By Bill Grubb

JOHNSON CITY — Congressman David Davis is questioning whether “irregularities” and “outside groups” may have influenced the outcome of the August 7 Republican Primary.

According to unofficial results published by the Tennessee Division of Elections, Dr. Phil Roe, currently serving as mayor of Johnson City, defeated incumbent First District Congressman David Davis in the primary by less than 500 votes.

In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Davis questioned the outcome of the race.

“Last Thursday, in the First Congressional District Republican Primary the difference between myself and my Republican challenger was only 460 votes, which is less than one percent of the total votes cast.  Due to such a narrow outcome, we feel that it is very important to take the time to consider whether there may have been any irregularities that may have affected the outcome of this primary election,” Davis said.

The congressman also indicated unnamed groups may have played a role in his defeat, ending his effort to win re-election to a second term.

“It has come to our attention that there may have been some outside groups who sought to improperly influence the Republican primary.  The Republican voters of the First Congressional District know that this Congressional seat is too important to do anything but look at this very closely.  My campaign believes we should take an opportunity to explore all of the factual information and options,” Davis said.

Davis is asking anyone with information “that may help to shed some light on these allegations” to contact his campaign office at 423-773-8861.

Roe, in a Tuesday telephone conversation, said he did not want to comment on the congressman’s allegations, but he did say was is disappointed in the congressman’s behavior following the election.

“We have a process.   We had an election and the results of that election are being certified, a process that will be completed by next week,” Roe said.

He also noted in 2006, when he lost in the primary and Davis was declared the winner, he called Davis and congratulated him on his victory.

“I had expected him to return the favor, so I am a little disappointed in the way he has behaved,” Roe said, adding he is now turning his attention to November’s election.

Davis issued the following statement August 13

It is increasingly obvious to the Davis campaign that there was a well-funded and systematic effort by outside parties to pervert the Republican primary process.  The party system and the right of political parties to determine nominees goes to the core of the right of association guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States.  California Democratic Party v. Jones, 530 U.S. 567 (2000).  Further, Tennessee law provides that people must be bona fide members of the political party in whose primary they seek to vote.  TN Code Ann. 2-7-115(b).

“I believe that there is clear and overwhelming evidence that the integrity of this primary was violated unlawfully by huge numbers of Democrats voting to change the outcome of the Republican primary,” said Congressman David Davis.

Jim Holcomb, Co-Campaign Chairman of the Davis Victory Fund, said, “This organized activity by those who are not affiliated with the Republican party sets a dangerous precedent that guts the integrity of the primary process.”  He went on to explain, “Congressman Davis is seriously considering a contest of the primary election not simply to determine the winner of the Republican Primary election for the House of Representatives for the 1st Congressional District, but also to preserve the two party systems in Tennessee and to preserve the integrity of the electoral process.”

The ability of the Republican Party of Tennessee to preserve itself as a viable political entity depends entirely upon the ability of the party members to control the party nomination process.  Non-partisan analysis confirms, contrary to what some are claiming, that Tennessee does not have a true “open” primary.  See http://www.fairvote.org/?page=1801. ; Rather, state law is clear that voters obtaining a ballot in a party primary are only eligible for a ballot if one of two things are true:  Either “[t]he voter is a bona fide member of and affiliated with the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote” or “At the time the voter seeks to vote, the voter declares allegiance to the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote and states that the voter intends to affiliate with that party.”  TN Code Ann. 2-7-115(b).  In addition, state law provide s that the affiliation of voters with a political party can be challenged during primary elections.

“The evidence obtained to date illustrates that there was a systematic effort by both known and unknown persons to influence the Republican primary election for Congress in the First Congressional District.  While our detailed data analysis is not yet complete because voter data will not be available until Thursday afternoon, an initial review of the information provided by witnesses and anecdotal evidence shows that many voters who have never voted in the Republican Primary chose a Republican ballot this time,” said Congressman David Davis. “Similarly, many voters who had a history of voting to choose the nominee of the Democrat Primary chose a Republican ballot this time and many of these were in areas in which Dr. Roe saw heavy support.  Because of this evidence, we are considering challenging the results of the recent primary through the process allowed under state law,” he added.

In addition, there was a campaign to encourage Democratic party members to vote in the Republican primary and to vote against Congressman Davis.  Evidence we have obtained includes:

·         Robocalls conducted in violation of both federal and state law the night before the primary sent to the homes of Democrats encouraging them to vote in the GOP primary and to vote for anyone but Congressman Davis.

·         Emails to Democrats encouraging them to vote in the Republican primary.

·         Reports that current and former Democratic party officials voted in the Republican primary.

·         Known Democratic activists actively campaigning for Phil Roe.

“If we decide to go forward with a formal contest of the election results, we will file it with the state party primary board within the five days after certification of the election required by state law,” said Congressman David Davis.

The Davis Campaign will continue to review the information as it becomes available but, as you know, this can be a laborious process and time is needed for the appropriate personnel to collect and process this and then to have the experts analyze it.  As this process continues, we will continue to release additional information to the public.