fontes' office did not violate the statutes by accepting the Statements of Interest, but that No Labels still had a constitutional right to ONLY run candidates for the Presidency.
The Secretary of State has appealed the decision to the 9th Circuit, but Judge Tuchi this week refused to stay his decision in the interim.
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