A judge handed Southlake Republican Zee Wilcox a victory in her fight to get back on the primary ballot after she was removed from it by the Tarrant County GOP chairman.
On Jan. 15, a Tarrant County district court Judge Ken Curry ruled that Wilcox could remain on the Republican’s primary ballot for now and that GOP chairman Tim Davis could no longer pursue her removal. Unless Davis appeals, Wilcox’s candidacy stands.
“I thought campaigning was going to be hard. I didn’t know that I was actually going to have to, in the end, fight my own party over some application,” Wilcox said.
Wilcox faces Keller Mayor Armin Mizani and Colleyville businessman Fred Tate in the GOP primary race for Texas House District 98, which includes Keller, Grapevine and parts of Southlake. The seat is currently held by state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, who isn’t seeking reelection. Whoever wins the March 3 primary election faces the Democratic nominee in November.
Davis removed Wilcox from the ballot Jan. 7, saying she filed for election using a federal form instead of a state one. The two forms are nearly identical, with one central difference being that the state’s form includes a clause that acknowledges laws against nepotism.
(Courtesy photo | Zee Wilcox)
On Jan. 9, Wilcox sued Davis, arguing that he didn’t follow election law and had tainted her campaign. On Jan. 12, a Tarrant County district court judge, Don Cosby, granted a temporary restraining order to Wilcox.
Davis, a lawyer who was tapped to be GOP chair in November, declined to comment.
Wilcox, who owns a health and beauty business, argued that she should have been allowed to correct the filing error. She attempted to do so in mid-December, when she was made aware of the filing issue but heard no response from the state, Wilcox said.
A few days later, she formally received a place on the primary ballot and assumed the matter was remedied. Wilcox noted she had already acknowledged nepotism laws when she appointed a campaign treasurer before the filing deadline.
“I’ve acknowledged it. It’s not a fatal issue, like, for example, lying about my date of birth or my address,” she said. “The judge agreed.”
In the courtroom, Wilcox represented herself and argued that election officials are supposed to work with filers and campaign hopefuls. She said the laws aren’t in place to create a “gotcha system” that surprises candidates with removals.
She feels Davis’ treatment of her amounted to retaliation for running against Mizani — who has called the county chairman his friend — and for not falling in line with the local GOP, she said.
Davis acknowledged Wilcox’s removal in a Facebook post last week, saying his actions were focused on election integrity.
“This was not the result of some vast conspiracy, despite whatever Mrs. Wilcox wants to allege. Instead, it’s the outcome of choices she made with her filing,” Davis wrote.
Davis responded to Wilcox’s initial cease and desist letter in an email saying that her demands were baseless, according to copies of the emails reviewed by the Report.
Wilcox’s court proceedings are just a piece of countywide ballot uncertainty heading toward the March 3 election, which sees early voting opening Feb. 17.
Davis also challenged seven Democratic judicial candidates. A few days later, the local Democratic Party challenged all 41 GOP judicial candidates and two Texas House candidates on the primary ballot.
The challenges are now being reviewed by Davis and Democratic chair Allison Campolo.
Curry, who issued the ruling in favor of Wilcox, presided over the 96th District Court in place of Republican Judge Patrick Gallagher, who recused himself from the case.
Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601.
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